LG Takes a Shine to AT&T

LG's sleek metal Shine phone has debuted on AT&T, bringing a 2 megapixel camera, music and video capabilities, microSD storage, and a 2.2-inch LCD display.

Folks who want nothing more than a sleek metal mobile phone have been anticipating the availability of the LG Shine in the United States, and mobile operator AT&T has delivered, rolling out the LG Shine to its retail locations over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in time for the infamous “Black Friday” shopping day. The LG Shine slider phone features a 2 megapixel camera, a 2.2-inch LCD display, microSD storage, full video and music playback capabilities, and—of course—ties into AT&T’s mobile video and content offerings. Not to mention that shiny silver exterior.

“Metal is back and taking on a whole new look with this season’s must-have mobile phone, the Shine by LG,” said LG VP of product strategy and marketing Ehtisham Rabbani, in a statement. “Consumers will be captivated by the Shine’s brushed-metal body and mirror LCD, and they will be excited to find that the phone is more than just a pretty face.”

Along with the shiny metal hood, the quad-band LG Shine offers a 320 by 240 2.2-inch LCD display, a 2 megapixel camera, microSD storage for up to 4 GB of music, images, and video, a speakerphone, 70 MB of integrated user memory, mobile email capability (Yahoo, AIM, AOL, and Windows Live), and stereo Bluetooth headset support—although users will have to make due with Bluetooth 1.2. As a music player, the Shine supports Mp3, WMA, AAC, AAC+, and eACC+—and users can trick out their music with integrated EQ, an on-screen visualizer, and tap into AT&T mobile music services like MusicID and XM Radio (along with MobiTV video content) . A fully-charged battery should handle up to three hours of talk time and 10 days of standby.

AT&T wants $149.99 for the Shine, although that’s after a $50 mail-in rebate and along with with a two-year service contract.