LG Optimus Pro and Optimus Net go official, €180/€200 respectively

From Italy (again) comes more news on the LG Optimus Pro - namely, it's official - and it brought a friend along, the LG Optimus Net. There are specs for both phones along with prices and launch dates and even demo videos. This info comes from AndroidWorld.it, there doesn’t seem to be an official press release from LG just yet.

The LG Optimus Pro features a 2.8" QVGA touchscreen (as we speculated yesterday) and a four-row portrait QWERTY keyboard. It runs Android 2.3.3 on a Qualcomm MSM7227T chipset (800MHz CPU, 256MB RAM).

The LG Optimus Net on the other hand looks set to take the place of the highly popular Optimus One model. It has a 3.2" HVGA screen and uses an MSM7227T chipset too with 800MHz CPU but double the RAM, 512MB

Anyway, both the LG Optimus Net and the Optimus Pro feature 3MP cameras with VGA@24fps video recording, 3.6Mbps HSDPA, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and microSD card slots. Both use 1500mAh Li-Ion batteries.

The LG Optimus Pro will go for €180 with the release date listed as "2011-07-00", which we suppose is another way of saying "sometime in July". The LG Optimus Net will launch in July too for €200. Both phones come with 2GB microSD cards in the box.

LG Optimus Pro and Optimus Net go official, €180/€200 respectively

From Italy (again) comes more news on the LG Optimus Pro - namely, it's official - and it brought a friend along, the LG Optimus Net. There are specs for both phones along with prices and launch dates and even demo videos. This info comes from AndroidWorld.it, there doesn’t seem to be an official press release from LG just yet.

The LG Optimus Pro features a 2.8" QVGA touchscreen (as we speculated yesterday) and a four-row portrait QWERTY keyboard. It runs Android 2.3.3 on a Qualcomm MSM7227T chipset (800MHz CPU, 256MB RAM).

The LG Optimus Net on the other hand looks set to take the place of the highly popular Optimus One model. It has a 3.2" HVGA screen and uses an MSM7227T chipset too with 800MHz CPU but double the RAM, 512MB

Anyway, both the LG Optimus Net and the Optimus Pro feature 3MP cameras with VGA@24fps video recording, 3.6Mbps HSDPA, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and microSD card slots. Both use 1500mAh Li-Ion batteries.

The LG Optimus Pro will go for €180 with the release date listed as "2011-07-00", which we suppose is another way of saying "sometime in July". The LG Optimus Net will launch in July too for €200. Both phones come with 2GB microSD cards in the box.

LG Optimus White launches officially in the Netherlands

LG Optimus Black launches in white version, but you have to admit you can't call a white phone Black. So LG came up with a new name for the white model - LG Optimus White Edition and it is already available in the Netherlands.

The LG Optimus White edition is virtually the same as its Optimus Black sibling save for the panel colors. If you live in the Netherlands, you can get it for free with a contract on carrier Sizz right now.

It's nice to see that LG has put some thought on the name before launching the white version. But should we now expect Optimus Silver, Optimus Pink, etc? Let's hope LG limits to those two names instead of launching a whole lineup of similar devices with different names.

LG quietly bumps the Optimus 3D 1080p video recording to 30fps

So here's (a part of) the explanation why the Optimus 3D launch was delayed a bit. Apparently the company engineers have been doing some last-minute improvements to the 3D-loving smartphone camera.

One of our readers in the UK contacted us, saying that his newly purchased LG Optimus 3D actually records 1080p videos at 30 fps, rather than the previously announced 24 fps. He also supplied us with the raw video footage to analyze it ourselves and the footage was genuine 30 frames, no duplicates whatsoever.

Since our preview test unit was also only capable of recording 24 fps videos, the upgrade must have been finalized in some of the past few weeks.

What we find rather strange is the fact that LG missed the opportunity to brag about their achievement. It's not usual for large companies like that to introduce updates, without making some noise about it.

