With Chocolate a runaway success, LG's follow-up handset lands to high expectations. There's no doubting that it's a sexy little beast, and the innovative scroll wheel promises to make navigation a doddle, but can this cellphone be as sweet as its minimalist predecessor?

Entering an SMS text message, then, is a nightmare. Even with T9 it doesn't get much easier, since to switch between predicted words you're forced to use the errant scrollbar. Since I'd swapped the SIM from my normal phone to the Shine, I was initially anticipating a healthy bill as I made full use of all the features; thankfully I don't think it'll be the case, since the deeply recalcitant controls meant the poor LG stayed in my pocket far more than expected.

The exception was receiving calls, pleasant because all it takes is thumbing open the display to answer, which showed off the Shine's clear reception and high sound quality. It's pretty tenacious with a signal, too, with all that metal casing not getting in the way of network coverage. LG must know that the Shine will be predominantly bought by the fashion conscious, but they've given a nod in the business-person's direction with basic email support as well as the ability to open a variety of typical document formats (PDF, DOC, XLS, PPT and TXT). With only GPRS and EDGE data connections, though, you'll hope for them to be small files, plus there's no way of outputting or editing then once they're on the device.

I wanted to love the Shine. When it first hit the convention circuit I was amongst the drooling crowds, and I jumped at the chance to review it when O2 kindly offered to send me one. Sadly the experience has been marred by what I, personally, found to be the worst keyboard on any cellphone I've ever tried. Your mileage will of course vary, and it's one of those situations where you'll simply have to try it out to see if your digits can get on with the Shine's digits. There's no denying that it's an attractive, well-constructed and solid handset, albeit one with no particularly outstanding features, but given that as of early February it had already sold more than 180,000 in Korea in a little over three months I'm sure it'll do similarly well in other regions. Just make sure you're buying it for the right, deliciously shallow reason: because it's beautiful.

Many thanks to O2 UK for providing the LG for review.