Admiring the LG BL40 and the LG BL20
Even though the LG BL40 and the BL20 are available in Europe, they aren't available in the States. Here's a brief look at two phones we can't get.
Both the LG BL20 and the BL40 were announced last year, but they are only available in Europe and Asia. So when we got the chance to handle these devices for ourselves at CTIA 2010, we leapt at it. Of course, you can read CNET UK's full review of the LG BL40 for all the details.
The LG BL40, as you'll recall, is the super-long Chocolate phone that is part of LG's Black Label series. When we saw images of it, we thought it looked almost laughably long and skinny, but up close, all that awkwardness melts away. The stunning 4-inch display is really a showstopper. It has a 21:9 widescreen aspect ratio, and is a high-definition "Real VGA" LCD that simply screams cinema quality. It also has a dual-screen UI that lets you display two different types of content side by side. We do agree with our CNET UK colleague though, that the interface does seem too complicated at times. Features include a 5.0-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, a music player, and more.
The BL20, on the other hand, is more of a slider phone with a few touch-sensitive elements. It has a touch-sensitive keypad and a touch slider on the side, and looks a lot like the LG Chocolate KG800. It has many of the same features as the BL40 -- a 5.0-megapixel camera, GPS, Bluetooth, and a music player.
Check out our brief hands-on gallery with both the LG BL20 and the BL40.