Maybe the Koreans plan on releasing some other update for the Optimus 3D camera department and will announce them both at the same time. That 1080p footage could use a little higher bitrate so maybe that is what they are cooking. Here’s hoping.

LG Optimus 3D officially delayed in the UK

The UK's branch of LG has announced the Optimus 3D will be delayed at least until the end of June. Meanwhile various retailers have rescheduled their expected release dates for mid-July.

It was just yesterday we informed you about the expected release date in the UK for the Optimus 3D - 20 June. Unfortunately shortly after that, LG UK announced via its Twitter account the 3D smartphone's shipments will be delayed at least until the end of June. This means various retailers and carriers will get it as early as the beginning of July.

Meanwhile Clove UK (previously pointing at June) has changed the release date to 11 July, while Amazon's new UK date is 13 July.

C'mon, LG, bring that gadget already! By the time it is released, that Android Froyo inside will be no good anymore.

We already secured a pre-release Optimus 3D and we're hard at work on a preview. We'll keep you posted.

LG Optimus 3D to hit the UK on 20 June, costs an arm and two legs

Amazon UK has updated its LG Optimus 3D listing with new info and pricing. Firstly and most importantly, LG's most exotic flagship is coming on 20 June. Amazon accept pre-orders at £600, but there are better pre-order deals out there.

This is not our first news about the LG Optimus 3D pre-orders. A few weeks ago we informed you that BuyMobilePhones and Clove UK have started taking pre-orders too. The latter offers it for £455 (incl. VAT), which is quite cheaper than the Amazon's pre-order. You should take into consideration however that Amazon definitely do some research before you jump on the Add to basket button. Also make note that it's not Amazon that sells it directly, but one of their registered resellers - KingOfGadgets.

Anyway one thing is important now - the LG Optimus 3D is coming on 20 June in the UK (if Amazon UK is to be trusted). This fits with the T-Mobile UK June window, while Three has listed it for July release.

We already secured a pre-release Optimus 3D and we're hard at work on a preview. We'll keep you posted.

LG Optimus 3D coming to UK in early June, on pre-order now

In about a couple of weeks time, the LG Optimus 3D will add another dimension to Androids in the UK. It’s available on pre-order on contract with most major carriers and you can sign-up for a SIM-free unit too.

BuyMobilePhones has listed the LG Optimus 3D on their site for pre-order, giving you a choice between T-Mobile UK, Orange, O2 or Vodafone. The cheapest price comes from T-Mobile – the phone is free with a £25.54/month 2-year contract.

Vodafone has it for £30/month for 18 months and Orange for £30/mo again but for 24 months (phone is free). O2’s 2-year contracts start at £32. There’s no info when the Optimus 3D will be available on any of these carriers.

Clove UK is taking pre-orders for the Optimus 3D too – they have it SIM-free for £455 (including VAT), which sounds like a decent bargain to us. They expect the first units to arrive 6 June.

Aside from the 4.3” glasses-free 3D screen and the stereoscopic 3D Full HD video capture (from the 5MP dual-lens camera), the Optimus 3D also boasts a 3D-augmented reality browser and has partnered with YouTube for 3D video sharing. The only bad bit is that it will be running Froyo at launch, but we're hoping LG will fix that quickly.

T-Mobile 2011 roadmap leaked: plenty of droids incoming

Here’s a huge spoiler for T-Mobile USA’s plans for this year – a month by month account of what phones the carrier will be releasing. They range from low-enders to really juicy ones like the myTouch 4G Slide, Bold Touch and, of course, the Hercules.

Starting off with next month’s plans, there’s the HTC Sensation 4G that is still slated to launch on 8 June. Also on that day, the Samsung T589 Gravity Touch 2 and T759 Exhibit 4G.

