LG KC550 is the first budget 5-megapixel cameraphone from a leading manufacturer. It is a mid-level slider and is equipped with Schneider-KREUZNACH autofocus lens, which places it next to the pretentious cameraphones. The manufacturer claims that the model has a fast processor for faster picture viewing and reproduction of videos in DVD resolution (720x480 pixels). In addition, the LG has a built-in TV-out and an accelerometer with which to play the preloaded games.

The design resembles the one of the modern digital cameras and is more convenient for taking pictures than attractive. The materials used to make the phone create a nice feeling of a quality product. The TFT display is 2.4” with resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and supports 262K colors. In darker environments, they are well-saturated and lively, and the screen is even brighter than usual. Unfortunately, due to the mirror like effect, it is almost useless in direct sunlight.

The soft buttons and the SEND/END keys are slightly protruding, meanwhile, the 5-way D-pad and the "C” button have a well-expressed relief. The interesting thing here is that when activating the camera, the D-pad’s directions light up in white, indicating their functions. All buttons require a bit more pressure, but you can clearly feel when pushing them. The comfort level they provide is average and it could have been better.

The slider has almost no backlash, the mechanism is stable but it creates the feeling that you have to push it manually all the way up. The keyboard is very similar to the one of KF600, but unfortunately, just like in it although the order in which the buttons are arranged attracts attention, they are not user-friendly. They are clearly felt when pressed, but similarly to the soft ones, more pressure needs to be applied. This is quite annoying, especially when typing a message.

On the left, you’ll find the charger slot, and on the right, the one for the microSD card, the volume controls and the camera buttons. The last ones are easy to distinguish and are easily pressed. The camera apparently has the same Schneider-Kreuznach 'certified' lens as LG's fancier Viewty and it's really rather good, delivering clear, sharp pictures with decent colour definition in good light. There's an LED photo light but like virtually all of these on camphones, you'll need to get really close to your subject for it to have any effect.

In camera mode the D-pad offers short cuts including, album, flash settings, macro mode and image stabilisation which proved really useful once we'd discovered them. There's self-timer and burst mode, as well as autofocus, and the volume buttons on the side operate the digital zoom. After you've taken your pics there's a range of editing options, allowing you to resize, rotate, crop, and add effects, frames and text on the fly.

The music player features all the usual functions and it's easy to drag and drop tracks onto the handset from your computer or transfer via Bluetooth. But there's no 3.5mm jack to upgrade your headphones so you're stuck with LG's rather tacky-looking supplied pair. While they look and feel cheap, there's actually a degree more bass than you might expect, though it comes at the price of a bit of muffling in the midrange. There's also an FM radio which offers auto scan and a maximum of nine preset channels.

The web browser is standard fare, with no fancy zoom or sizing options, and with no 3G or Wi-Fi to offer fast downloads, it feels pretty clunky overall. The accelerometer didn't seem to switch the orientation of web pages either.A fully charged battery allows the user to enjoy up to six hours of talk time or up to four hundred & fifty hours of standby battery time.