IntoMobile » LG

Leak: LG Miracle, it’s a run of the mill Windows Phone that supposedly has NFC

Stefan Constantinescu — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:01:27 +0000

Thanks to Microsoft’s insistence on controlling the system specifications of smartphones using their Windows Phone operating system, whenever anyone announces a new Windows Phone it’s kind of … well, boring. LG’s Miracle is a perfect example of this. This unannounced device was just leaked by the folks at Pocketnow, who say it has a 4 inch ultra bright LCD that pushes 800 x 480 pixels, has a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon, 512 MB of RAM, 5 megapixel camera, and here’s where things get weird, they say it also has suport for near field communication (NFC) technology. According to rumors we’ve heard in the past about Tango and Apollo, the future versions of Windows Phones, we thought NFC wasn’t going to hit Windows Phone until the end of this year with Windows Phone 8. We’re inclined to believe that the NFC spec was a typo. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened. Back in October we heard about the Nokia Lumia 900, almost three months before it was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show, and people said it too would have NFC. That obviously wasn’t the case.

The bigger question is when will Microsoft let phone vendors use a wider assortment of components to make their devices? We know Windows Phone 8 will let folks like Nokia and LG pick from four different screen resolutions, but forget about the display for a second, what about choice when it comes to picking a system on chip vendor or baseband provider?

Here’s where that Windows 8, the desktop version of Windows, makes things exciting. It’s going to run on ARM chips, namely those from Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, and NVIDIA. Rumor has it that Windows Phone 8 will be based on the same kernel as Windows 8. Does that mean that Windows Phone 8 will support the same chipsets that Windows 8 supports?

Something to think about going forward.

LG’s upcoming Optimus Vu has a 5-inch screen with 4:3 aspect ratio

Dusan Belic — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:14:53 +0000

LG is teasing us with a new, still unannounced device. Called Optimus Vu, it’s an Android smartphone with a huge 5-inch screen. However, there’s something special about that screen – it has a 4:3 aspect ratio which is kinda strange, prompting us to think about compatibility and how many of the existing apps will render on such a device.

Aside from that screen, this bad boy will also comes with a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm APQ8060 SoC, 1GB of RAM, 8GB ROM, NFC, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, while Android 2.3 Gingerbread will run the show out of box. Needless to say, a device as powerful as Optimus Vu will get its Ice Cream Sandwich treatment in time, though we first have to see it officially announced. And yes, we do believe LG will use the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona for that… and (again) we’ll be there to cover the announcement. Stay tuned…

[Via: Engadget]

LG hires Edward Norton and Daria Werbowy to promote LG Prada 3.0

Dusan Belic — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:25:37 +0000

LG and PRADA hired actor Edward Norton and Ukrainian/Canadian model Daria Werbowy as the faces of the global advertising campaign to launch the PRADA phone by LG 3.0.

According to the official press release, both Norton and Werbowy “embody the core values behind the PRADA phone by LG 3.0″ – stylish looks and smart functionality. Moreover, both are stars who have excelled in their fields and represent the “ethos of style and substance;” while Norton is an Academy Award-nominated actor, Werbowy holds the record for opening and closing the most catwalk shows in one season, as well as being one of the top earning models of recent years.

Again, the LG Prada 3.0′s specs include a dual-core 1GHz processor, 4.3-inch touchscreen, HSPA and Wi-Fi connectivity, dual cameras, GPS, Bluetooth and so on. The device is 8.5mm thick, boasting PRADA’s signature Saffiano pattern to the back.

Alongside the phone, users will have access to a full line of PRADA phone accessories such as a PRADA branded cradle, “stylish pouches” and Bluetooth ear set.

TELUS to get the LG Optimus LTE, too

Dusan Belic — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:50:46 +0000

We’ve already spilled the beans on TELUS’ LTE plans, talking about the carrier’s LTE-enabled SIM cards. Moreover, we’ve heard about two devices from their LTE portfolio – Samsung Galaxy Note LTE and Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE. Now we have another phone to add to the mix – LG Optimus LTE.

Unfortunately, we’ve no idea when TELUS will start selling the best mobile device LG has ever made, though we hope that will happen sooner rather than later.

