Mobile

LG KU250 is cheapest 3G phone

Abe Olandres June 4, 2007 · 2 min read

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First heard of this line of 3G phones (LG KU250) a couple months back during a dinner meeting with several Smart executives and MediaQuest President Doy Vea. They mentioned that this LG phone has been chosen by the GSM Association in their “3G for All” campaign. Their February press release indicates at least 12 GSM operators will be introducing this model in their respective networks.

LG KU250

Globe Telecoms was also there with their CEO being quoted saying:

As the first to commercially launch 3G & HSDPA in the Philippines, we at Globe Telecom are most excited with the announcement of the “3G For All” winner in this Congress, as this breakthrough initiative of the GSMA will enable us to improve handset affordability, one of the barriers to 3G service adoption in the Philippines. We believe that there is a huge un-served, mass-market segment in the Philippines which this “3G for All” initiative will address; we look forward to 3G becoming a mass-market proposition within the next years. We commend the GSMA in its efforts to support the industry with a timely and effective market intervention ensuring that the price gap between 2G and 3G handsets is being narrowed by the delivery of this affordable, feature-rich 3G handset.

Inquirer.net also posted the news the other day that Smart made an announcement on the LG unit. The unit will retail for P6,290 (around USD$130) though I think they’ll be much cheaper in Greenhills and street stalls. Before this, there wasn’t any 3G capable phones out there that sells less than Php10 that I know of. On top of the 3G capability, the LG KU250 supports GPRS (but no EDGE), 10MB shared memory and external micro SD card slot, bluetooth and USB as well as a 1.3MP camera.

Second inline from the GSMA recommendation is the Nokia N6151 which has an almost similar features as the LG one but I guess the price was the major deciding factor.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

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426 Comments

IPANG · 19 years ago

LG 25O IS NICE AND AFFORDABLE 3G PHONE… I GOT THE PHONE FROM SMART. HEADSET IS NOT INCLUDED… WHERE CAN I BUY IT?

erwin paul · 19 years ago

ok nabasa ko na lahat ng reviews nyo, convince na talaga ako, bibili na talaga ako…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..ng head set

mrsengineering · 19 years ago

bought a lg ku250, tried the internet but my 500 load was gone after a few slow, unreliable connections. maybe the P10/30 min. internet fee, had gone to 6.50/min normal gprs rate, or i got problems with my setting?

whards · 19 years ago

san kaya to pde ipa OPENLINE??? me alam ba kau na mura pa OPENLINE??ty

nalaoc · 19 years ago

Meron ako nabili na LGKU250 sa tyange dun sa greenhils! sa 2/F. pede nyo pa tawaran. ito nabili ko na lang ng P5,900!. hanapin at pagtyagan nyo magtanong. It’s somewhere there. Sa mga owners na nito. Meron ba ito camera FLASH? kc niresearch q ang features nya at sbi meron daw itong flash? Please w8 ko reply nyo. Kc un sa akin wala.

tonyo cruz · 19 years ago

According to user feedback, the KU250 only has a WAP browser — which the telcos do not tell their subscribers or buyers.

“Yan marahil ang dahilan kung bakit connection failure ang nararanasan ng marami…

But users’ posts on tipidpc revealed that the Opera Mini may be downloaded and used to surf html sites.

Maybe LG, Smart and Globe should make sure that Opera Mini is already installed in the KU250 handsets. Otherwise, they should tell their subscribers to download it themselves.

kenneth_b0sc0tarlc1 · 19 years ago

hay! when i heard about d LGku250 i didnt take much n atenti0n hwever when i search it’s feat. at d inernet i was surprys dat a 3g ph0ne c0st only 6K+ n 8s very cool n i pruv dat as an adict fone master u must check frst d feat. b4 u gve ur own critzion, i wish i cn nw earn my target m0ney s0 that i cn nw buy my ownLGKU250 to replce my lost N6600

forget-me-not · 19 years ago

nkakita nko sa smart wireless center! ang mura nga nya! Php 6,290. and guess what, that phone is the winner for 3GForAll contest in other countries, meaning maganda tlga ang specifications nya. wlang headset na kasama if u buy. it is sold separately.

pag sweldo ko bibili ako. :)

John Paul · 19 years ago

Tang Ina!!!!! When I connect to the internet and use it as a modem, There are so many times that the “PAGE CANNOT DISPLAY” occur.. I don’t know if the problem is on the LG unit or the 3G provider SMART!! They automatically charge P10 in my load even though I can’t search!!!! How bout yours? Is it working properly? or sometimes only?

glen · 19 years ago

can LG KU250 and its accessories be bought directly from LG pasig?

glen · 19 years ago

it’s really cheap, yet I can’t still afford it. hoping this coming seasons that the price will decline up to 50% so I can buy it. really that this phone has it ALL. Sana huwag siyang ma phase-out agad.

