LG has recently unveiled the X3, one the first smartphones to pack a quad-core processor. This follows in the footsteps of the earlier HTC Edge (or  Endeavor), and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III. Whether the world needs the power is apparently beside the point.

The X3 also packs a Tegra 3 graphics power plant, a generous 4.7″ high-resolution display at 720P resolution, an eight meg snapper on the back and an internal 16GB memory (which can be increased; microSD slot) to complete a rather impressive spec-sheet. And the most impressive part is still managing to cram in all those goodies while keeping thickness at 9mm.

Industry experts expect LTE connectivity along with the standard Bluetooth and WiFi, and the OS to be Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Expect to hear more on the X3 at the Mobile World Congress next month.

Press release:
LG Electronics is introducing four new home theater systems at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) equipped with LG’s latest 3D sound technology. By combining its 3D Home Theater Systems with the company’s popular CINEMA 3D Smart TVs, LG aims to solidify its position as the leader in 3D home entertainment.

The synergy between LG’s CINEMA 3D Smart TV and CINEMA 3D SOUND HOME THEATER products will be apparent in retail outlets, where they will be displayed paired together. Of the four new 3D SOUND HOME THEATER models scheduled for launch during the first half of 2012, the BH9420PW will be the first to be unveiled at CES 2012.

“Whether it’s TVs or audio systems, LG continues to offer the most immersive 3D home entertainment experience possible,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG Home Entertainment Company. “Our CINEMA 3D Smart TVs will now be accompanied by a wider variety of CINEMA 3D SOUND HOME THEATER products that offer consumers a complete 3D experience and further strengthen LG’s leadership in 3D.”

The BH9420PW incorporates LG’s very own 3D Sound Zooming technology, which constantly synchronizes sound output with the location and movement of the on-screen 3D images on a CINEMA 3D Smart TV. In turn, 3D Sound Zooming plunges the viewer into the middle of the action, as the events that unfold on their 3D TVs immerse and surround the viewers as both images and sound in real 3D. 3D Sound Zooming is capable of generating variety of depth in sound based on a complex algorithm that analyzes the varying depth of numerous on-screen objects displayed on the 3D TV.

Such immersive 3D sound quality is enhanced further by the BH9420PW’s 9.1 speaker system, which adds four Upright 3D Speakers to the 5.1 channels of a conventional home theater system. The four Upright 3D Speakers pump sound upward, ensuring that the vertical space is completely filled with sound. Meanwhile, a 360º Reflector inside each of the Upright 3D Speakers reflects sound in all directions, creating acoustics as rich as those in a concert hall.

Moreover, by applying LG’s unique 3D effect DSP algorithm, the Sound Field Expansion technology further expands the horizontal sound field, and works in harmony with the Upright 3D Speakers to create a truly immersive, 360º sound experience. Additionally, the audio “sweet spot” is further extended so viewers always feel as if they are right in the middle of the action, regardless of their location in a living room.

In order to provide viewers with a wide range of 3D experiences, the BH9420PW is equipped with a Smart TV function. In turn, any ordinary 3D TV can have access to LG’s Smart TV ecosystem, which is composed of a growing variety and quantity of 3D content through various premium content services and apps, such as LG’s 3D Zone.

Press Release:

LG Electronics (LG) will introduce its highly anticipated Google TV at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas tomorrow. LG Smart TV with Google TV combines the familiarity of Google’s Android OS with the convenience and comfort of LG’s 3D and Smart TV technologies, offering consumers a new and attractive home entertainment option.

“LG has constantly strived to provide consumers with wider choices in home entertainment that bring the highest level of sophistication and convenience,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company. “Through Google TV, LG has merged Google’s established Android operating system with LG’s proven 3D and Smart TV technologies, offering consumers a new and enthralling TV experience.”

LG’s Google TV’s most attractive feature is its ease of use, thanks to the combination of its Android-based user interface and the Magic Remote Qwerty designed by LG. LG’s Google TV’s user interface and main screen have been designed for convenient browsing and content selection. Multi-tasking is also possible, as the search, social networking and TV functions can be run simultaneously. The user interface can be accessed using the Magic Remote Qwerty which combines the user-friendly benefits of LG’s Magic Remote with a QWERTY keyboard.

Equipped with LG’s own CINEMA 3D technology, Google TV provides a home entertainment experience that is immersive, comfortable and convenient. Based on LG’s own Film Patterned Retarder (FPR) technology, CINEMA 3D glasses are battery-free, comfortable and lightweight. The glasses are also very affordable, making LG’s Google TV ideal for viewing by a large group of family and friends when used in 3D mode. And with a single click of the remote, any 2D program or movie can be viewed in 3D, thanks to the built-in 2D to 3D conversion engine.

