LG Renoir hands-on

Though it has been out for some time, we'd not had the chance to really check out LG's Renoir properly -- even though Engadget Spanish has had a chance. Of course, LG's massive booth featured an area dedicated to this 8 megapixel effort that we had to almost fight through to get at this phone. The interface is good, the weight and feel in-hand doesn't come off as $10 plasti-crap, and the touchscreen does seem to get its job done. Crazy presentations aside, LG's Renoir is a really solid effort, color us suitably impressed. Engadget Mobile has the gallery.

[Neil @ Jan 11th 2009 10:53PM]

does it come with the salesman who'll "jump for me"?
if so, I WANT ONE!

[the happiest mac @ Jan 11th 2009 11:46PM]

no, but when its turning on you get a video of him jumping for you

[Neil @ Jan 11th 2009 10:55PM]

does it come with the salesman who'll "jump for me"?
if so, I WANT ONE!

[Flashpoint @ Jan 11th 2009 11:04PM]

You can say that again !

[Flashpoint @ Jan 11th 2009 11:04PM]

SOON, VERY SOON...it will be an iPhone.

[CJ @ Jan 12th 2009 2:20AM]

Yeah, all it needs to do is downgrade the camera by 6 megapixels, remove the ability to Copy/Paste, and convince people without two brain cells to bang together that it is the cellular version of Jesus Christ.

[Aaron @ Jan 12th 2009 6:41AM]

lol CJ, don't forget that iPhone users are perfectly content with broken MMS support unless they jailbreak their phone...

[Shugg @ Jan 11th 2009 11:11PM]

wow , so will this replace my Sony dsct300 camera??I have yet to see a cell that can.,.
A phone with true HTML. ,only iPhone ,the revolutionary.

[the happiest mac @ Jan 11th 2009 11:36PM]

stfu wasnt opera mini out before the iphone? and now we have the android borwser,blackberry,skyfire(the absolute best!!), and many more full html browsers. your calling the iphone revolutionary? maybe for the app store but many phones have had multimedia capabilities in the past and the lg prada was teh first all touchscreen phone.

[Ian Whelan (JOIN BAND!) @ Jan 11th 2009 11:20PM]

I find it funny that you mention that website in every post of yours...

[topspinserve @ Jan 11th 2009 11:38PM]

This is one of the worst comments pages I have ever read.

[nikster @ Jan 12th 2009 4:35AM]

Even after the comment you just made? I think that made it way better....

[Jughead @ Jan 11th 2009 11:48PM]

Like the LG Prada?

[balls @ Jan 11th 2009 11:49PM]

You guys forgot the "Crapgadget" tag.

[Rohan @ Jan 11th 2009 11:57PM]

Looks exactly like an instinct from the front

[Dagreenman18 @ Jan 12th 2009 12:33AM]

it's nice, but to be honest, i think its safe to say that everyone has Pre on the mind. the cellphone game just got a lot harder.

[BIG GIANT BALLS 2! @ Jan 12th 2009 12:40AM]

It has big giant balls. I can see them coming off the bottom!

[Shugg @ Jan 12th 2009 1:03AM]

I think this guy has lost it,@thehappieatmac is saying the opera mini is better than the iPhone ? Who the heck has or even knows what that is, it's an embarassment. He's also saying the storm and skyfire browser is also better than iPhone browser,? Do u guys agree with him?????

[Angus Hedger @ Jan 12th 2009 7:01AM]

Yes, sky fire for example has full flash support.

[Dubb @ Jan 12th 2009 9:03AM]

Skyfire, PIE, and Opera Mobile 9.5 all support Flash. And Opera Mobile scrolls smoother than the iPhone.

[Limmic @ Jan 12th 2009 1:21AM]

I don't care how cool the IPhone is, or the Blackberry Storm for that matter, I refuse to buy ANY phone that crappy carriers force you into a higher price plan just to have. Whether or not I want a data plan shouldn't depend on which phone I want, they shouldn't force you to pay for something you may not even need, or use.

I don't know if this phone is the same, like the Samsung Omnia/IPhone/Storm/etc. with their price plans, but if it is, I would never buy one. I just bought a new phone, and was more than willing to pay the higher price for a Storm, until the stupid Verizon rep told me that no matter what I would use the phone for, I needed to pay an additional $30 a month because they decide to classify the phones differently. So I went with my best alternative, an LG Dare, and I refused to buy it from the Verizon store too, went right to Walmart and got it for $100. I wanted an Omnia for the Wifi feature, but said screw it at the prospect of paying $30 extra a month to do something I could easily do with my laptop or simply be patient and wait 5 minutes to check my mail or web-banking. That type of convenience is not worth that much, and it's crappy that they try and make up for it having wifi (so you could browse OFF their network) by basically forcing you to pay to use their network anyways.

