There’s an arms race going on in displays right now. Samsung and LG are competing with each other to create the biggest, brightest transparent screen possible, complete with touch capability. They look awesome, they perform exactly how you’d want them to, they are full HD, and you will never be allowed to own one.
Why?
Hungry? This Cooky should whet your appetite. The latest 3G release from LG features 3D UI, a T-BMB digital TV tuner and HSPDA, and probably a bunch of other acronyms that we’re missing. The phone packs all this in while remaining just 10.9 mm thick. Connect to the Cyon Game home page and you can purchase games designed specifically for your Cooky, like “Cooking Mama”. I think it’s pretty clear the gal in the photo gives the proverbial two thumbs (and one rather contrived smile) up. [Akihabara News]
The touchscreen revolution has been pretty exciting, hasn’t it? At least for the first day or two that you have one–then it’s just another cell phone. No matter how much one loves the touchscreen, every once in a while it’d be nice to get a little of that stability and feel of the old-fashioned keypad. So the new Verizon LG Versa gives you both–a touchscreen phone with tactile feedback and detachable QWERTY keypad. The phone also features a 3D interface, 2 MP camera, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR , music player with all those nifty support features and Chaperone (additional $10/mo.), a tracking service so that parents can spy on their kids. At least they won’t have to call home every half hour to check in with mom. Better get your wallets out because this one goes on sale March 1–$199.99 with 2-year contract and $50 mail-in rebate. [Mobile Crunch]
LG has unveiled a new netbook at Mobile World Congress. The ultra-portable X120 has a built-in HDSPA model so you can receive 3G data directly to the computer. The computer has a 160GB hard drive, 1.3-megapixel camera, and is expected to be able to last close to 3.5 hours on a single battery charge with the included 3-cell battery. One really cool feature about the computer is that it has a basic mode for internet access and music playback that doesn’t require you to launch Window in order to use it. The computer is expected to hit the streets of Europe in March of this year, with no current mention of the netbook making its way across the pond to North America.
LG has introduced its latest high-end notebook, the Xnote P510. The 15.4-inch notebook has a rubberized keyboard and comes in three different set-ups and price tags. The top end of the bunch is the P510-UP98K, which has a 2.98GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive as well as a 64GB SSD, GeForce GT 130M GPU from NVIDIA and a black-lit screen with 1440×900 resolution. The computer comes loaded with Windows Vista Premium, and weighs in at just over 5lbs. If you want to pick one of these babies up you’ll need to have quite a bit of cash on hand. The computers start at $1860 with the top end running close to $3k. [via Electronista]
LG has announced plans to debut it’s new Arena KM900 smartphone at Mobile World Congress this year. The 3-inch WVGA touchscreen phone will have an interesting looking 3D cube-based layout with four screen you can customize yourself to access the phone features.
Other features of the phone include a 5-megapixel camera with DVD quality video recording (which is rare to find on a mobile phone), WiFi, and A-GPS. Mobile World Congress takes place February 16 through the 19th in Barcelona. Expect to hear more about this phone (and a ton of other pretty impressive handsets) first thing next week. [via CNET]
Nokia and Samsung are still king and queen of the cell phone game, but LG has reason to celebrate after shipping the third-most handsets worldwide in 2008. Sales reached 100 million for LG last year, barely beating Motorola’s 99.9 million sales and 96.6 million sales by Sony Ericsson. Motorola’s slip from the top three isn’t earth-shattering news, seeing how Motorola has undergone several layoffs and was blasted by an analyst for releasing a “half-baked mess” of products last year. As for LG, it’s got a ways to go before catching up to the top two. Nokia and Samsung sold 400 million and 200 million phones, respectively, last year. [DigiTimes via Engadget]
LG has introduced two new DVD players, the DV4S and DV4M, both created to attract fans of digital music. The DV4S has a flat mounted optical drive that is visible through a sliding glass cover, and can play back DivX media as well as upconvert standard DVDs to HD. The device has USB ports for connecting MP3 players and other devices and has hour high-speed, 10-bit video digital-to-analog converters. The DV4M converts MP3 files from audio players like your iPod and allows them to be burned onto a disc. The player has a USB 2.0 port, HDMI connection, and supports DivX, MP3, WMA, and JPEG files. No word on pricing or availability for either device. [via Electronista]
Editor’s Note– here’s the third and final big announcement from LG for today. We’ll keep you posted on the latest and greatest breaking news as it hits CES 2009 in Las Vegas.
The race toward the world’s slimmest TV is clearly underway. One of the latest contenders out of CES is LG’s LHX series which weighs in at a mere .97-inch width. On your mark….
The LHX features a backlit LED screen that is said to offer a sharper, tighter picture than other slimmed down sets that use edge lighting. You’ll get 240 Hz worth of picture sure to accurately mimic real life action. The LHX saves bulk by placing circuitry elsewhere, in a media box that wirelessly streams a 1080p HD signal to the screen. The box also serves to cut out some of the unsightly wiring associated with HD sets. Beautiful, lifelike picture, uber-slim profile, 1080p, 240 Hz, 55 inches—what more can you possibly need? LG also unveiled the LH90, which is filled to the brim with the same LED/240 Hz tech of the LHX, but in a bulkier package sans media box. Pricing/availability information not yet announced. [gizmodo]