Alongside Google TV, LG will continue to advance its own Smart TV platform based on NetCast, which will be available in more than 60 percent of LG’s flat panel TVs scheduled for introduction over the year. With a growing collection of content and services, LG’s Smart TV platform will continue to provide consumers with a unique user experience.

Press Release:

LG Electronics (LG) announced today that its newest collection of 3D glasses, including a pair designed by renowned eyewear designer Alain Mikli, will be introduced in the first quarter of 2012. The new 3D glasses — the F310, the clip-on F320 and the Alain Mikli F360 — are lighter and more comfortable to wear while upgraded design features such as curved lenses and clean frame structure have transitioned 3D glasses from burdensome requirements to stylish fashion accessories.

“Compared to active shutter glasses, LG’s 3D glasses are far more comfortable to wear and much more affordable, making it possible for large groups and entire families to watch 3D programs and movies together,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of the LG Home Entertainment Company. “LG is addressing two of the biggest barriers to 3D acceptance head-on and we’re confident consumers will react favorably to our strategy in the coming year.”

The F310 is characterized by a distinctive design that combines soft lines within a slim frame. Unlike many previous 3D glasses, the lenses have been curved to better accommodate the shape of the wearer’s face, as well as to improve the overall CINEMA 3D viewing experience. The F310 weighs a mere 13.5 grams, making it 20 percent lighter than LG’s previous design.

Another new item for 2012 includes the clip-on F320. Clip-on 3D glasses are unique to 3D TVs based on Film Patterned Retarder (FPR) technology, which is at the heart of CINEMA 3D TV. Compared to the previous generation clip-on 3D glasses, the F320 weighs 25 percent less at 5.5 grams.

Developed in collaboration with Alain Mikli, the F360’s half-rim frame design is sportier and only weighs 16 grams. The lenses of the F360 have been curved and cover most of the wearer’s face, deepening the immersive CINEMA 3D experience. The stylish F360, as well as all 3D glasses from LG, can also worn in theaters showing 3D movies since both CINEMA 3D and theaters utilize the same FPR and RealD technologies.

LG’s share of the global 3D TV market increased from 7.6 percent during the first quarter of 2011 to 14 percent by September. FPR’s unobtrusive technology played a key role in the company’s success in 3D TVs, as uncomfortable and expensive glasses have been identified in numerous studies as being the number one reason consumers have been reluctant to adopt 3D in the home.

LG plans to continue the success it saw this year by sponsoring a series of 3D film and gaming events in 2012 in order to introduce the CINEMA 3D experience to thousands of participants and visitors.

Press Release:

LG Electronics (LG) unveiled a new remote control for its CINEMA 3D Smart TVs, the Magic Remote. The new remote control maximizes user convenience with a new set of additional functions, namely Voice Recognition, Wheel, Magic Gesture and Pointing.

“LG has been striving to constantly improve the comfort and convenience with which our customers use the CINEMA 3D Smart TVs,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG Home Entertainment Company. “The new Magic Remote is our latest example, incorporating new functions that will make it easier for users to approach and use the CINEMA 3D Smart TVs, particularly our Smart TV function which now has over 1,000 apps and a growing abundance of premium content.”

The Magic Remote’s most obvious difference with conventional remote controls is that push-buttons constitute merely one dimension of the intuitive user experience. By implementing voice recognition technology into Magic Remote, users can enter text – such as search terms – with voice commands, speeding up the overall Smart TV browsing experience.

The Wheel located at the center of the Magic Remote enables users to swiftly scroll up and down various menus and apps, allowing users to make quicker selections. Meanwhile, the Pointing function (formerly known as Point and Click) allows users to simply point the Magic Remote toward the TV screen and drag the on-screen cursor to make selections. Through Pointing, users can also navigate through LG’s Smart TV ecosystem without having to use multiple buttons and arrow keys. Additionally, physical Magic Gestures can be inputted as commands, enabling users to control CINEMA 3D Smart TVs with simple arm or wrist movements.

In addition to the four control functions, the Magic Remote also offers the 3D button, which undertakes 2D to 3D conversion with a single click of the button. Due to its arched ergonomic design, the new Magic Remote is easier to grip and hold onto, allowing for a more comfortable CINEMA 3D Smart TV experience.

Talk about out-of-the-screen experience. LG today launched its latest projector that not only does glorious passive 3D, but projects Full HD images up to 200-inches wide.

Pretty much.

“The CF3DAT is the latest product to join the LG CINEMA 3D family and it’s a serious workhorse,” said Mr. H.S. Paik, President of LG Electronics Gulf FZE. “The CF3DAT is at home in a living room or auditorium as it has the muscle to project a five meter picture in bright, movie theater glory.”

The CF3DAT uses the Film Patterned Retarder display technology, enabling users to use polarized 3D glasses, instead of the more chunkier and expensive active-shutter glasses for their 3D-glory time.

