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?

First things first; man, this is a gorgeous phone. From that headline-catching mirrored display to the brushed metal body and pleasing heft, it’s not only attractive but feels well put together, too. The slide action flicks out with a solid click, and while I’m sure the first time you drop it will inevitably be a heart-in-mouth moment I would be very surprised if you did any real damage.

Let’s stick with the positives for a little while longer. LG’s interface, something I wasn’t familiar with, is straightforward to navigate and, while interesting to look at, doesn’t sacrifice usability for visual flourish. The 2.2-inch, QVGA screen is clear and colourful, and visibility suffers very little from that reflective coating; photographing it, however, is another matter, and it proved very difficult to get reasonable pictures for this review. In use, though, it fares far better.

The camera is a pretty standard 2-megapixel offering, although LG would have you believe that the autofocus and Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens raise it above that of competing models. Actual results are only fair, however, and certainly not up to the quality of, say, Sony Ericsson’s K800i. The built-in LED ‘flash’ makes low-light photography an option, although given its anemic power you’d have to be capturing shots of something pretty close to you.