Hasta La Gadget!

LG’s set aside quite a big chunk of change — 21 trillion won (about $18 billion) — for investments next year, almost 12 percent higher than its 2010 allowance. And a good chunk of that, 14.2 trillion won, is going to electronics: smartphones, tablets, advanced TVs and components for 3DTVs, according to the Wall Street Journal. (The rest, if you’re curious, is going into medical products, electric vehicle batteries, and an assortment of other businesses.) True, LG’s position in the smartphone market isn’t quite what it wanted — its now-former CEO Nam Yong claimed responsibility and retired in September — but we’d be lying if we said we haven’t been smitten with its Optimus lineup of Android handsets lately, and already we’ve seen some impressive future devices. Now, those tablet investments… figure out an OS yet? Can we make suggestions?

LG commits to major smartphone, tablet, and smart TV investments for New Year’s resolution originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We were expecting to see a slew of new Google TV-powered displays and boxes at CES in a couple of weeks, but now The New York Times is reporting the list of new product partners at the show may be much shorter than expected. The cause is reported to be Google’s last minute decision to ask for more time to work on its software first, resulting in no new hardware from LG, Sharp and Toshiba at the show, leaving only Samsung and VIZIO to show off their products. The always popular unnamed sources now peg timing for the next full fledged assault of Google TV hardware as after the company completes updates including the addition of the Android Market some time next year. Of course, Chrome OS and Honeycomb already provide plenty of examples of a disconnect between the good folks at Mountain View and their hardware partners, but with some already casting doubt on the platform’s potential, and the company’s ability to work out licensing deals with Hollywood, it’d be good to see more than last week’s partial facelift as a sign of what is to come.

NYT: Next batch of Google TV devices delayed, pending software updates originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re still coming down from that rush of adrenaline that accompanied the launch of the dual-core Optimus 2X last night, but we’ve had a hunch lately that LG is planning on taking Android very seriously in 2011 — seriously enough to have something even sexier than the 2X up its sleeve. Looks like that sexiness could be delivered in the form of a device codenamed “B,” shots of which have been delivered to Phandroid in a direct comparison with the iPhone 4 and the Galaxy S — two handsets we’re sure LG would love to embarrass. As you can see up there, the screen’s looking pretty insane, especially when you consider that those other two phones in the picture have arguably the best displays in the mobile business right now; it’s claimed to offer 700 nits of brightness, a 40 percent improvement over the Galaxy S. Oh, and if that doesn’t impress you, Phandroid‘s tipster has also sent in a shot of the edge that appears to make the 9.3mm iPhone 4 look downright chubby. No word on a release date for the B just yet.

LG ‘B’ Android phone caught in the wild, looking thin and ready to spank Super AMOLED originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That’s right, it’s official. Needless to say, that LG Star we recently got our paws on is very real, though it won’t go by that name at retail — just as LG’s own release materials had suggested, this monster has picked up the Optimus 2X name as it morphs from a prototype into brutally fast, overpowered reality. At the phone’s heart beats a dual-core Tegra 2 processor running at 1GHz, the first such configuration to be officially announced by any smartphone manufacturer (though we’re expecting others any day now). In case you’re wondering how such power might be used, well, for starters, you’ve got both full 1080p TV-out via HDMI and video capture through an 8 megapixel primary camera paired with a 1.3 megapixel cam up front for face-to-face calling.

A 4-inch WVGA display is along for the ride along with 8GB of on-board storage (expandable with up to 32GB of microSD) and a 1,500mAh battery — no larger than most single-core smartphones these days, so it’ll be interesting to see if the final retail units hold up through a day of typical use. Unfortunately, the Optimus 2X is launching out of the gate with Android 2.2, but LG’s already committing to releasing Gingerbread updates “in due course.” It hits first in LG’s home market of Korea next month, followed by Europe and other Asian locales in the coming weeks; we’re sure you can hardly wait, so why don’t you check out some eye candy from our preview while you pass the time? Follow the break for the press release.

Continue reading LG Optimus 2X: first dual-core smartphone launches with Android, 4-inch display, 1080p video recording

LG Optimus 2X: first dual-core smartphone launches with Android, 4-inch display, 1080p video recording originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG’s just announced a new desktop visualizer for us all and it looks a promising proposition with its stupendously thin 7.3mm profile and minimal bezels surrounding the screen. But wait, it can’t be all good news and it’s not, as LG’s also decided to apply an ultra-glossy finish to the E90, which should easily neutralize any understated appeal it might otherwise have had. As usual with these ultraslim displays, most of the electronics are encased in the E90’s base, though the specs themselves don’t seem to be showing any sacrifices. You’re looking at an LED-backlit panel with a 2-millisecond response time, a 1920 x 1080 resolution (on the 21.5-inch E2290V), 250 nits of brightness, analog, digital and HDMI inputs, a 10,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, and a €329 ($435) MSRP. It should be available at some point later this month, see video of its appearance at IFA this year after the break.

Continue reading LG’s E90 monitor slims down to 7.3mm thickness by stuffing everything into its excessively glossy base

LG’s E90 monitor slims down to 7.3mm thickness by stuffing everything into its excessively glossy base originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 04:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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