There was a mixed reaction to the LG Chocolate phone when it was released a few months ago. Chris Null found the touch controls to be extremely sensitive, the interface confusing, and it froze up on him a few times during his hands-on review.

Robin Raskin dug a bit deeper into what others were saying about the Chocolate phone when it was released and discovered that reviewers use code words in the fine print to warn consumers of future troubles. At a glance, the phone conjures up words like "trendy," "sexy," and "sleek." But once reviews hit the web, those words were quickly replaced by "quirky," "sensitive," and "expensive."

Motorola's RAZR is currently the most popular phone in the market, and mobile phone companies keep looking for designs that'll stand out. Now the Chocolate phone hasn't been in the United States very long, but LG Electronics has already launched its future successor in Korea. Shine is LG's latest addition to the Black Label series, and unlike the Chocolate phone, this metal slider has a scrolling wheel underneath a mirror-like LCD used for navigation. Chris suggested going back to tactile buttons would make better sense, and I guess LG agrees. When the slider opens, the 2.2-inch QVGA LCD screen lights up to display the phone's interface. You won't be squinting your eyes here, since the display is large enough to even view video clips.

As with digital cameras, it appears slide shows are a hot trend in phones. This one is equipped with a software called MUVEE, that creates slide shows using your stored photos and music. Photos shouldn't be too grainy since it employs a Schneider-Kreuznach 2-megapixel camera, as well as an MP3 player that can store up to 250 songs. So far, only a brushed aluminum model has been released, but Aving says the company may introduce other colors.

What do you think? Will this PDA-looking phone compete with the RAZR or the Chocolate?