LG Wine II impressions

The LG Wine II was released a few months ago, but we did not have a chance to get a closer look at the phone until CTIA 2010. This overall design is not quite as shiny as its predecessor, the LG Wine, but it still has that basic flip phone form factor. It has a nice and colorful external screen, and the internal display is not too shabby, either. Like its predecessor, the keypad is very spacious with really big keys that are nicely domed for easy dialing and texting. The four shortcut keys have been moved from under the display to the keypad itself, which make them easier to access. The shortcut keys correspond to a new text message, the alarm clock, the image gallery, and the U.S. Cellular Web browser.

Features of the Wine II are also greatly improved from the original. It now has EV-DO Rev. 0, a microSD card slot, a music player, an FM radio, Bluetooth, and a 2.0-megapixel camera/camcorder. The Wine II is available right now from U.S. Cellular for $49.99 after a mail-in rebate.