LG comes out swinging with a pair of messaging phones for AT&T and some gorgeous, high-end imports. Check out the LG Xenon and more in our hands-on preview.
LG and Samsung are locked in a heated battle these days, as both seem to be focusing on very similar forms and interface ideas. Both companies released QWERTY messaging phones for AT&T at CTIA 2009 (to check out Samsung's offerings click here), targeting both the low-end and higher-end of the messaging spectrum. Both companies also showed off their flagship import models, and like Samsung's TouchWIZ phones, LG's best also incorporates widgets and a 3D, rotating interface model.
LG Xenon
 Not quite a smartphone, and more focused on messaging than a simpler feature phone, these basic QWERTY sliders have become very popular over the last year. At CTIA 2009, LG released the high-end, touchscreen LG Xenon, as well as the more playful and simpler LG Neon.
The LG Xenon uses a feature-packed interface, a serious departure from the staid interface designs we're seeing on other AT&T messaging phones. Everywhere we looked, there seemed to be a pop-up, drop-down or move-aside menu, with plenty of shortcut options. It may take a while to get used to, but we prefer having too many options to having none at all. The phone also has an interesting contact shortcut screen, where contacts get not only a picture onscreen, but also shortcut tabs to call, send a message or check for incoming mail from that person.
After spending some time with the LG Xenon, we liked the interface and found it to be very responsive, but we didn't have such a great time with the keyboard. The keys were a bit small, and we made plenty of mistakes in simple text messaging. We liked the mix of messaging and shortcut keys on the keyboard, especially the dedicated @ symbol and the .com key, both useful additions to an internet messaging device. But perhaps reorganizing the keyboard would have allowed for wider keys? We're hoping to take a longer look at this one soon. Price: $100 / $150. Release: April 8.
LG Neon
 For folks who don't want all the flashiness and customization options of the interface on the LG Xenon, the company is offering the simpler LG Neon, which uses a standard AT&T multimedia interface. The UI is fairly bland, but the phone itself is cute and stylish, with rounded, bubbly keys and some nice color accents that lend themselves to the Neon nomenclature.
The LG Neon is smaller than the LG Xenon, but we actually preferred the keyboard on the Neon. The keys were still tiny, but separated from each other by a nice gap. Of course, all of this extra space comes at a compromise, and the LG Neon has very few symbols that get their own keys. Even the period requires a FN key press. Price: $30 / $80. Release: Spring 2009.
LG Arena
 In addition to the new AT&T phones, LG also brought a couple European models over for their stateside debut. The LG Arena is LG's new touchscreen flagship phone, and the company is already bragging about receiving a million pre-orders from vendors for this device, which uses LG's new S-Class 3D interface. The S-Class interface was very cool, and very busy. Everything on screen seemed to move or slide or animate in some way. The phone was still plenty responsive, so it was fun flicking through menu screens or shifting around widgets. The widget interface is obviously reminiscent of Samsung's TouchWIZ interface, but LG's Arena doesn't seem to rely as heavily on widgets for the primary user experience. Plus, the high-resolution, 480 by 800 pixel screen gave us plenty of screen real estate to arrange our widgets.
Of course, the LG Arena's most impressive feature is its camera. The 5-megapixel camera can also shoot WVGA widescreen videos, as well as high-speed video at QVGA resolution. So, you can shoot slow motion at 1/4 speed with the Arena's camcorder. Release: Mid-April 2009 (Unlocked).
LG GD900 transparent phone
 Okay, so it's not a completely transparent phone, but the slide-out number pad on the LG GD900 is a transparent touchpad, with white numbers that float in a clear plastic background. The digits light up for a very cool effect, and this is one of the coolest looking phones we've seen in a while. The entire keypad is also a trackpad with multitouch. So, in our hands-on tests, when we were browsing through pictures, we could either swipe them from side to side on the phone's touchscreen, or simply swipe our finger across the number pad, and the picture would follow our action. We could even pinch the keypad to zoom in and out of the image. It's a cool idea that keeps fingers out of the way while viewing images and Web pages.
Otherwise, like the LG Arena, the LG GD900 uses the S-Class interface, and it works just as well on this phone. In fact, with the separate touchpad, the interface was even easier to enjoy. LG has been tight with specifications for this phone, but we're betting it will have a high-megapixel camera and most of the advanced radios and features found on the current flagship, the Arena. We'll know more towards the end of second quarter, when the phone is due to be released.
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