LG BL20 Chocolate Review

The new LG BL20 Chocolate phone has a lot to live up to. Because, for all its faults and annoying quirks, the predecessor, the LG KG800, was one of LG’s top selling handsets. With a basic camera, simple Bluetooth, small screen, and annoyingly sensitive navigation keys, the LG KG800 Chocolate phone sold on looks, more than anything else. And to be fair, it did look good.

As part of the exclusive LG Black Label range, we can expect LG to include a strong range of features on the handset, and they don’t disappoint. Virtually every part of the original Chocolate handset has been improved upon, whilst retaining the same dark colour, encased in a sleeker, more modern shell.

The BL20 shaves almost 3mm off the thickness of the original design, measuring in at just 12.3mm. A bit longer, and slightly wider than the original, the LG BL20 is also heavier, weighing in over 30g heavier, 115g compared to 83g. The screen on the BL20 is much improved, although still a TFT display supporting up to 256,000 colours, the resolution is now a more acceptable QVGA 320 x 240, measuring inches. Underneath the display we find touch sensitive navigation keys, much as on the previous model, but there are also hidden keys located around the edge of the phone. These discreetly located controls can be used for things like volume control, and also quickly adjusting the camera zoom, and so on.

Internal memory capacity of the New Chocolate is less than half that found on its predecessor, but to compensate the BL20 has a MicroSD memory card slot, supporting cards up to 16GB in capacity. Memory that will be well used, with the BL20 sporting a high quality 5.0 megapixel camera, with Schneider-Kreuznach optics, incorporating autofocus and an LED flash. Video recording is enabled; QVGA resolution at 15 fps, but there is no front facing camera, so no video calls. The media player has been given an overhaul, now supporting many more digital file formats for both audio and video, and there is also an FM radio included. With a nod to the recent advance in mobile connectivity options, and how much more such features are expected on a modern day mobile phone, the New Chocolate includes 3G data, with HSDPA at up to 3.6Mbps, ably backed up by EDGE, HSCSD and GPRS.

These days it is not enough to produce a good looking phone, and to expect it to sell on those looks alone. The mobile consumer is a much more discerning consumer than in previous years, for a mobile phone to sell well, it needs as much ‘under the hood’ as it were as it does need the looks to attract. The Bluetooth option on the Chocolate is also more advanced, now sporting the latest Bluetooth 2.1, which offers easy connectivity to other Bluetooth devices, as well as supporting A2DP stereo wireless audio transfer.

Some nice features on the BL20 include Widget Hotkeys and Clear Memo Capture. Widget Hotkeys enable you to personalise the device, offering quick, direct access to favourite features for things like news updates, weather reports and so forth. Clear memo Capture allows handwritten notes, drawings and text to be captured in full clarity, giving a simple straight forward way to capture and record information onto the phone.

There is a lot to admire in the New Chocolate, and it is light years ahead of its predecessor. The comparison between the KG800 and BL20 really does illustrate just how much progress has been made in mobile phone technology in recent times, and goes to show just what a phone needs to hit the sales numbers that previous handsets were able to achieve with much lower specification. If the LG BL20 New Chocolate is a handset you want to buy, you won’t have to wait long as it is expected to launch very soon, watch this space for updates.

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