HTC Sensation 4G • Samsung T759 Exhibit 4G

On 15 June comes the Samsung T499 Tass (a codename), which is said to be a version of the Galaxy Mini, with hints that it’s the Galaxy Suit. One more Samsung, the T379 Triumph, will launch on 29 June dubbed the Gravity 4 (the Gravity line is for feature phones with slide out QWERTY keyboards).

Samsung Galaxy Suit S5670

In the month of July, T-Mobile is expected to launch the myTouch 4G Slide on the 6th. On the 15th, the HTC Marvel will have its day – it’s supposedly a Wildfire S variant with a faster, 800MHz CPU.

Near the end of the month, on the 27th, T-Mobile should welcome the BlackBerry Touch 9860 (formerly Monza) and sell it for $200 on contract.

BlackBerry Touch 9860

August holds two more BlackBerries – the Bold Touch and the new Curve (which was codenamed Apollo). August will also bring the Huawei S7 Android tablet to T-Mobile.

We’ve already mentioned the jaw-dropping Samsung Hercules – it’s reportedly scheduled for a 26 September launch, quite a wait after the acceptance procedures scheduled for August.

BlackBerry Curve (Apollo) • Samsung Hercules

A bit earlier – on the 14th, to be precise – the LG Flip II will enter T-Mobile’s stores. We don’t know what the “II” is for, it’s the first T-Mobile phone called “Flip”. Anyway, on the 21st there will be the launch of the Nuron 4G (codename Panda). It sounds like a Nokia C5-03 variant with Symbian Anna, slightly faster 14.4Mbps HSDPA speed and a fair price of $150.

Plans for further into the future become a little murky. There are two LGs slated for 2 November – Maxx and Maxx Q (like Maxx but with QWERTY). We wonder if it’s the Korean LG Maxx.

The Korean LG Maxx

A Huawei U2805 is also in the works, though it will probably be sold under T-Mobile’s brand. Then there’s a Samsung duo – Jamong (a cheap 3G-enabled clamshell) and Dumont (a real mystery this one).

Then there’s the LG Optimus II – maybe an Optimus T (a rebranded Optimus One) sequel instead of a G2x sequel (that’s T-Mo’s Optimus 2X).

At the end of the list are the HTC G-Infinity (sounds like the G1, G2, G2x line up is getting a new model but with specs turned up to infinity) and the HTC Bresson (which we now know to be a WP7.5 imaging mastermind).

LG to update Optimus 2X this May, fix bugs and stuff

In a Facebook status update LG announced their plans to issue a software update for the Optimus 2X. The device has been on the market for couple of months now, but there's still some time before its Gingerbread update arrives.

According to developers, the Optimus 2X felt kind of rushed, as some of the code wasn't as optimized as it could've been and some occasional reboots occurred. Well, it looks as if LG has listened to the users complaints and the upcoming software update is going to address them.

Some of the fixes include reinforced video formatting, resulting in a better functioning video/music player and prevention of freezes and reboots. The update should be out by the end of May.

HTC Flyer on sale across Europe, LG Optimus Pad hits UK

HTC's 3G and Wi-Fi enabled Flyer tablet is out today in retail stores in 14 European countries and online in another 16. Meanwhile, the LG Optimus Pad hits UK retailers at £750 SIM-free.

It seems Friday the 13th is no worse a day than any to launch a tablet. Two of them. Both the Optimus Pad and the Flyer are Android powered tablets. HTC have only launched the 3G+Wi-Fi version of the Flyer, the Wi-Fi-only variety still on pre-order.

The 7" Flyer is out in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania, available both in stores and at HTC.com for €650 or £600. In addition, users in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Malta, UAE and Turkey can buy it online at HTC.com.

The Wi-Fi only Flyer is €50 cheaper (£30), but is still on pre-order only. There is no official word on the release date.

As a reminder, the HTC Flyer is powered by a 1.5GHz processor and packs a 7" LCD display at 1024x600 pixels. There's 1GB of RAM and 32GB worth of storage for the 3G version - that's 16GB for the Wi-Fi-only model. There's a 5 megapixel camera with 720p video recording, a 1.3 megapixel video-call camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, HSPA (data only, no calls) and a microSD card slot. The HTC Flyer runs Android v2.4 Gingerbread with the latest HTC Sense 3.0 on top of it.

