LG at Mobile World Congress 2012

If you live in Europe and your head hasn't been turned by a certain other quad-core phone from a Korean manufacturer, you may be interested to know that LG's Optimus 4X HD is now rolling out across the continent as expected. The company announced that Germany will get the Tegra 3-powered device first of all before it comes to the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, and Italy. Releases in Asia, Central and South America, and Eastern Europe will then follow.

The L3 is the low-end of the bunch, both in terms of size and specs. It's running Android 2.3 on an 800MHz processor. Most small phones we've seen at this size — it's a 3.2-inch QVGA device — have been a bit thicker than the L3, which comes in at 11.7mm. The camera on the back is only a 3-megapixel shooter with a fixed focus, too, so we're hoping that the price will be as low-end as the specs on this wee phone.

The L5 comes in as LG's standard, mid-range offering. Fortunately, "mid-range" means something different at Mobile World Congress in 2012 than it used to. Running Android 4.0 with LG's custom skin on top, it has a 4-inch HVGA display, NFC, and a 5-megapixel camera. The processor is only 800MHz, but LG has kept the whole package thin at 9.68mm.

Spec-wise, the Optimus 3D Max is not especially notable beyond the fact that it can do 3D on its "brightened" 4.3-inch display. When not viewing 3D, the WVGA screen is passable, but viewing 3D content is as headache-inducing as ever. We think that the 3D Max is slightly better for viewing 3D content than the original Optimus 3D, but without a proper side-by-side comparison it's hard to say for sure. Both cameras on the 3D setup are 5-megapixels and in our very-brief testing they did the job but didn't impress. It has a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, which did the job of driving Android 2.3 and LG's custom skin without too much complaint.

We didn't get a chance to test out the NFC, but we're still intrigued by the LG Tag system, which lets users create their own customizable NFC spots that can launch apps or perform other actions when tapped.

The Vu has a small button on the top that brings down a custom menu where you can select different pen sizes and colors, and then you can doodle on the screen. We use the word "doodle" intentionally, because this is a straight-capacitive screen and the styli that LG have on their display are the large, rubber type. Proper note-taking requires a full tablet or a more accurate stylus, neither of which apply to the Vu.

If somehow the 4:3 aspect ratio and large size don't deter you, there is a lot to like with the Vu. The 1024 x 768 display is easy on the eyes and we weren't able to detect too much lag within any of the apps. Outside of the apps in LG's skin we did get a bit of lag from time to time, despite the dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor inside. Unfortunately, the Vu is running Android 2.3.6, but LG promises than an Ice Cream Sandwich update is on the way within the next three months.

We played with the 4X for a few minutes here in LG's booth ahead of the official opening of Mobile World Congress tomorrow, and it definitely feels like a departure from every other Optimus model we've used in the past — the texturing on the rear and the clean squared-off styling is definitely indicative of a high-end device (which the 4X certainly is). In our brief testing, it's fast, but you really can't be sure about how well the Tegra 3 is going to hold up under pressure until you load the phone down with apps and full desktop versions of websites.

Is it ready to take Samsung's next-gen Galaxy S model head-to-head? We've got a couple complaints that knock it down a notch: for one, there's some odd design in the chrome styling along all four edges, which looks more suited for a low-end device that's trying to look aspirational (and failing). Don't get us wrong — the appearance of the 4X overall is quite nice — but this particular detail is oddly out of place. Perhaps more importantly, the 4X has just three capacitive buttons along the bottom (as most native Android 4.0 devices are expected to have), but strangely, the third button is operating the menu, not the multitasking screen. This seems like it's probably just a nuance of the pre-release firmware, though, because a hard menu key simply doesn't make sense here — and the iconography leads us to believe that multitasking is the intended function anyway.

We've already seen leaked benchmarks for the LG Optimus 4X HD (née X3) and they're quite good: it grabbed a Quadrant score of 4,412, well above even the Galaxy Note. LG says it will be available in Europe in the second quarter.

In a press release today, LG announced three new devices that will be hitting the show floor at MWC next week. From left to right in the picture above they are the L3, L5, and L7. All three devices will feature LG's Floating Mass display technology — the displays on the devices appear to be floating — a reference to the closeness of the actual display to the glass. This is the same technology found in LG's Prada 3.0 phone, whose styling seems to have carried over to the new devices. In addition, LG is claiming they feel thinner than they actually are. All three will have a thin, square, metallic design, with a warm, leather-like back panel.

The L7 and L5 will be 4.3 and 4.0 inches respectively and launch with Android 4.0 in the first half of the year. Also, while we've had details of the L3 for a while — it's going to run Android 2.3 and have a 3.2-inch display — we now know it's launching in Europe in March.

