LG
KU990 Viewty

The Viewty was designed by LG to appeal to phone buyers who were attracted by technology. When it was launched it was marketed as being the first touchscreen device with a powerful camera – a dubious claim given other phones available in Japan, but a good marketing story. It featured a five-megapixel camera phone with a touch screen and used Schneider Kreuznach optics including a Xenon flash, autofocus, and a digital image stabiliser. It became a strong rival to the iPhone and Nokia's N95 in late 2007. The large touch-screen was attractive but had the drawback of using a lot of power which affected the battery life of the phone. The phone had a strong start with LG reporting sales of 310,000 units in Europe in the first five weeks it was available. By May 2008 LG had sold just over 1 million Viewty phones in Europe and 500,000 in the UK alone. Over 6.5 million units were sold worldwide. The LG Viewty Purple (pictured) was available exclusively on the Orange network in the UK.