SKorea's LG touts Optimus 3D smartphone for gaming (AP)

SEOUL, South Korea – LG Electronics is touting 3-D smartphones as an alternative to dedicated handheld game devices.

The company launched its LG Optimus 3-D phone Thursday in South Korea after beginning a global release last month covering more than 60 markets including Spain and Britain. No special glasses are required to view 3-D content on the phone.

Park Jong-seok, CEO of LG's mobile communications business, said that 3-D smartphones such as the Optimus can hold their own against dedicated handheld gaming platforms.

"The era of dedicated handheld gaming is over," he said in a release.

Success with the 3-D phone would be welcome for the South Korean company, which has been struggling to overcome weakness in mobile phones. LG's mobile communications business has suffered four straight quarterly operating losses.

LG Electronics Co. is the world's third-largest mobile phone manufacturer behind No. 1 Nokia Corp. of Finland and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.

LG unveiled the new device, its first 3-D smartphone, earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Spain and began rolling it out in global markets last month.

LG said the phone comes pre-installed with three full versions of games from Gameloft including "Asphalt 6: Adrenaline."

"You can actually now play exciting 3D games, advanced 3D games directly on your mobile phone," said Alexandre Tan, Gameloft's director of business development, said at a launch event Thursday in Seoul. "Clearly this is the next big thing for both the gaming and the mobile industry."

The LG Optimus 3-D can record and play back 3-D content. LG is not alone in launching such a phone. Taiwan's top smartphone maker HTC Corp. is also out with its EVO 3-D smartphone

LG spokesman Ken Hong said the LG Optimus 3-D phone will be available later this summer in the United States as the LG Thrill 4G.

Samsung has no plans to compete with LG’s Optimus 3D for now

A Samsung Mobile UK exec says that there is no consumer need for a 3D mobile phone and no plans right now for the company to bring one to market in an indirect dig on LG's Optimus 3D.

On the heels of LG’s Mobile World Congress reveal of its upcoming glasses-free Optimus 3D phone is word from leading 3D TV manufacturer Samsung that there are currently no plans to bring a competing product to the market. The wording is actually a little more pointed than that, however.

Samsung Mobile UK head of product management Jim Powell said “We are world leaders in 3D, but we haven’t seen a need for 3D on mobiles as yet for UK customers,” TechRadar reports. In a market where smaller is proving to be a consumer preference, adding a luxury feature like a 3D display doesn’t add up. “There’s a trade off with when it comes to thickness and pocketablity when it comes adding 3D into a mobile phone as well.”

While Powell doesn’t specifically name LG’s Optimus 3D in his comments, as the only mobile product that offers the feature there really isn’t a lot of room for interpretation. Nintendo’s upcoming 3DS handheld gaming device will also offer a portable, glasses-free 3D experience, but one thing it doesn’t have is mobile capabilities.

Despite his indirect indictment, Powell said that the company remains open to following market trends. “We just don’t see [3D] is needed yet – good luck to the innovators though, it will be interesting to see if it works, and if it does you’ll see a response from Samsung quickly.”

LG announces super slim Optimus Black with NOVA display

It may have already tipped its hand, but LG has now just gotten fully official with its latest flagship Android phone, the Optimus Black, which packs a 4-inch NOVA display that promises to be both bright (700 nits) and energy efficient. What’s more, despite being just 9.2mm slim, the phone also packs 1,500mAh battery that promises a full day of use, and you’ll get a 2 megapixel front-facing camera in addition to one round back that will do full 1080p video. Head on past the break for the complete press release.

Developing…

Show full PR text

LG introduces next generation smartphone design and display with LG Optimus Black

New LG Optimus Black Delivers Breakthrough NOVA Display Technology in the World’s Slimmest Smartphone Device

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5, 2011 – LG Electronics (LG) announced today it will unveil a new Android smartphone, LG Optimus Black, at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) from January 6th in Las Vegas. Providing users with a dramatically brighter 4-inch NOVA display in the world’s slimmest 9.2 mm mobile device, LG Optimus Black creates a one-of-a-kind user experience unlike anything before.

