LG has a certain knack for coming up with appropriate handset names, and the LG Pop is no exception. From the first time you lay eyes on it, you know it’s something special. Since bursting onto the scene the Pop has done nothing but hog the limelight and tussle with the Cookie for attention. It’s the typical wannabe pop star and do you know what, it might just make it.

The Pop is the younger, trendier sibling in the budget touchscreen family hoping to shove its elder, the Cookie out of the picture. The latest LG diva has a lot going for it, and as with every good pop star it has its very own unique selling point; it’s the smallest 3” touchscreen to date. In show business looks are everything, luckily the Pop has this covered – slick, thin chrome bodywork and minimalist styling. But, just in case it needs an extra leg-up to get in with the Simon Cowell crew, it has its very own secret weapon… solar panels, not only is the LG Pop your larger than life superstar but it cares about the environment too. That’ll get the votes from the green party then! Joking aside, it is a pretty handy tool to have, making you well prepared for those dreaded ‘low battery’ moments.

When the LG tecchies were huddled round their whiteboard throwing around ideas for this phone I can only imagine the words “Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken” were used and liberally, because the similarities between the LG Pop, Cookie and even Renoir are obvious. Crammed inside the tiny and rather sophisticated packaging, (despite being plastic) are a load of those fantastic features, widgets and navigational tools that the Koreans love to flaunt. For starters there’s the 3” WVGA touchscreen – perhaps nothing too out of the ordinary considering every Tom, Dick and Harry can get their hands on a touchscreen nowadays; what is particularly impressive though, is how LG has managed to squeeze this resistive display onto the tiny frame without it looking out of place. Think Mary Poppins’ carpet bag, in reverse.

After taking a minute of alone time to gaze at the front of the handset, you’ll be ready to move in. Unlock the phone and almost immediately you know you’re on the LG express. The Pop sports the usual three home screens, complete with some cool animations and transition effects to make phone-time that little bit more exciting. Livesquare is still alive and kicking, for those who are yet to experience this, you’re in for a treat. Essentially one of your home screens is used specifically for communication logs, but not just any message and missed call icons oh no… this is the central hub for your very own petting zoo. Yep that’s right you can turn your friends into animals who will mope about on screen and let you know about any recent contact. If you’re a little wary about causing offence you can always use the ‘park’ setting where your friends walk about as people, but there’s nothing quite like seeing your best mate bobbing along the screen as a Gorilla to brighten your day!

Navigate your way to the multimedia side of things and there are loads of different features to choose from. The 3megapixel camera’s a treat to use, and image quality is superb. Picture taking can be done with one hand thanks to the Pops size 0 figure. Flicking through images is fast and easy in both portrait and landscape mode and there’s also the same handy image editor that we found on the Cookie and Renoir to touch up any flaws. The music player is no different to a stand alone MP3 device, and follows the same path as the Renoir. Internal memory won’t get you very far at only 50MB but when there’s a 16GB memory card holder, any storage gripes will soon be forgotten. Lack of DivX and XviD support is the only let down, but there’s YouTube integration to ease the pain and a built-in video editor, allowing you to get creative yourself.

The LG Pop may not have reached superstar heights yet, but it’s definitely no one hit wonder. It’s perfectly design for those after the touchscreen experience on a budget, without compromising quality. Move over Cookie, because 2010 is the year of the Pop.