Hasta La Gadget!

Well, we’ve got to hand it to LG for quickly doing the right thing here by keeping people informed and ultimately making the best decision for its customers. Just two days after a Facebook spat that suggested the Optimus series of midrange Android handsets wouldn’t be getting Android 2.3 Gingerbread thanks to a seemingly made-up 1GHz processor requirement, they’ve reversed the decision, saying that “all” of the models that fall under the Optimus One guise (presumably including the Vortex, Optimus T, Optimus S, Optimus M, and Optimus U) would be getting upgraded. Here’s the full statement:

“LG will upgrade all Optimus One smartphones currently using the Froyo OS to the next version of the Android OS, Gingerbread. Details of the upgrade schedule will be announced locally in due course. We sincerely apologize for the confusion and misunderstanding that was caused regarding this issue.”

Respect, LG. Respect.

LG commits to upgrading Optimus Ones to Gingerbread, angry hordes abate originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You might remember yesterday’s brouhaha over LG’s seemingly false claim that Android 2.3 Gingerbread requires a 1GHz processor or better, using it as a justification for keeping an official upgrade out of the hopes and dreams of Optimus One owners around the globe — but the good news is that it appears to have been a misunderstanding. Here’s the official statement from LG:

“LG released information prematurely regarding the minimum processor upgrade requirements for the LG Optimus. Google recently announced the Gingerbread platform and has not yet published the Gingerbread Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) or the public branch open source code. Once the CDD and the source code is public, LG will evaluate the upgradability of the Optimus Series. We apologize for any confusion or misunderstanding. We will alert you as soon as more information on this topic is available.”

So they’re taking responsibility for jumping the gun and have committed to “evaluating the upgradability” of the Optimus line once Google’s published Gingerbread’s official requirements and turned loose the source code. Of course, it’s possible they’ll ultimately find another reason for keeping the phones stuck on Froyo — but for now, we’ve got a sliver of hope.

LG pulls back, ‘will evaluate’ upgrading Optimus series to Gingerbread when specs and source code are public originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So here’s the story: dude asks LG’s US mobile team on Facebook when the Optimus One — the basis for the various Optimus devices that have launched recently on American carriers — will be getting Android 2.3. LG responds saying that “the minimum requirements for Gingerbread require 1 GHz processor,” hence, no update’s in the cards. Well, Android lead Dan Morrill took to Twitter to drop some knowledge, saying “there’s no hard minimum processor requirement for Gingerbread… trust me, if there were I’d know.” In other words, whoever’s manning the ship on LG’s Facebook account is either sorely underinformed or showed some awful judgment in choosing a lie to justify keeping the Optimus off the upgrade path. Sure, we can understand why LG wouldn’t want to temper excitement for a still-new smartphone line by telling buyers their phones won’t be receiving the next version of the platform, but the least they could’ve done is formulated a reasonable excuse, no?

LG invents imaginary 1GHz processor requirement to say Optimus One won’t get Gingerbread originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VMware has been chatting up seamless, sexy virtualization among multiple operating systems on a single smartphone for some time — and it’s finally getting the opportunity to deliver en masse thanks to a new partnership with LG. Targeted at the enterprise, Korea’s number two phone maker — which is going into 2011 with a big Android push — will be integrating VMware’s virtualization technology into some of its models next year, starting with Android but potentially moving to other platforms (Windows Phone 7 comes immediately to mind) if the market demands it.

You might think that being able to virtualize a second operating system on your phone doesn’t have much consumer relevance, but VMware’s got a point: with smartphones becoming more of an end-user phenomenon than ever before, it’s getting tougher for IT departments to sell employees on giving up their personal phones in favor of a secure, managed, corporate-provided alternative. With the virtualized setup, the work phone lives as an app within the personal phone — two phone numbers, two complete environments, and only the work environment can be controlled by the IT nerds. Long term, the concept would be that employees could use whatever phone their little hearts desire — companies would merely need to dump their VMware setup on top and you’ve suddenly got your work phone integrated. Follow the break for the press release and a video demo of VMware’s virtualization software (on a Nexus One, not an LG) in action.

Continue reading Work, play on a single phone: LG teams up with VMware to deploy Android handsets with virtualization

Work, play on a single phone: LG teams up with VMware to deploy Android handsets with virtualization originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Holiday spirit over in Best Buy land must mean “getting rid of old stock by discounting it.” The Droid Incredible and Xperia X10 are among the handsets to be featured in the big retailer’s December mobile sale, which will involve offering up four free phones each day (one for each carrier) at a price of $0 upfront and subject to the usual two-year agreement. LG’s Optimus T and Optimus S will also get their moment in the spotlight this month, though the discount there isn’t exactly massive when you consider that the S started life costing $50 on contract. Speaking of S-branded Android phones, wasn’t it Best Buy that first leaked out the next Nexus? Now that‘d be a holiday offer worth talking about.

Continue reading Best Buy Mobile will offer free smartphones, mostly Android, every day in December

Best Buy Mobile will offer free smartphones, mostly Android, every day in December originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 03:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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