If it wasn't for this type of forced buying, I would have been a little more excited about the IPhone. I'd pay more for a phone, if I didn't have to give Verizon/Sprint/AT&T my right leg via their ridiculous contracts and irritating phone crippling nonsense. Hell, I can't even get Solitaire on the Dare, SOLITAIRE. One of the oldest card games, and one that would be perfectly suited for a touch screen, and they can't even come out with one. We're left with trying to mess around with BitPim with SWF files to try and put one on it... It's sad to see such awesome pieces of technology crippled and over priced (via contracts) by these stupid companies who care so little for the customers making them rich.

[Gad Get @ Jan 12th 2009 1:54AM]

Best... rant... EVER!

[Gad Get @ Jan 12th 2009 1:56AM]

Nice debut, BTW. Welcome to Engadget.

[Limmic @ Jan 12th 2009 2:08AM]

Thanks.

[Jarrod @ Jan 12th 2009 2:10AM]

Limmic, there are a few things you fail to realize before attempting to blindly lambast these carriers. First, you make a blanket statement, without really giving any actual comment on the phone itself. Why post if you do not have anything constructive (or even remote criticism) concerning the ACTUAL topic at hand? I personally read these comments in an attempt to garner additional information about the topic, not listen to people whine about how "the carriers are only here to rip us off." Secondly, the reason that Verizon requires one to add the Blackberry data plan is because, well, IT IS A BLACKBERRY! Blackberrys were created to serve a specific purpose, namely retrieving e-mail. Verizon recognized this posed some problems for people (like yourself) that only want to purchase the phone for it's aesthetic value. These phones will constantly send/receive data, thereby jacking your bill through the roof if you do not have a data plan. To prevent this problem, they require you to have a data plan. It serves to protect you from exorbitant charges that you would incur simply because of your desire to have a certain phone. Thirdly, you state that these (Verizon, ATT, Sprint) are "crappy" carriers, yet you fail to actually provide any justification behind your claim. Finally, SOLITAIRE...really?! These phones are capable of full HTML web browsing, pretty amazing gaming, and just about anything else you can throw at them and you are worried because does not come packaged with solitaire?! Sounds like you would be fine with a StarTac (awesome phone BTW) and a Palm T/X (WiFi equipped).

[Shugg @ Jan 12th 2009 2:22AM]

Let me start off by saying ur one cheap/broke ass mofo, iPhone is not geared for minimum wage earners. B4 iPhone came out on 062907 I was paying $35-$45 month to have non- HTML Internet on my bb, treo , 8125, etc fir years. Then iPhone came out with full HTML unlimited data for $20 my bill dropped by $20-25 month ,.I have heard from att store manager that iPhone might also be vailable on month to month plan Soon, so data plan wouldn't be mandatory , but u would have to pay full retail $600-700. Trust me based on state of the economy , im sure people would rather much pay $99 for iPhone on a 2 year,.fools got a dare with no data,gps,email,maps,n still on a 2 year . Sounds like loser to me.

[Limmic @ Jan 12th 2009 2:59AM]

Okay Jarrod, you want some constructive arguments? How about the main carriers in the US open their phones, I have had a phone with T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T, and can say that all of the carriers lock their phones and cripple the hardware. It's nice to see the potential of the Android phones, despite the somewhat lackluster debut of the Android G-1. My last phone was a Samsung flip phone, and Verizon LOCKED the mp3 function on the phone, their software prevented me from using it without paying extra for a feature built in. Why should I pay extra for something the phone can already do, that they ACTIVELY worked to shut out?

The whole "It's a Blackberry" argument has no ground to stand on, RIM is a company, and companies want profit. It's simple, and that's why Blackberry’s are being produced to be open to a larger consumer base, if you hadn't noticed, or maybe seen the commercials that say "Yup, it's a Blackberry" showing a phone aimed to please the business users as well as the larger casual customer base that want a multimedia/browser/camera/phone device. It's simply lazy to say that a device will "always transmit data" and in the end give the user a huge bill. I suppose you've never quite found that "Airplane Mode" yet either? It's a software issue, one that's easy to adjust, that allows the user to turn the constant data stream off, or set intervals, or just allow them to retrieve/send data manually. As a consumer, I represent the newer base that RIM is gunning for (in addition to their business base), one that may not make use of all the functions a phone has, but would be won over by a sleek design, easy to use software, and powerful specs. Verizon didn't recognize that the user would suffer, they recognized that they could make more money by doing exactly what AT&T does with the IPhone, they force people to pay much more for a plan to cover a phone that is more expensive and more sought after. Its consumer bullying, they take the most sought after product, and make people pay ridiculous prices for it. Kind of like what people do with generators in a power outage. I understand the logic behind making more money, but the irritating part is how they couple it with their other crappy business practices like locking phones and removing access only to make you pay to get it back. That whole "it's made for a specific purpose" thing is completely stupid as well, do you even believe that line yourself? Technology evolves, and along with it the companies that produce it. You obviously have no idea how a business needs to adapt to survive, they need to produce something that the consumer wants, and since this is something fluid, they need to be able to produce goods or services that fill the new niches that arise. And are you really going to tell me that the Blackberry Pearl is designed solely to be an e-mail business phone? No, because that's stupid. Blackberry is synonymous with business users, but it's not only for them, even the company says that, it's kind of their new motto.