Available for the first time in the mobile market, LG Optimus Black’s NOVA display is designed to be the brightest, clearest and most readable among mobile screens with 700 nits of brightness for optimal visibility. LG Optimus Black provides users with an easier and more natural experience when browsing the web, reading emails, or writing documents with higher levels of brightness and pure white tones that deliver true black and white colors for ideal handset viewing. NOVA technology featured on LG Optimus Black also enables users to maintain visibility whether indoors or outdoors under strong sunlight.

In addition to greater luminosity, the NOVA display on LG Optimus Black also radically reduces power consumption by 50 percent during general indoor use compared to a conventional LCD. Similarly, AMOLED consumes twice as much power as NOVA to display a full white screen, the most frequently used color scheme for web browsing. Combined with the 1500 mAh battery of the LG Optimus Black, users will have enough power for their daily needs, even at maximum brightness settings.

Users will never be out of style with the LG Optimus Black’s ultra slim 9.2 mm design. Making a strong visual statement, LG Optimus Black weighs only 109g and offers sleek lines and smooth edges that improve handheld grip. Tapering down to the world’s thinnest smartphone profile of 6.0 mm, LG Optimus Black’s subtle back arch helps to create the illusion of even greater slimness. Unique to the LG Optimus Black, the flush and flawless finish of the front display is achieved by innovatively hiding the Invisible Receiver behind the edges of the phone.

“We are excited to introduce this stylish new Android smartphone and expect the LG Optimus Black to play a key role in the mobile market,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “LG Optimus Black reflects our core strengths of advanced technology, in both display and design, offering the world’s brightest screen and the world’s slimmest design in an attractive and smart package.”

The LG Optimus Black also offers a set of smarter features designed for easy and faster access to important apps and content. Optimus UI 2.0 lets users directly access messages, emails and missed calls from the locked screen with just one single finger tap. The Gesture UI offers more intuitive commands, including lifting, shaking and tapping, for taking calls, entering camera mode, or enjoying music. LG Optimus Black also introduces the world’s first Wi-Fi Direct™ for quick and high-quality data transfer between mobile devices and adopts the world’s first 2MP front-facing camera.

All LG Optimus Black features are available on the Android 2.2 Froyo platform with Android 2.3 Gingerbread upgrade capability. Utilizing the 2MP front-facing camera, LG Optimus Black allows users to utilize video telephony functions of higher quality after upgrading to Android’s Gingerbread.

The LG Optimus Black will be rolled out globally in the first half of 2011.

LG ups Android ante with dual-core Optimus 2x and ultra-thin Black

LG ups Android ante with dual-core Optimus 2x and ultra-thin Black Android fans can finally embrace LG with the introduction of the dual-core Optimus 2x and Black, which measures just 9.2mm thick.

After a history of less-than-jaw-dropping experiments with Android, LG dropped its dabbling and got serious on Wednesday with the official announcement of the Optimus 2x and Black, two superphones specced to give rivals like Samsung’s Galaxy S and Apple’s iPhone 4 a challenge in iPhone.
Although already revealed in December, the Optimus 2x will cinch the title of “world’s first dual-core phone” with its 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 AP20H processor (just don’t tell Nokia, which launched the dual-core N82 in 2007). As just one tidy benefit of that brawn, it will offer full 1080p video playback, essentially turning your phone into a mini HD cinema when paired with an HDMI cable.


Though not as powerful as the 2x, the Black was the real fresh meat of the show, claiming to be the world’s slimmest smartphone at only 9.2mm thick, and weighs only 3.8 ounces. The Black also takes a page from the iPhone by switching to an IPS LCD screen that LG has dubbed Nova. Besides the usual viewing angle benefits, LG claims it offers impressive brightness of 700 nits, up from about 450 on a typical LCD.

What about 4G? LG revealed that it has has developed its own LTE chipset for modems and smartphones on Verizon, but neither new Android device uses it – just keep your eyes peeled on the company for 4G-ready Verizon hardware in the near future.