The projector is now available across the UAE.

With the 3D rage on television sets quieting down a bit, the next front of the battle seems to be smartphones. And two of the most prominent 3D capable handsets released in the last few months have been the LG Optimus 3D and the HTC EVO 3D. Today I’ll be looking at the latter, and having extensively covered the LG Optimus 3D in various feature articles, I can tell you that that EVO 3D has huge uphill battle in front of it.

HTC EVO 3D and LG Optimus 3D

So let’s start with the EVO 3D’s dashing looks, which I have to say impress more than the Optimus 3D at first sight. The entire front side is dominated by the Gorilla glass, which protects the 3D Super LCD capacitive touchscreen. Surrounding it the thin bezel is made of metal, also clad in black, with the ambient light sensor, speaker and the front facing 1.3MP camera in the same place. On the back we have a rubber grip with a huge panel for housing the two 5MP cameras, surrounded by a cool brown aluminum bezel.

One of the very cool things is that HTC seems to have nailed the shutter button for all smartphones, with a big aluminum button with two stages; for autofocus and taking the picture.  Right next to it is the 2D/3D slider for the camera, an odd choice given it would be easier within the camera software itself.

There’s certainly something to be said for the overall presentation of the phone, because the black grill that hides the front speaker and notification LED, plus the entirely smooth black glass panel on the front and the rubber back plus buttons give it a very high-end feel. Strange, then, that the mini-USB port is left uncovered. One of the biggest advantages you’ll see the Optimus 3D having over the EVO 3D, despite the superior build of the phone is apparent by just looking at their bodies: no HDMI port.

No cover on mini-USB; no HDMI port on the EVO 3D.

Inside the EVO 3D we have a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, Adreno 220 GPU and the Qualcomm MSM8660 chipset. There’s 1GB of RAM with an 8GB microSD card already inside. Packed inside are NFS Shift, The Sims and Spiderman 3D.

The EVO 3D is using Android 2.3.4 which is running on the HTC Sense 3.0 UI, looking very beautiful on the 540 x 960 4.3”screen with 256 dpi. This is why everything, from 2D to 3D images and videos, on the EVO 3D looks so damn impressive on the screen when compared to the Optimus 3D. Another advantage is that the EVO 3D has 550 nit brightness in 2D mode and an impressive 230 nit in 3D, compared to the Optimus 3D’s 500nit in 2D and 175 nit in 3D. The overall result is that the EVO 3D simply has a better viewing experience as everything appears bright and crisp.

LG has been in the spotlight a lot recently, what with their 3D push on the Cinema 3D TVs and Optimus 3D smartphones. Today we got a chance to catch up with the President of LG Gulf region, Mr. H. S. Paik and talk about some of the latest products from LG as well as his favorite product from the lineup.

I have already looked in-depth at the LG Optimus 3D’s look and feel and 3D performance. Today, in our four part analysis of the phone, I’ll be looking at the dual-channel aspects of the Optimus 3D.

First of all, the LG Optimus 3D features a dual-core CPU, specifically a TI OMAP 4430 chipset with two Cortex-A9 cores running at 1GHz each. Now we all know that dual-core CPUs provide better performance to regular tasks, but two cores does not equal to double the performance numbers, because that would also mean half the battery life!

Dual-core CPUs help out in processing applications better, by facilitating easier multitasking. Even then, though, real performance boost can only be seen if applications are designed for multi-threaded operations that take advantage of two cores to enhance performance. This is where dual-channel memory comes into place. LG has used two 256MB memory modules in their Optimus 3D smartphone, thereby enabling dual-channel memory bandwidth. For single-threaded applications, this will enhance performance by providing a smooth experience, whereas as multi-threaded apps will see a significant performance boost.

The upcoming LG Optimus LTE (LU6200 in the US) phone has been spotted in Korea, where the handset will be released next month. According to Pocket Android, the oft rumored specs of the Optimus LTE seem to be true, which means that it’ll be going up directly against the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE, which is also reported to be coming out by October or November.

First off, the Optimus LTE will have a 4.5″ IPS HD panel, with a display resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. This is something that will surely challenge the industry leading retina display of the iPhone 4. Moving along, we have a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8660 Snapdragon CPU, with 1GB RAM and 4GB internal storage. There’s a 8MP rear camera, as well as a 1.3MP front facing camera. The Optimus LTE will also be coming with an impressive 1830mAh Li-Ion battery as well. At launch, the Optimus LTE will come with Gingerbread 2.3.5, but it will be upgradeable to Android Ice Cream Sandwich as well.

Exact pricing and availability is unknown, but given LG’s swift handset launches within the region, expect the Optimus LTE to come out in UAE by November or December at latest, with a price tag under AED 3k.