LG Viewty will be available in the UK from the middle of October, which leaves just a few days until the handset will reach that market. The operators that will support the smartphone's release have been announced and O2, the one to bring the iPhone there, is among them.

It looks like LG is on for a major European release for its Viewty mobile phone. The handset will be released through Vodafone, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and 3 as well, only in Europe. This smartphone has been seen as a strong iPhone competitor, which makes it pretty strange to see a release of both devices from the same carrier. This should make the competition more even and make it easy to draw the line after a while for a comparison of the two devices' success.

"The LG Viewty is a camera phone with unparalleled functions. This handset provides quality matching or exceeding that of conventional digital cameras", said Dr. Skott Ahn, CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. Moreover, he also considers that "with some of our earlier handsets, LG emphasized great style. Now we are focused on functionality and features as well. LG is always trying to identify unspoken customer needs and create new mobile trends."

The mobile phone comes packed with some impressive features, such as a 5.1 megapixel camera phone fitted with a Schneider Kreuznach lens for advanced imaging capabilities. It also has a design similar to that of the iPhone, LG Prada and many other handsets trying to make the best of touchscreen technology. This, however, does not succeed in making it look like anything special. Still, the phone has YouTube support, which looks great on its 240x400 pixel display resolution.

LG KU990 Viewty will hit the European market in mid-October, although an exact date or price have not been disclosed yet.