In related news, LG Optimus Pad is also available at the Carphone Warehouse starting today. It costs £750 SIM-free. It's quite a hefty price tag but you get a 8.9" display (1280x768), Tegra2 chipset with 1GHz dual-core processor, a 5 megapixel 3D camera, 1080p(2D)/720p(3D) video, as well as 3.5G data speeds and 32GB of built-in storage. There is an HDMI port too.

The LG Optimus Pad runs Android 3.0 Honeycomb that looks unskinned.

LG Optimus Black goes on sale in UK, hits T-Mobile first

LG has already issued a press release that Optimus Black is going to hit the shelves in Europe any moment now. Well, it seems the time has come since the Optimus Black is already available in T-Mobile UK.

T-Mobile UK is offering the LG Optimus Black for free on a two-year contract with £25.5 tariff. Currently the Optimus Black is available only in, well black, but LG promises to bring white and pink versions soon.

Since the Optimus Black is already available (in T-Mobile UK), we are expecting to see it all across Europe in a couple of days. Meanwhile you are we welcome to check our in-depth review and see if Optimus Black is your type of smartphone.

LG Optimus 3D gets a 3D augmented reality browser

Today LG announced that their Optimus 3D Android smartphone will come with an exclusive augmented reality browser. The Korean company has collaborated with Wikitude to create an app that allows reportedly unprecedented interaction and engagement with your current environment. Yeah, right!

You see, while regular augmented reality apps like Layar running on regular smartphones only display overlapped objects, the stereoscopic screen of the LG Optimus 3D will actually show places of interest, landmarks and objects in 3D adding some depth to the whole experience. If you think about it, this is probably one of the coolest applications of that screen. But we bet, much like with other augmented reality apps, its coolness factor won't last more than five minutes.

The information database of Wikitude 3D (that’s the name of the new app, Wikitude 2D has been around for some time) covers over 100 million locations around the world. The new 3D reality browser will supports 12 languages and more should be added in the near future.

As far as augmented reality apps go, you can't beat a 3D screen, that's for sure. Users will be able to download Wikiture 3D from the LG World appstore in June. The good news is that it’s going to be free. Useful? Well, we doubt it.

LG Optimus Black to launch in Europe any moment now

LG has announced the Optimus Black, the company's latest addition to their Android line-up, will get its European release later in May. This will also be the premiere of the LG's latest invention - the NOVA mobile display.

We already knew that from the LG's Product Manager for the Optimus Black. He confirmed the smartphone will hit UK shelves this week. Well, we are not sure if this will actually happen, but LG has finally released an official statement - the Optimus Black is about to spread its magic across Europe later this month.

There is no information on the pricing yet, but we guess it should be about €320 or so - that's how much it retails for in the Philippines. Initially LG will release only a black version of the Optimus Black (not that we expected otherwise), while it will introduce white and pink models next month.

We already have an Optimus Black unit in our office and we are working on its review. Meanwhile you are welcome to check our display shootout featuring the NOVA display, the UI and gestures demo video or the exceptional limited edition box we got.

LG Optimus 2X scores a Guinness record as the first dual-core phone

LG Optimus 2X indeed is the world’s first dual-core smartphone (both announced and released). This achievement was acknowledged by the Guinness World Records – the Optimus 2X is the first dual-core phone available to the public.

The Optimus 2X phones (international and the Korea-only ones) were announced in December 2010. The Optimus 2X SU660 was released in Korea on 25 January this year so it’s the one that won LG the record.

It’s always a great honor to make it to the Guinness World Records especially with something that important. We give LG credit for that. But we have to admit the phone was rushed a bit and was released with Android 2.2 Froyo.