Siby · 19 years ago

LG KU250 is sold in ome stores without the device driver. Windows does not recognise this device without the cd. Pl give the driver for downloading.

Cheneil · 19 years ago

walang LG sa malls?

Henry · 19 years ago

walang headset for both Globe and Smart…LG in Pasig is located in Brgy. Maybunga…from Ortigas going to Cainta, after C5, turn right at C. Raymundo…then turn left at a drugstore (South something yung name)…LG is on your left…not available in Greenhills so all Ku250’s are locked on their respective networks…not available sa Sun Cellular…battery lasts 5 days ng normal use…

Cheneil · 19 years ago

by the way, where can we find a headset for this phone? I’ve looked for the headset at SM Megamall Cyberzone..none’s available yet. if you have any idea where please email me naman and i’d really appreciate it. ch****@yahoo.com

thanks!!!

Cheneil · 19 years ago

hey. I already have the LG250. IT’S REALLY REALLY NICE.. :D
no need for too expensive 3G phones. This phone has it all. :)

vern · 19 years ago

Please confirm if the unit from Smart doesn’t include headset as well? I’m planning on buying one this friday. Thanks!

hidariki · 19 years ago

i got my KU250 this monday from Globe and it comes free for a Gplan 800 and up… P 3,xxx cash out for Gplan 500

VGA cam in front and 1.3 mp cam at the rear, great resolutions and lots of settings to choose from…

no headset with the package though sounds are coming out good thru the built-in spkr… no headsets available at SM carpark yet…

bluetooth and USB connections work fine too…

512Mb microSD works best, my friend says, haven’t tried higher mem…

best phone for my money, so far…

technophobe` · 19 years ago

the package does not have a headset. it requires you to buy a separate one. there was a stall in greenhills that solds lg headsets for P250. or you could try buying it at the lg service centers located in pasig and qc (i don’t know where exactly).

i think the unit is just available in smart and globe hubs only for now.

i have tried a 1g card and it worked but when i moved my files the mem card was corrupted. not really sure what caused it as i have yet to have the mem card checked.

yes it does have a hole for straps located at the side near the camera.

anyway, where can i dl games that would launch?

i had downloaded games from globe so many times but the games would not launch :(

xmaslites · 19 years ago

how much is the price at Greenhills? openline?
does it come with headset?

Siopao Master · 19 years ago

damn! can’t find this anywhere in SM City Cyberzone

jp · 19 years ago

How come Globe took the headset out of the package? Is Smart doing the same thing?

I read somewhere that the headset socket is mini-USB, has any KU250 owner been successful in finding headsets in computer shops?

jerjer · 19 years ago

sino po ba nakabili na ng headset nito? kc useless ang mp3 kung walang kasamang headset.

Siopao Master · 19 years ago

how’s the interface of this phone? what is the maximum sms messages you can save? does it have a hole for placing cellphone straps?

pelipeplips · 19 years ago

wow! you can connect the LG phone to your laptop and use it as a modem. :D
Pero na try nyo nang mag download ng mg files using torrent and P2P softwares like limewire, gnutella, etc..?

cellphoneitch.com · 19 years ago

Hi ALL,

This is my first NON-NOKIA Phone.

I bought this phone just this afternoon from a Globe Hub in Galleria w/ 0% Interest for 12 months!!

That’s only P500+ per MONTH!

Aside from the missing headset (2gb SD would be useless w/o it), it’s a very intuitive phone especially I’ve always been a Nokia boy even from the 90’s.

It’s ergonomically slim (unlike 6300 or ultra slim edition which could be a torment when typing long msgs over the keypad)

This is truly featured rich phone for it’s price and SIZE!

Grab your P500 /mo 3G phone TODAY!! :)

http://www.cellphoneitch.com

Jmartin · 19 years ago

Is this available anywhere else aside from Globe and Smart centers? Meron na ba sa greenhills? Openline? How much?

