looking quickly, it looks just like the shine, but touch screen?

The thing with these... phone hypes that seem to go on here in the USA is... cell phones are way overpriced for what we get as the end user. As are their features in the US ( G3 and... other such features available to phones nowadays). I pay 49.99 a month, for a phone i use to call one or two other people. No texting is available ( i took it off, and i cannot get them either, im sick of paying FOR something that someone else paid to send already!) And internet is also not available( Took that away too, its a waste of money). I dont want the hassle of dealing with buying minutes, and having to pay attention to them, so thats why i dont go with Tracfone, or similar. But seriously, its pathetic that this is a BARE minimum phone, and i pay 50.00 a month for it.

I got a Shine, an unlocked one on ebay. That LG shine had a WONDERFUL camera with a macro feature, as well as a nice zoom. As well as open and close sounds, and customizable color themes. It was a great phone, but unfortunately did not work in my area, if it were quad band, i would have kept it!

The american versions of these phones from say, Cingular/ATT are so locked down, and the BEST features the phones were made for, are removed. The american market wants shiny and good looks, but hardly any REAL functionality in their phones. Trust me when i say Europe really is spoiled when it comes to their phones functionality, im totally jealous.

The US Shine, dosnt have open close sounds, it has a VERY crappy camera with NO macro. No firmware updates are available either. and i can pick one of three preset color themes. Lame. Its also annoying that you cant use whole MP3's as your ringtone, like you can some other phones.

Ill be checking out this new LG youre mentioning.... but, while i like the shine, because its a good SOLID phone, that isnt made of flimsy plastic, i might be holding out for a better quality item from a different company. I am not impressed lately, by any of the new phones.