Surely the early adopters found it awesome, but when the other dual-cores hit the market (running on Gingerbread), the Optimus 2X started looking somewhat unfinished and incomplete. Various bugs, and excessive battery drainage and the lack of Android 2.3 Gingerbread are somewhat of deal breakers.

The Gingerbread update for Optimus 2X is expected this summer, but until then many customers will surely own a phone by the competition. We guess that’s the price you pay of being first.

LG Optimus Black gets a price tag of 319 euro

The LG Optimus Black starts to finally roll out to stores around the world. Following yesterday's news that the phone will hit UK in the upcoming week, the Optimus Black has made it to the Philippines.

The price of the LG Optimus Black there is 19,990 Philippine Pesos, or around €319 / $464, which is pretty decent for the 4-inch-screen smartphone. Let's hope the phone will keep this pricing in Europe and specifically the UK, where it's expected to launch next week.

The LG Optimus Black packs a TI OMAP 3630 1GHz single-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 5MP camera capable of shooting 720p HD video and the 4-inch NOVA display. Speaking of which, you should definitely check the display shootout we did recently.

Also, as the review is in the works, in our blog we posted user interface and Gestures demo videos of the LG Optimus Black. Don't forget to check them out as well.

LG Optimus Black will hit the shelves in the UK next week

The LG Optimus Black should be released in the UK next week. There's still no information on pricing or vendors or a specific date.

Reportedly, this was confirmed by LG's Product Manager for the Optimus Black. Still, we advise you to take it with a pinch of salt until it's a hundred percent official.

According to the source, Pocket-lint.com, the Android smartphone will hit UK stores by the end of next week. It's a bit unorthodox for such a phone to pop-up out of nowhere without as much as a weeks notice by an operator or dealer. In most cases we'd see a "coming soon" sign somewhere or at least a tweet or something.

But it could be the real deal and if you live in the UK and you are interested in the LG Optimus Black, keep your fingers crossed.

The LG Optimus Black comes with Android 2.2, a 5 MP auto focus camera, great connectivity suite and, most importantly, a 4-inch 16M color NOVA screen with the highest brightness in all mobile-ville.

LG will present prototypes of MeeGo phone and tablet in May

MeeGo devices are inching closer to reality – LG will be showing off prototype devices, both phones and tablets, during the MeeGo conference in San Francisco scheduled for the end of next month.

LG have signed up for the MeeGo conference and the schedule puts their presentation in the morning of 25 May. They will discuss their contributions to the open-source MeeGo project and the experience they had porting MeeGo 1.2 to multiple gadgets.

More exciting for us geeks are the plans to demo prototypes of a phone, tablet and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system, all running the MeeGo OS. We wonder if LG will resurrect the LG GW990.

The event schedule text up there has been updated slightly, but you can trust us when we say that before the edit, it specifically mentioned showing off smartphones, tablets and IVI systems. There’s still a note that the text will be updated, so maybe LG will add more info there later on.

The session will be live-streamed so you can watch it from home – it starts 9:00 PST (6pm UK time), so MeeGo fans mark your calendars.

LG releases Q1 results for 2011: Selling more, making less

LG have published their quarterly results for the first part of 2011 and although they have beaten their own volume of sales from the same time last year, they've made less of a profit and continue to struggle coming off the back end of 2010. LG quote unit sales at around US $12.6 billion.

The drop is primarily due to cost cutting and cheaper unit prices, LG have published their biggest losses within the Home Entertainment sector (with sales dropping by 4.8% since Q1 2010). Mobile Communications and more specifically Handsets have been under achieving too, with an 8.3% drop in MoComs and a 9.2% drop on handsets in particular compared to Q1 of 2010.

With regards to their Mobile Communications sector, LG have shipped 24.5M units (10% less than that Q1 of 2010) but have made stronger sales on their premium devices such as the LG Optimus 2X, their intended focus in Q4's report last year. To make back some ground they intend to further this by pushing some new models for Q2; namely the Optimus Black, the Big (aka the LG LU6800), the 3D and the LTE Revolution. We've already seen the Big pop up in LG's homeland and there are no plans to release it elsewhere.

