Hasta La Gadget!

So – you’ve been keeping an eye on the LG Optimus G Pro ever since it was first announced back in early February and continued to follow it after we published our hands-on and official review of the device. Hearing today’s news the Optimus G Pro will be landing exclusively on AT&T on May 10 has probably got you to the point where you can already taste the goodness, but just what will the U.S. version of this device have which the International version doesn’t? (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung Galaxy S4 Review, Sherpa Personal Assistant App for Android,

Earlier today, AT&T made the Optimus G Pro official as an exclusive on its network, giving subs an alternative to that other 5.5-inch handset, the Galaxy Note II. To LG and AT&T’s credit, the G Pro’s remained mostly unchanged in its transition to the US market, retaining the same 1080p HD IPS display, 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB RAM, 2.1-megapixel / 13-megapixel rear camera setup and 3,140mAh battery of the Korean-only model. The only major changes to the handset’s internals are in its LTE bands, made to now run on AT&T’s network, and inbuilt wireless charging. Oh and it still doesn’t feature a stylus, but you’ll hardly miss it.

Fans of the glossy white G Pro we reviewed back in March will be disappointed to know that the AT&T variant will only ship in black — at the carrier’s specific request. That restrictive color choice and the carrier’s familiar globe on back thankfully appear to be the only two intrusions AT&T’s made to the G Pro. It still evokes a sense of solid craftsmanship, despite the overall use of plastics. And, given that it’s just slightly more compact width-wise than the GNote II, the G Pro actually feels better in the hand and doesn’t confer a sense of instability or slipperiness so often encountered with Samsung’s same-sized smartphone.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Google, AT&T, LG

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LG’s Optimus G successor, the G Pro, is coming to AT&T on May 10 with pre-orders beginning May 3, the companies revealed in a press release today. LG’s Optimus G Pro offers a 1.7GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, a 5.5-inch 1920×1080 display with a pixel density of 400ppi, and a 13 megapixel rear-facing camera. The G Pro will be available on a two-year agreement for $199.99, and packs AT&T 4G LTE cellular connectivity.

Chris checked out the G Pro back in February at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and came away with a decidedly positive overall impression. The phone’s high points seem to be its camera and light and slim design, as well as a built-in IR blaster that means it can operate as a universal remote for you TV and other home electronics.

The phone’s arrival was hardly a surprise, having been leaked earlier by Android Central, which pegged the exact date. Then LG announced an event for today, May 1, and went on to confirm that this would indeed be about the Optimus G Pro late in April.

For LG, it’s a phone that follows the Optimus G, a flagship device that has done fairly well so far, hitting the 1 million sales mark back in January of this year, after a release in September 2012. The G also provided the basic groundwork for Google’s Nexus 4 Android reference device, which reached 1 million in handset sales in February, according to an estimate based on serial numbers calculated by Nexus 4 owners.

The G Pro will be going up against the extremely well-reviewed HTC One, and the Android juggernaut, Samsung’s Galaxy S4, so it’s got a lot to compete with. But for fans of the last two major LG-made devices, this looks to be decently attractive upgrade.

We’ve already seen this one leaked and detailed — and reviewed the non-AT&T variant ourselves — but the carrier’s now finally gotten official with its latest high-end smartphone: the LG Optimus G Pro. If this is the first you’re seeing of it, though, you’re looking at a phone with a 5.5-inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS display (which translates to 400ppi), along with a 13-megapixel camera (2.1 megapixel front-facing), LTE connectivity, a 3,140 mAh battery, 32GB of storage and Android 4.1.2 with some of LG’s customizations. As we noted in our review, that puts it up squarely against the Samsung Galaxy Note II, although LG’s decided to forego the stylus here. Look for this one to be available (exclusively on AT&T, incidentally) starting May 10th for $199.99 on the usual two-year contract.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, AT&T, LG

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So, you think that your spanking new flat screen TV in the living room is the bee’s knees, making you the talk of the neighborhood? Sorry to say, bub, but having the largest display in the vicinity is not going to cut the mustard any more these days. LG might have stumbled upon something new to the market that could very well kick off a revolution where TVs are concerned, with the announcement that their 55-inch (54.6-inch diagonal) Curved OLED TV (also known as Model 55EA9800) has gone for sale in its home country, South Korea, and deliveries are tipped to begin from next month onwards. This bit of news does make you want to make a move over to the country that gave us keen competitors to normally reliable Toyota vehicles, and of course, Gangnam Style.

From next month onwards, over 1,400 LG retail stores in South Korea will start to take orders and deliver them to the masses. These premium TVs have been slapped with a KRW 15 million price tag – and when converted, it would amount to the region of $13,500 thereabouts. You can already see the kind of second hand car that you can drive in exchange for such money, no? Having said that, LG’s Curved OLED TV’s availability announcement would give LG the distinction of being the first and only company to commercialize both the flat screen OLED TV as well as the Curved OLED TV, which ought to provide LG with a significant lead in this market segment.

The new LG EA9800 model would sport the industry’s very first curved screen ergonomic design, where it offers an “IMAX-like” viewing experience right smack in the comfort of your own home. Thanks to over five years of research when it comes to developing the optimum curvature, the entire screen surface is equidistant from the viewer’s eyes, which does away with the issue of screen-edge visual distortion and loss of detail. Anyone interested in this? You might want to start saving up from now on.

Press Release
[ LG Curved OLED TV up for sale copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]