The above image comes from LG Canada’s website, clearly showing TELUS as one of carriers to offer the beast phone. Why is it a beast phone, you may wonder? Well, aside from the fact that it’s as powerful as the Galaxy Nexus, it also has the best 4.5-inch 720p screen. Unfortunately, it still runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread though an Ice Cream Sandwich update will be released shortly.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

Apple climbs past LG to become the world’s #3 phone manufacturer

George Tinari — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:03:21 +0000

IDC, a technology research firm, released statistics today on the data it gathered on mobile phone sales in Q4 2011. According to the numbers, Apple is now the third largest phone manufacturer in the world by shipments, surpassing LG. Apple’s record-breaking iPhone sales last quarter skyrocketed the company into an easy third place, claiming 8.7 percent market share.

Nokia and Samsung still hold their respective positions as the top phone manufacturers by a long shot. Last quarter, Nokia shipped 113.5 million mobile phones and Samsung shipped 97.6 million. After that, shipments drop significantly to Apple’s 37 million. Comparably, that doesn’t seem like a lot, but keep in mind Apple only ships iPhones. That’s it. Samsung and Nokia ship all sorts of smartphones and basic dumbphones. Looking at it from that perspective, it’s quite astonishing.

Coming in after Apple is LG with only 17.7 units shipped and ZTE with 17.1. The grand total of mobile phones shipped in Q4 factoring in all other manufacturers as well? 427.4 million. That’s a year-over-year change of 6.1 percent, which was overall a bit lower than expected.

“The introduction of high-growth products such as the iPhone 4S, which shipped in the fourth quarter, bolstered smartphone growth. Yet overall market growth fell to its lowest point since 3Q09 when the global economic recession was in full bloom,” said senior research analyst at IDC, Kevin Restivo.

[via IDC]

Rogers’ LG Optimus 3D Gingerbread update rolling out as we speak

Dusan Belic — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:32:47 +0000

Even though LG announced Gingerbread update for the Optimus 3D smartphone almost 3 months ago, some carrier-specific models still didn’t get it. For instance, those of you who bought the device from Canada’s Rogers Wireless are still waiting for the official firmware upgrade. Your wait is over with Rogers and LG rolling out the new software as we speak, while all new customers will get the device with Android 2.3.5 preloaded.

So what to expect from the latest firmware? Here are the highlights:

Enhanced HSPA+ network speed – from 14 to 21 Mbps
Improved video playback in 2D and 3D
3D Video Editor with the ability to create new projects
2D to 3D conversion for videos and images
Ability to convert OpenGL games from 2D to 3D
Improved video recording quality
Improved battery life with low-power modes during music playback
Upgraded sound quality with Dolby Mobile Effect
Improved camera loading and switching time from 2.5 seconds to 1 second
Improved 3D depth with 720p camera

So what are you waiting for? Hit “Settings”, “About phone” and update from there. If you don’t see the new software – don’t worry, it will be there in the next couple of days.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

LG’s quarterly handset sales fall, division finally turns a profit

Kelly Hodgkins — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:03:58 +0000

LG announced its quarterly earnings on Wednesday and the results were favorable for its mobile division. After six straight quarterly losses, the handset division posted an operating profit of 12 billion won ($10.7 million). This beats Wall Street estimates which predicted the company would lose 12.9 billion won ($11 million) and is better than the 261 billion won ($232 million) loss it posted in Q4 2010.

LG didn’t give a break down of smartphone versus feature phone sales, but did confirm it sold 17.7 million phones in the quarter. This is less than the 30.6 million it sold in the same quarter last year and is also down from 21.1 million it sold in Q3 2011. Overall, LG’s handset sales fell 18 percent, but that’s not necessarily unwelcome news. This combination of falling sales and rising profits suggests LG is selling more of its higher-priced smartphones. LG introduced the Optimus line with the intention of boosting its smartphone business, and these quarterly results suggest this strategy may be starting to pay off.