The carriers are crappy for the exact reason I said, they treat the consumer like crap.

And apparently you missed the point with Solitaire completely, why doesn't that surprise me? My point being, it's the simple things that should be so easy to do. How much could it possible cost to produce/port a Solitaire app for the Dare? The fact is that these carriers (with the IPhone being the exception) basically make a phone available and just move on, there are so many handsets on the market that the people who buy them are left with less and less future development in the way of apps and games. What's ironic, is how blind these companies are, one reason the IPhone is so successful, despite the costs, is the huge variety of ever-updated content available for the phone. Compare this to a computer, wouldn't it be frustrating if most computers had a different OS and were never updated after release date? Or if you bought a computer with Windows and they locked out most of the Windows Media Player functions unless you bought the "Microsoft Media Package"?

I'm not whining about it not being packaged with Solitaire, I'm pissed because they don't MAKE solitaire for the Dare. I agree these phones have amazing features, but they are often left underutilized. And what "amazing" games are there for the Dare I ask? If you want good games, you’ve got to use BitPim to put them on. Not to mention the Dare is capable of playing SWF files (use as a background, etc.) yet somehow in all their genius, you cannot put SWF files on the phone for any use without using BitPim and overwriting other things to make use. What a waste. The Dare is capable of so much more than Verizon will ever let it be. Why not let people homebrew games and apps for these new "super" phones? Oh, that's right, Verizon wants to charge you $8 for a crappy game that sucks, and use the excuse that it would interfere with their releases of new games and they'd lose money. Too bad they don't actually release anything good for the phones.

And guess what, you're a hypocrite, you whined about my whining.

[XenoX101 @ Jan 12th 2009 3:06AM]

Holy tl;dr, Batman!

[nikster @ Jan 12th 2009 5:08AM]

++

I wish there were more people like you so the carriers would stop that crap. Actually there should be a law requiring the carriers to separate out the costs for the phone and the plan, and requiring them to sell phones separately for the price they say the phone costs. So if they tell you you are only paying $199 for the phone - then they should have to sell it for that, separately. The result would be that they tell you that the phone costs $500 but you are paying it off with your plan over the next 2 years so you only have a down payment of $199.

Car dealers are not allowed to say that their car only costs $1000 when in fact that's just the down payment. Why are mobile carriers allowed?

I am happy to buy a phone for the full price because in the end you pay more for your subsidized phone - if not why would the carrier offer it? It makes them money. My money.

But because they can create phone/plan bundles whichever way they like, they can perfectly hide the true cost of the phone, the subsidy, and the plan - you get one number and don't know which is which. There should be a law against it. I have a 1G iPhone but only because the unlocking software was out - otherwise I would have passed.

[strider_mt2k @ Jan 12th 2009 7:54AM]

That soapbox is meant for the paying customers.

[Limmic @ Jan 12th 2009 8:02AM]

"That soapbox is meant for the paying customers."

What the heck are you talking about? I am a paying customer. If you're referring to me talking about BitPim, well I would buy tons of games and apps, if they had any good ones for the Dare. There selection is depressing, and technically I have used BitPim for perfectly legal stuff, using free SWF stuff.

And I paid for the phone, and my monthly contract. I paid for my soapbox buddy.

[CJ @ Jan 12th 2009 2:21AM]

Come now, do you honestly think people like this have any basic understanding of the laws of time and space?

To them, the iPhone came out before any other phone. Period. Every device that uses cellular signals to transmit voice and data in existance is a direct rip of the iPhone.

[ghost blade @ Jan 12th 2009 2:38AM]

Iv had this phone for a couple of months now and i gotta say that it is awesome, does everything you need in a phone and a camera. it is the best bang for buck product as it costs leff than an omnia here in australia, and has 3 extra megapixles. if anyone is still unsure of which phone to get amound the big ones, i really recomend getting this you cant go wrong, all the other phones have made it big of over advertising(fame). this phone on the other hand purly earns a reputation of what it has, which is allot more than the competition.