In the last quarter alone it seems that Europe accounts for the biggest shift having fallen out of favour with LG handsets causing the company a 4% drop in shipping to that specific market. They have made ground back in places like Africa and North America, but not enough to allow them to 'breathe easy'.

The full state of affairs is available via LG here (PDF) and with their leading competitors already unleashing their newest flagship handsets (à la the Galaxy S II), LG are very much aware they will have to try hard to make up for lost ground.

LG Eve GW620 QWERTY Android phone with 5 MP Camera

LG’s latest Android offering in India- the GW620, also known as LG Eve, LG InTouch Max GW620 or LG LinkMe has quite a few cool features worth checking out. To start with, it sports a stylish user interface (UI) with 3-inch TFT screen, QVGA display and a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels (256K colours).

Eve’s stylish QWERTY keypad looks great and feels even better. This sliding phone features Accelerometer sensor, providing UI auto-rotate. This phone is powered by Android 1.5 (Cupcake). We would have preferred a newer version, but one can’t really complain since there are very few Android alternatives at this price point. Some of the Android applications supported by GW620 include SNS Manager (Facebook, Bebo and Twitter), Moxier Mails, Quick Office, Google apps (Mail, Maps, Talk and Search) and YouTube.

GW620 is equipped with a 5MP camera and does not disappoint as far as image quality is concerned. Apart from being a mid range touchscreen phone, it also supports face detection, geo-tagging and GPS navigation. Multimedia in Eve is strictly standard fare.

LG Eve is a great handset for accessing the Internet with 3G and Wi-Fi services. This sparkling phone assimilates GPRS, EDGE, WLAN, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP and v2.0 micro USB for a decent connectivity. Its powerful 1500 mAh Li-Po battery provides a prolonged talk time of 7h 40 and standby time of 500 hours. The other key aspect of LG’s latest product is its memory: 166 MB internal memory that can be extended up to 32GB.

LG GW620 is now available in India and is priced at Rs. 18,990. In the price range of 15 to 20K, It is sure to give some fight to HTC Tattoo and Samsung i7500.

LG Optimus GT540: 3 inch Screen Android 1.6 device, Is it Worth Buying?

Last few of my articles have been related to budget Android phones (Spice Mi-300, Samsung Galaxy 5 &3). LG once again got involved in the rat race by announcing its second Android based handset -LG Optimus GT540. The phone however has a lot of similarity with LG`s first Android device GW620. Well, everything might be good about handset but its Android version is just 1.6 (Donut).

LG promised that it will bring an update for GW620 but so far we haven’t seen any. Here every other manufacturer is keen on updating the version to 2.1 and 2.2 but LG seems unaffected till now. The 3 inch display of the phone has only a resistive touchscreen to play with. I think that they should look at its competitors like HTC and Samsung and try going for Capacitive screens; just launching an Android device won`t attract the customers.

Some key features of the phone includes 3.15 MP camera, 3G with HSDPA (7.2 Mbps), 3.5 mm audio jack, WiFi, Multi-format audio/video player, A-GPS, Bluetooth etc. In addition the phone has GPRS/ EDGE connectivity, various social networking clients like Facebook, Twitter etc. Its 1500 mAh Li-Ion battery claims to provide up to 15 hours of talk time and around 750 hours of standby time, if fully charged.

LG Optimus GT540 Price and Availability in India

LG Optimus GT540 price will be somewhere near Rs 12,000 mark and will be available very soon in all major mobile outlets across India.

My Verdict

Overall, I am not satisfied with LG Optimus( Official Site ). Though it has decent offerings in the name of 3G, WiFi, 3MP camera, but I would give priority to screen and Android version. I would rather call Galaxy Twins (5 &3) as my favorites when it comes to affordable android handsets.