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.

Swann DVR4-2600: monitor four live security cams via smartphone

Swann's new DVR4-2600 video surveillance system sports a 500 GB drive and support for four cameras...and live remote monitoring via smartphone.

Not everyone is in the market for video surveillance systems, but folks who are know that if the video gear proves to be handle, it’s usually after a break-in or other crime has been committed: most systems are merely passive recorders of what the cameras see, and don’t enable owners to keep tabs on things while they’re away. Not so with the new Swann DVR4-2600 video surveillance system: it not only includes support for up to four cameras and comes with a 500 GB hard drive pre-installed, it can offer live remote monitoring from 3G smartphones, including Symbian, Windows Mobile, Android, BlackBerry, and (yes) iOS devices.

“This is a flagship product for Swann in 2011″ said Swann’s VP for global marketing Jeremy Stewart, in a statement. “It brings together video surveillance with phone connectivity and convenience as never before.”

The DVR4-2600 supports viewing and recording by up to four cameras, which record at up to 704 by 480 (NTSC) or 704 by 576 (PAL) and automatically stamp video with the time and date. The 500 GB hard drive should be enough for about 30 days of continuous video, but users can save on hard drive space by using motion detection recording that only records video when the system detects changes in the camera views. Video can be transfered to USB drives for archiving and storage, and the system can be connected to a TV or PC monitor for live viewing: users can set up all four cameras on-screen at once. The system comes with a remote control, and Swann’s PRO-580 cameras sport a 62° viewing angle, infrared LEDs for night vision shooting in dark spaces, and can handle cable lengths up to 60 feet.

However, the breakthrough feature on the DVR4-2600 is smartphone monitoring: users just need to installed the three SwannView app available from Swann directly (or, for iOS users, from the iTunes App Store): once the app is running, users just need to enter their DVR’s IP address, port, and login information, and they’ll be able to view camera feeds in real time.

The DVR4-2600 with four PRO-580 cameras has a suggested price of $449 and will be available in March; a version will also be available without cameras, and folks with more extensive monitoring needs can check out 8- and 16-camera variations.

2010, Nokia Masih Rajai Smartphone

Jika Anda pikir Research In Motion (RIM) atau Apple sebagai produsen ponsel pintar tersukses di tahun 2010, Anda salah. Karena, ternyata Nokia masih menguasai pangsa pasar smartphone secara global.

Menurut riset terbaru Strategy Analytics, di akhir tahun lalu, Nokia masih menguasai 34,2 persen pangsa pasar, dibandingkan RIM hanya sekitar 16,7 persen dan Apple sekitar 16,2 persen.

Dalam periode yang sama, vendor ponsel asal Finlandia itu berhasil mencatat tonggak sejarah baru sebagai produsen pertama yang berhasil memasarkan 100,1 juta unit smartphone secara global. Pencapaian ini dinilai fantastis karena sepanjang tahun 2010, ia berhasil mengapalkan 32,3 juta unit smartphone.

Sementara RIM, di saat yang sama, mampu mengapalkan sekitar 48,8 juta unit BlackBerry, meningkat signifikan ketimbang akhir tahun 2009 sekitar 34,5 juta unit. Begitu pun rival terdekatnya, Apple, dilaporkan telah mengapalkan 47,5 juta unit dari 25,1 juta unit di tahun 2009.

Secara menyeluruh, pengiriman smartphone secara global tumbuh 75 persen dan mencatat rekor baru penjualannya, yakni 94 juta unit per kuartal keempat tahun 2010. RIM masih mantap di posisi dua, sementara Nokia, meski masih menjadi 'raja', performanya terus memburuk.

"Di akhir tahun lalu, Apple lagi-lagi menjadi merk yang pertumbuhannya paling impresif dibandingkan dua merk besar lainnya. Di kuartal empat, Apple bahkan mampu melampaui penjualan RIM, walaupun secara total ia masih sulit untuk menggesernya dari posisi kedua," kata Tom Kang, direktur Strategy Analytics, yang dikutip VIVAnews dari Cellular News, Jumat 28 Januari 2011.

"Sepanjang tahun 2010, penjualan smartphone global mencapai 293 juta unit, naik hampir dua kali lipat dari tahun 2008 yang mencapai 151 juta dan 175 juta di tahun 2009. 3 vendor raksasa, termasuk Nokia, RIM, dan Apple masih mendominasi pasar hingga 2010, yang mana kombinasi pangsa pasar mereka bisa menyentuh 63 persen sendiri di tahun 2010. Ponsel-ponsel Android seperti Samsung, Motorola, HTC, dan Sony Ericsson terus mengancam posisi ketiga vendor raksasa," imbuh Neil Mawston yang juga menjabat sebagai direktur di Strategy Analytics.

AT&T demos U-verse / smartphone integration, ComplemenTV iPad app at CES

Looks like AT&T will be pushing out more than just a dozen Android phones here at CES. During the outfit’s Developer Summit, Peter Hill, VP of ecosystem and innovation, demonstrated how U-verse Mobile Application Development Technology can effectively enable a mobile device to interactively share media, content and apps with the TV. In theory, this could lead to the creation of apps that will enable AT&T customers to control more of the U-verse TV experience with their handsets, and possibly vice-versa. In his words, the tech “can easily connect mobile devices to set-top boxes via WiFi,” and it’ll complement DLNA with authentication. At the Summit, a brief demo saw an iPad app schedule a show and control the U-verse DVR, and a brand new option — dubbed ComplemenTV — took center stage. Essentially, the iPad was able to look at what channel was being viewed and then delivered relevant extra content on the iPad. Sounds more like an advertiser’s dream than anything else, but we’re holding out hope for more enticing uses in the near future. Unfortunately, no dates were given as to when this stuff would be rolled out, but the future’s looking bright, anyway.