I got a little up close time with Sprint's Fall lineup at the CTIA media event Wed. night, and you can check out the results via video. But if you're old skool and prefer reading to watching, here's a quick rundown of what I thought of the three new "dumbphones" about to grace Sprint's lineup, starting with the LG Lotus and moving on (in a second post) to the Samsung Rant and Highnote
LG Lotus: This is the most interesting device of the lot for me. And not just because I got to wear the custom scarf designed by Project Runway winner Christian Siriano (seriously - you can see me looking foolish in it in the video). Lotus is a square-shaped clamshell phone that looks a lot like a makeup compact and will come in all black and black with a purple front faceplate featuring a flower motif. The device has a big, 2.1" external screen and an even bigger 2.4" internal display, and also features a full QWERTY thumbboard on the inside. Lotus will support just about all of Sprint's multimedia offerings, including Sprint TV, and packs a 2MP camera with video capture mode. The phone also sports Sprint's new One Click UI, which is designed to promote ease-of-use via customizable home screen "tiles" and shortcut menus.
Lotus is chock full of features, and the unique square clamshell design provides ample room for a comfy QWERTY board and big internal display. My question is whether or not consumers will adopt the strange shape of the phone. I actually think the square design has a lot going for it in terms of practicality, and it certainly offers a unique alternative to the standard rectangular look of most cell phones. But people fear change a lot of the time, and I really am curious to see if Lotus can make it hip to be square this Fall.