[Limmic @ Jan 12th 2009 3:17AM]

Well Shugg, maybe you shouldn’t assume someone is a "minimum wage earner" just because they don't want to pay for features they don't feel they need. It's not a matter of affording it or not, it's a matter of being forced to pay for something the consumer may not use. I have a laptop and don't need to use email on my phone, I can text message all the crap I need to say when I'm away from my computer. Why would they only offer month to month full price or $99 full plan packages? Why not a tiered data plan system that lets the user choose? Pay 200 for the phone with a 2 year contract with a non-unlimited data plan, and if they want to upgrade to more, it increases their monthly bill, but leaves the consumer with a choice.

What kind of idiot advocates the consumer’s lack of choice?

And with the Dare you can get data,gps,email, etc. However, you're stuck with the default Verizon software versions. I'm not a fool, I wouldn't use those. I have a laptop and access to a GPS if I needed it, therefore I don't need them. I got a two year contract because the phone was $100 vs. $500 without, and I'm on a family plan and we were all upgrading.

[Mark Anderson @ Jan 12th 2009 7:39AM]

"What kind of idiot advocates the consumer’s lack of choice?"

Shugg and iEye spring to mind.

[chickenator @ Jan 12th 2009 4:24AM]

it's a KIRF.

[jeb @ Jan 12th 2009 4:52AM]

i dont understand why every single time a new phone is released, it has to be compared to the iPhone. I think it's doing new handsets a disservice because in certain respects they can't stand up to it, yet in other respects they far outspec it, but no one can resist comparing them and then complain if others do

i have the iPhone 3g, my ex picked up the renoir about a month ago. It is a nice phone, the touchscreen isnt as sensitive as i would like but then im now used to my iphone, which arguably is as good as touchscreen's get on portable devices at the moments. It's camera is great, althought that personally neither here nor there for me as i dont really bother using them for that, but it has to be said, if a camera is going to be there, i would rather have the renoir's. Copy and Paste still means f-all to me, i can think of only a couple of occasions where i've thought it would be handy, but not enough to complain like many do that its a travesty that it's missing. From what i can remember there were a few things about the renoir which were nice, such as the scrolling desktop onto which you can drop various useful widgets.

i guess the main thing i notice with a lot of the touchscreen based devices is that often, they have tidy little interfaces (although non of them couldnt do with a bit more designer input and refinement) but lack the proccessing power to really make the user experience shine. The iphone has a decent little processor as we all know, so it makes the interface (although not as quick as apple would have you think) really smooth. I think that if LG and others addressed this, they would have some great little phones on their hands, as thats the thing that sticks out to me at the moment, slightly clunky interfaces that just need a bit more kick behind them to shine.

Also to the guy who branded LG 'Local Garbage" - you are aware LG are a huge manafucturing company? As far as i know they provide Apple with a lot of their screens, i know the iMac uses LG parts and screens. Again, as far as i know, they also provide samsung with a pretty hefty share of screens and parts, they arnt just some two bit operation. I had an LG monitor/tv a couple of years ago, and for its price, not only was its performance great, but it looked v nice

[strider_mt2k @ Jan 12th 2009 7:53AM]

Now that's some good bannin'.

[strider_mt2k @ Jan 12th 2009 7:55AM]

I'm pretty sure my Omnia just walked up and licked that phone in the nuts.

[KilgoreTrout @ Jan 12th 2009 10:52AM]

@ Limmik

Ok , you don't care about cut&paste, you don't need a camera, you don't MMS, you don't need to take videos or to change your battery, etc, etc. but even the oldest and cheaper phones could be used as cellular modems for a laptop, the iPhone can't even do that, not even if threaded to the laptop!
Now tell me that this function is useless too.
My phones (Omnia and Touch HD) connect, sync, and provide mobile broadband connectivity to my netbook via BT, but of course they are neither revolutionary nor God's phones. I guess I can live with that.

[KilgoreTrout @ Jan 12th 2009 11:16AM]

What is most amazing about this phone is its price.
Apart for the genial mini mousepad, it seems as good good as my Samsung Omnia (although I need some more time with it to be sure), it's got a better camera/videocam and it costs half the money.
If it would have been available last autumn when I bought my Omnia and my touch HD I will surely have considered it a valid alternative to anyone of them.

Moreover I have come to appreciate very much LG products for their good quality and lately also for their excellent and elegant design and style.
I have had a 60" LG plasma for over 2 years and I could'nt have been more happy for my choice, recently I choose an LG BT headset,(which I admit I choosed it primarily because of its gorgeous blue-metallic looks) and it proved to be one of the best I ever tried.
To me seems that korean electronics and tech firms have taken the place once held by japanese conglomerates at the top of the pack.
Defending Japan's name are left only Pioneer, Panasonic and maybe the Vaio section of Sony but even their (excellent) products seem wildly overpriced when compared with their korean counterparts.

[WickedEast @ Jan 12th 2009 2:24PM]

Apple is using Local Garbage:

http://www.macworld.com/article/138132/2009/01/lgdisplay.html?lsrc=rss_main