I’ve just received a BL40 Chocolate to play with – this is the latest in LG’s “Black Label” series of fashion phones. I’ll be making some notes on usability over the next few weeks, but here’s some unboxing photos and first impressions. (click on a photo for the larger version)

Sliding the outside cover away reveals an inner box with a magnetic closing flap – nice touch!

The phone in its protective foam packing. The first thing you notice is the odd dimensions, it seems much longer than a normal phone due to the 4” wide screen.

The second thing I noticed was the inclusion of a standard MicroUSB plug for charging – this will soon become ubiquitous as the big manufacturers have all agreed to adopt this style of adapter next year but it’s nice to see companies getting in early.

It’s a small point but one worth mentioning – a standard 3.5mm headphone jack makes it a usable multimedia device without any additional cable hassle (HTC are you listening?)

Physically the gloss black finish gives the BL40 a high quality look. Flipping the phone into landscape mode automatically changes the on-screen keyboard from a phone keypad style to a QWERTY layout.

That’s it for now – I did say it was a first look! A more detailed review will follow when I’ve had more time with it, but I’ll leave you with the headline specifications:

• 345*800 pixel display (WVGA resolution, multi-touch)
• Wifi (b/g)
• Bluetooth
• 3G, Quad band GSM, HSDPA 7.2mbps, GPRS, EDGE
• 5MP camera, LED flash
• 1.1GB internal memory, MicroSDHC expansion
• A-GPS
• FM Radio
• DivX video playback