Despite the current issues I’m having with my SIM card and the LG KT610, I’m pressing on to review the rest of the handset, starting with the music capabilities. If you’ll recall, the LG KT610 features stereo speakers and a microSD card slot. Unfortunately, those are the only music-related niceties that are available. The headset port doubles as the USB data/charging port, so you’re going to need to find an LG headset, with their proprietary plug. After 5 years of retail mobile phone sales, I have never seen or heard of an LG-to-3.5mm converter, sadly. I also don’t believe that the LG KT610 has A2DP support for stereo Bluetooth.
I was pleased to be able to use the Nokia Music PC Client to synchronize the LG KT610 and load it up with music, however. I simply connected the KT610 in ‘Media Player’ mode, and away I went. Granted, I’m still limited to USB 1.1-speeds in terms of data transfer, but with the removable memory card, I have the option of being able to load it up quickly.
Another convenient factor when using the Nokia Music PC Client is that I did not need to refresh the music library – this was automatically done for me, offering a rather pleasant experience. Unfortunately, as has been documented before, the Nokia Podcasting application will not install on the LG KT610, though we’re still unsure of who’s at fault there. That was really disappointing for me, as I’m a heavy user.
The music application on the LG KT610 is the same that is on other FP1 devices such as the Nokia E90. It is able to sort tracks by artist, album, track, and genre, and offers a few automatic playlists, in addition to the ability to create your own playlists on the device itself. Unfortuntely, the LG KT610 does not have any shortcut keys to the music player, which I find slightly annoying.
Playback, however, is smooth, and only suffers from a very minimal delay between changing tracks. There is a full equalizer that you’re able to customize, though I was sad to find that it does not have the visualizations I have come to enjoy on my N95-3. The now playing track information shows up on the Active Standby screen, and I was very pleased to find the return of my favorite feature. When highlighted on the main screen, the d-pad left and right can be used to change the volume of of the music.
I was able to succesfully pair the Nokia BH-903 with the LG KT610, and have music playing, but the quality was so poor that I can’t help but believe I was merely connected with a regular Bluetooth headset profile, playing through in dual-mono, rather than true stereo.
The stereo speakers on the LG KT610 flank the internal display, and are used even with the phone is closed. However, with the phone resting in ‘laptop mode’, it becomes a very nice, loud, and clear desktop stereo, and I was quite pleased with it. The internal speakers are plenty loud, and with a clear sound, comparable to that of the Nokia N95-3, though of course not comparing to a real music phone such as the N81 8GB.
Through all this, I would give the LG KT610 a 3 out of 5 stars in the music category. The speakers are nice, and the microSD card slot offers easy expansion. The music application is full of features, and syncs well with both the Nokia Music PC Client and other desktop applications such as Winamp or iTunes using the iTunes Agent. However, the proprietary port and lack of 3.5mm adapter or stereo Bluetooth was very disappointing. While it does a passable job, the LG KT610 is most certainly not the best mobile music solution available.