[Via LG and Fierce Wireless]

LG A290: Triple the SIM cards for those with triple the mistresses

Stefan Constantinescu — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:44:00 +0000

Most handset makers sell a majority of their devices through operators, so they’ll do anything to maintain that relationship, even if it means not bringing a product that consumers want out to market. We’re talking about multi SIM devices of course, the phones that let people have more than one phone number so they can save themselves some money on calls and texts instead of making operators richer and fatter. Chinese handset vendors were the first to sell dual SIM devices, but Samsung became the first real credible brand to do so. Nokia joined them in the dual SIM device race during the summer of 2010. But let’s say you want more than two numbers? For the most part you’ve been plain shit out of luck and forced to either carry a dual SIM device and a separate phone or worst case scenario three separate devices, but LG thinks they can help out. They’ve just announced the A290 for the Russian market and it’s the first triple SIM device from a top tier handset maker. There have been triple SIM devices in the past, but we never really saw them outside of China and from the images alone you could spot some pretty questionable build quality.

Now the A290 isn’t going to win any awards in the specs department. It has a 2.2 inch screen, 1.3 megapixel camera, and a 1500 mAh battery, but hey, this is a device for the penny pinching talk and text crowd, not the iPhone toting 1%. Will LG make it available outside of Russia? Something tells us that if they do then it sure as hell isn’t coming to Europe or America. Maybe China, but at that point they’re just going to be competing with what the local vendors are producing.

We just have one question: If you can’t afford talking and texting through one SIM card, how can you afford to have three girlfriends? That’s a lot of dates.

Are handset makers delaying launches because of iPhone 4S demand?

George Tinari — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:29:50 +0000

I think it’s safe to say that the iPhone 4S was anything but the disappointment some bloggers and analysts originally expected. There’s endless articles on how much of a success Apple’s latest smartphone has been and demand has been so strong, in fact, rumors are now spouting that other handset manufacturers are pushing their phone launches until at least the Q2 2012.

For their sake, hopefully the iPhone hype will cool down a bit by then. According to a report from DigiTimes, vendors from around the globe including Samsung, HTC, Nokia, and LG have pushed their finest new devices further into the year to avoid being slammed with the iPhone effect — that is, millions of people buying Apple handsets while other phone makers struggle to gain any spotlight and therefore any sales.

These four manufacturers all plan to unveil their new devices for 2012 at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, taking place February 27th to March 1st. Though that is within the first quarter, the companies aren’t expected to start shipping any new devices until later in the year.

I wouldn’t doubt that popular Android and Windows Phone vendors are scared of Apple — they should be. Apple reported it sold 37 million iPhones last quarter and brought in $46 billion in revenue. There’s plenty of reasons to fear a company that sells 37 million of any gadget within three months.

[via DigiTimes]

Canada’s Rogers now offers LG Optimus Pad for free on 2 and 3-year contracts

Dusan Belic — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:13:05 +0000

If LG’s Optimus Pad tablet works for you, and if you also happen to live in Canada – you’ll be happy to know that Rogers Wireless is now offering it for free on 2 and 3-year contracts. Unfortunately, if you want just the tablet, sans any long-term commitments, the price is unchanged – it’s $549.99.

Even though the Optimus Pad was launched a year ago, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad device. Quite the contrary, it has a dual-core processor and its 8.9-inch screen is said to be perfectly-sized by many folks.

Now something tells us Rogers is clearing out the inventory as it prepares to launch the LTE-enabled version, which has been recently unveiled in South Korea. Aside from the 4G LTE radio, it also comes with a faster processor, enabling even smoother experience. Hopefully it will ship with Ice Cream Sandwich preloaded, or at least get the update in a record time. We’ll see…

[Via: MobileSyrup]

Fido’s LG Optimus 2X gets Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread update

Dusan Belic — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:55:23 +0000

While Gingerbread update for the LG Optimus 2X has been around for quite some time now (though not for too long), it’s only now that we’re seeing it hitting the users of Canada’s Fido network. The drill is usual – before pushing the update to its users, mobile operators are thoroughly testing it to make sure everything works properly. So Fido obviously completed its tests for the Optimus 2X firmware and made it ready for download.

Once updated, your LG smartphone will run Android 2.3.4 (up from 2.2), bringing many new features to the mix, including improved text selection and copy/paste, better download management, UI refinements, internet calling and so on.

Of course, before proceeding – make sure your smartphone is fully charged and that you’re connected to a fast Wi-Fi hotspot. Additionally, you may want to backup key data, just in case something (God forbid) goes wrong. Then go to Settings, About phone and update from there. After some 10 minutes – you’ll be running Gingerbread.

[Via: MobileSyrup]