When LG surprised us with a teaser for the Optimus Vu smartphone, touting its 4:3 aspect ratio display, we expected an official announcement to come at Mobile World Congress. It turns out LG had another surprise in store, officially announcing the phone in a press release. Many of the previously-rumored specs proved accurate: the phone features a 5-inch 1024 x 768 IPS display, a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor, an 8-megapixel camera, and will support LTE. What's new is the storage capacity — the phone will come with 32GB of storage — and the full dimensions. The phone measures in at 5.49 inches by 3.55 inches, making it wider than the already substantially-sized Galaxy Note, but thinner at just 0.33 inches thick (8.5mm). Taking another cue from the Note's playbook, the Vu will support the use of a stylus as well.

The phone will be running Android 2.3 Gingerbread at launch, but LG is promising an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade within three months. The Optimus Vu will be available on South Korean carriers LG+ and SK Telecom in early March, though no pricing has yet been announced.

We've been hearing a lot about the rumored LG X3 leading up to its expected introduction at Mobile World Congress, and now MoDaCo has uncovered a few more specs we hadn't heard before. Apparently, the battery powering this quad-core phone will be rated at 2,000mAh battery on board; the processor will be clocked at 1.5GHz when running on a single core and 1.4GHz when running between two and four cores. The reporte also corroborates specs we heard earlier: the X3 should include a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 4.7-inch 720p display, Android 4.0, and dual cameras (8MP in the back, 1.3MP up front).

What you see above is supposed to be LG's Optimus 3D 2. The biggest change between the this and its predecessor, the Optimus 3D, is that it's rumored to be 2.1mm thinner and 20 grams lighter, which lines up well with earlier rumored specs for the device (we reportedly saw the gunmetal gray version of the phone, known as the CX2, last month). While you can't see them in this picture, the Optimus 3D 2 most certainly has capacitive touch buttons (we think the new white sheen masks them in this press photo), and according to ETNews, the phone will have a glasses-less 3D IPS display, HDMI, and DLNA when it debuts at MWC 2012 later this month in Barcelona. If you believe what we've heard before about the device, it should also have a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 4.3-inch WVGA screen, and dual 5-megapixel cameras, and 8GB of storage running a skinned version of Gingerbread. We'll let you know what LG announces about its 3D follow-up as soon as we hear it.

We're not sure what focus group studies are providing fuel for this race toward 5-inch smartphones, but at least now we can compare two of the most fashionable candidates side by side: LG's Optimus Vu and Samsung's Galaxy Note. The first image of the two jumbo Android smartphones has emerged from Korea, showing LG's squatter 5-inch device is a little wider and bulkier than Samsung's more elongated 5.3-inch tabletphone. This is partly down to the unconventional 4:3 aspect ratio of the Optimus Vu display, but it's also difficult not to notice the generous bezel that LG has equipped its pseudo-smartphone with. A screenshot of the user interface accompanying the above photo shows a lot of pen input options, suggesting it'll match the Galaxy Note in offering a stylus for the mobile professional. Or the idle doodler.

LG has posted a teaser for the Optimus Vu, a smartphone with a 5-inch, 4:3 aspect ratio display. Details from the video itself are scarce, but Datacider and Google Pad are reporting that the phone will feature a 1024 x 768 IPS display, a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, and an 8-megapixel camera. NFC support is also said to be on board, but both sites are stating that the device will ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread rather than Ice Cream Sandwich, which would line up with the four buttons visible in the video.

Google Pad also claims the device will support LTE, though US customers shouldn't get their hopes up just yet, as there's a good chance the phone will be available only in Korea to start. As for the size, we'd almost accuse LG of having Galaxy Note envy, but the 4:3 aspect ratio certainly is a differentiator — for better or worse.

We recently got a look at what LG is reportedly calling the X3 smartphone, and now images of what could be the company's successor to the Optimus 3D have surfaced. According to details obtained by PocketNow, the new 3D phone — currently referred to as the CX2 — appears focused more on form factor than any substantive horsepower upgrades. It is said to feature a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a minor bump from the 1GHz dual-core processor of the original Optimus 3D, with the same 8GB of storage and dual 5-megapixel cameras (the 4.3-inch WVGA display will match the original on specs, though LG is said to have swapped out the panel for a brighter model). The big difference comes in thickness: the new phone reportedly measures up at less than 0.39 inches, a noticeable drop from the 0.47 inches of the original. NFC and DLNA support are also said to be on board, though apparently the phone will be a Gingerbread device on launch. With spring named as a likely release window, we wouldn't be surprised to hear more about the new phone, along with the X3, next month at Mobile World Congress.