LG's first 8 Megapixel touchscreen phone, namely LG KC910, will be commercially available starting this month (October), under the moniker of LG Renoir.

The new handset will first be sold across Europe (in titan black and several other color versions that have not been announced so far), with Asia and Latin America to follow in November. December will bring the Renoir to Africa and the Middle East, while January 2009 will see China getting the phone as well. No word yet about a North American release.

Named after the French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, LG's new handset will appeal to lots and lots of users with its 8 Megapixel camera. This comes with Schneider-Kreuznach lens, both auto and manual focus, Xenon flash, geo-tagging and ISO 1600, so it should be capable of offering photos at a quality rarely seen in the mobile industry.

Camera aside, LG Renoir also brings a nice set of other high-end features, like a 3-inch TFT touchscreen display with 256K colors and 240 x 400 pixels, accelerometer, LG's well-known Flash User Interface, HSDPA connectivity and more. The phone weighs 114 g, and is really slim for a device that packs so many features, measuring only 107.8 x 55.9 x 13.95 millimeters.

“Renoir is much more than a camera phone. It truly puts everything at your fingertips and provides a multi-sensorial experience through sight, sound and touch. The 8 Megapixel camera is only one aspect of the phone. Its unique combination of features, including a full touchscreen interface, Dolby Mobile for Music and built in support for Wi-Fi and A-GPS, allow Renoir to be used in equally unique ways,” declares President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications, Dr. Skott Ahn.

A retail price for LG Renoir has still not been announced, but it’s best if you don't hope for it to be on the affordable side, because it won't. 

Shortly after the release of Renoir, LG will launch its second 8 Megapixel phone – the KC780 slider, which will be even slimmer than Renoir: 13.7 millimeters in thickness.