Jan BranE · 19 years ago

Smart is offering the same handset for only p6290.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 19 years ago

Globe has an introductory price of around Php6,500 until end of the month.

fel_vills · 19 years ago

do i know how much is d prize of dis ku250 unit? tnx everyone!!…

jelontok · 19 years ago

“connection failed” pala :D

jelontok · 19 years ago

hello po! bumili ako ng ku250 kahapon , pero ndi ako maka browse… na activate ko na & na download yung settings tapos may 3g icon nman pero lagi na lang “Cannot Connect”… bakit kaya ?

souji · 19 years ago

CDR King’s 1GB Kingstone MicroSD works fine so far. :)

souji · 19 years ago

My sister and I bought this phone today at Globe. It didn’t came with a headset. It has a charger and a USB cable. But no headset. It’s a big frustration since we’re also after the mp3 feature. Been to different telecom shops but we can’t find a headset that fits the socket.

The socket for the headset is the same as their USB cable. The end looks a bit weird. It’s flat like Samsung’s but Samsung’s won’t fit either. It doesn’t work with Vodafone headsets either. We’re looking for a bluetooth headset but nobody can claim that it’s compatible with LG. They haven’t tried it yet.

If you know where to find LG headset accessories, please tell us. [soujirou.okita@gmail[dot]com]

FYI, there are no default games.

For the memory, it has 10mb internal memory. Smart claims that it’s expandable to 2gb and supports FAT system.

Yaj · 19 years ago

It is indeed the cheapest 3G phone as of now. You can surf the net, video streaming, video calls, has MP3 player and memory is also expandable using SD micro. All that with just 6K+ PhP. Check out the net for its full features. It is now available in Smart wireless centers. I also plan to buy one tomorrrow.

tony junio · 19 years ago

just bought lg ku 250 3g phone. please advise appropriate memory card specifications as to capacity, brand, etc. ty

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 19 years ago

Yes, the package will come with the usual accessories like the charger, USB cable and headset.

ALEJAX · 19 years ago

if you go to LG service centers to look for accessories and everything, how much they will charge you? definitely!, it will be expensive!!! that is the problem with this phone…no accessories yet available in the market like sony eric, nokia and moto..

ALEJAX · 19 years ago

the problem with this phone is the accessories. where can you find LG batteries and everything?

LG · 19 years ago

is headset or earphones included in the package????

Youngmaze · 19 years ago

anyone help me can you give me a specific location where to buy that phone. craving to have that phone… thanks in advance

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 19 years ago

@ Zimm – I think LG will have their own software like that of the Nokia PC Suite then you hook it up via the USB cable.

marhgil · 19 years ago

I saw an ad on Philippine Star last Saturday. They say it will be available on Smart Wireless Centers starting June 5. I’m going to check it out today ;)

Zimm · 19 years ago

Abe, when and how can we use 3G phones just like the SIM card-powered HSDPA (Huawei) Globe Vissibility? Zimm

jaydj · 19 years ago

last year i searched for the cheapest 3g phone. Back then it was the Sony Ericsson K608i. which was going for P8,000. Smart was selling it too then but it was a popular package that in a few weeks, it was sold out. I got mine for a slightly higher price in Makati but it’s still below P10K. This is still my main phone which I use for accessing the net via 3g.

I’m glad that there’s now an alternative to low cost 3g units if it’s 3g you’re looking for.

BrianB · 19 years ago

Hi, some iPhone news. You’ll probably get this from gizmodo or engadget first but here they are…

http://www.pmptoday.com/

I mean, iPhone ads and the release date. Now’s probably a good time to discuss, the probable iPhone Philippine carrier. Do you think Smart and Globe are going to engage in a bidding war to the death or maybe to some sort of compromise. Remeber, this is only iPhone 1G. iPhone 2G is probably going to be cheaper.

Steel · 19 years ago

I hope it can handle basic 3G functions such as video call, internet connectivity, and streaming, which should make up for the lack of it’s internal memory.

Wait did you say the mem’s expandable? Yay!

Ade · 19 years ago

I want one.

jun · 19 years ago

This came in a tad late for me. i was choosing Smart 3G, Bayantel or Destiny for my ISP. I wanted a 3G phone with a price range of 5k.

Maybe when my cell conks out. Which may be in two or three years pa.

jhay · 19 years ago

It is cheap. Hope that it will be marketed well because we all know how hooked to Nokia phones Pinoys are. Most of the folks I know haven’t even heard of LG phones yet. ;)

For them, if it’s not a Nokia phone, it’s not a phone.