14 DAY TRIAL // LG GT540 Swift, the second Android-based mobile phone coming from the South Korean handset vendor LG Electronics, has already been listed as available for pre-order in Europe. The device can currently be seen listed on play.com, where it sports the price tag of £199.99 (around $300 or €223), with the expected shipping date set for April 30. The price tag will bring the device SIM free and unlocked, it seems, which sounds pretty appealing for a handset powered by Google's Android operating system, that's for sure.
The handset vendor announced the new LG GT540 Swift back at CES, when it showcased the device with Android 1.5 on board. Other than that, the handset comes with a 3-inch TFT touchscreen display, a 3.15-megapixel photo snapper, stereo FM radio with RDS, WLAN connectivity options, and enhanced multimedia capabilities, including support for MP4 / DivX / H.264 / H.263 / WMV video files and for MP3 / WAV / WMA / eAAC+ audio files.
At the same time, the LG GT540 Swift sports Internet browsing features (WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML browser), social networking integration (Facebook, Twitter, Bebo) with support for live updates, document viewer, messaging features (SMS (threaded view), MMS, IM), Email, as well as with support for a series of Google services, including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, or Google Talk.
The new handset from LG shows the company's aim to bring forth one of the most affordable smartphones powered by Google's mobile operating system. The device can be considered an entry-level, though it still has a series of features that place it above other such phones, including the Pulse and Tattoo, or the smaller X10 Mini and Mini Pro. It should be interesting to see whether the LG GT540 Swift is ranged by wireless carriers in the UK too, especially since the unlocked price tag makes it appealing enough.