LG Optimus Vu to bow on Verizon as the Intuition, stylus not included?

Posted on 23/08/2012 by Joseph Volpe

Could this 5-inch LG handset be Verizon's answer to the Galaxy Note? Our Intuition tells us otherwise (get it?), but that screenshot above and corresponding FCC docs deign to differ. Really though, that lady razor name's the purported new moniker for Big Red's rebranded Optimus Vu: the heretofore Korea-only phablet we recently reviewed. While we found the outsized handset's worth as a true S-Pen rival hampered by its lack of a digitizer and 4:3 aspect ratio, it could catch on with folks eager for a 7-inch tablet alternative. However this one eventually shakes down in the crowded Android marketplace, it appears subs are in store for a 4G LTE ride and the carrier's typical $199 on two-year contract pricing. Curiously, the leak makes no mention of an included stylus, so perhaps the operator's opting to spin this one as a more traditional smartphone release. Smart move, that.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

LG Optimus Vu to bow on Verizon as the Intuition, stylus not included? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 21:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

Droid-Life | Email this | Comments

LG Optimus Vu goes global, trades Snapdragon processor for NVIDIA Tegra 3

Posted on 20/08/2012 by Sean Buckley

LG's extra-wide handset appears to be embarking on a world tour, and its packing a new processor for the trip. The Optimus Vu will be taking NVIDIA'S Tegra 3 chip to select markets in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America this September. It's still rocking that 5-inch 4:3 ratio IPS display, of course, but gone is any mention of LTE connectivity. There's no word yet if we'll see an LTE-equipped Tegra 3 handset hit Yankee shores when our time comes, but we certainly wouldn't bat an eye. Read on for LG's official press release.

Continue reading LG Optimus Vu goes global, trades Snapdragon processor for NVIDIA Tegra 3

Filed under: Cellphones

LG Optimus Vu goes global, trades Snapdragon processor for NVIDIA Tegra 3 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

LG sells five million LTE smartphones, plans ‘second to none’ lineup soon and girds for patent battles

Posted on 15/08/2012 by Richard Lawler

While LG's dollars and cents return on its cellphones have been up and down this year, the company just announced that since starting the LTE trend with the Revolution in May 2011 it's sold five million high-speed data connected handsets and has no plans to slow down. The counter ticked over three million back in May, four million in June and, according to LG, sales continued at a pace of one phone every two and a half seconds. That includes two million Optimus LTEs, over 500,000 Optimus Vus and about the same number of Optimus LTE IIs in the first 70 days alone. Now the Korean company is preparing to take its Optimus Vu phablet global, and CEO Dr. Jon-seok Park says its LTE phones in the next few months will be "second to none." Finally, there's a note about LG having the "largest overall" total number of patents, claimed to be worth $8 billion, which is possibly intended to ward off the kind of patent trouble currently chasing Samsung.

Continue reading LG sells five million LTE smartphones, plans 'second to none' lineup soon and girds for patent battles

Filed under: Cellphones

LG sells five million LTE smartphones, plans 'second to none' lineup soon and girds for patent battles originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 02:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

LG | Email this | Comments

LG Optimus Vu coming to wide-minded Americans by summer’s end

Posted on 13/08/2012 by Jon Fingas

If you're enamored with the 4:3 ratio of the Optimus Vu but remain disappointed that there isn't an American model to call your own, LG is bringing some sunshine to your day. The Korean company has confirmed plans to port the LTE-equipped version of the extra-wide phablet to the US sometime during the third quarter of the year -- in other words, anytime between now and the end of September. Thanks to our friends at the FCC, we even know that it's headed to Verizon first, if not exclusively. Most of the other details are scant. The timing makes it likely that Android 4.0 will ship with Big Red's edition as a matter of course; LG's me-too Q Voice interface won't speak English until 2013, however. We mostly know that, between LG's American plans and Samsung's next Galaxy Note, the Great PDA Revival of 2012 is still very much in full swing.

[Thanks, FT]

Filed under: Cellphones

LG Optimus Vu coming to wide-minded Americans by summer's end originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Aug 2012 12:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Unwired View | source

LG Newsroom (translated) | Email this | Comments

Visualized: LG’s Optimus L7, 4X HD, Vu and 3D Max pose for family album

Posted on 05/08/2012 by Myriam Joire

A few weeks ago we had the chance to line up some of LG's current handsets -- the Optimus L7, Optimus 4X HD, Optimus Vu and Optimus 3D Max -- for a little photo shoot. While we only had access the the 3D Max for a short time, we ended up reviewing the other three. There's a bit a of something for everyone here -- some Ice Cream Sandwich and some Gingerbread, some mid-range hardware and some hi-end style, some phablet and some 3D. Check out the ~~pr0n~~ family album in the gallery below.

Gallery: LG Optimus family

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs

Visualized: LG's Optimus L7, 4X HD, Vu and 3D Max pose for family album originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Visualized: LG’s Optimus L7, 4X HD, Vu and 3D Max pose for family album

Posted on 05/08/2012 by Myriam Joire

A few weeks ago we had the chance to line up some of LG's current handsets -- the Optimus L7, Optimus 4X HD, Optimus Vu and Optimus 3D Max -- for a little photo shoot. While we only had access to the 3D Max for a short time, we ended up reviewing the other three. There's a bit of something for everyone here -- some Ice Cream Sandwich and some Gingerbread, some mid-range hardware and some hi-end style, some phablet and some 3D. Check out the ~~pr0n~~ family album in the gallery below.

Gallery: LG Optimus family

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs

Visualized: LG's Optimus L7, 4X HD, Vu and 3D Max pose for family album originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Japan LTE growth continues, NTT DoCoMo adds a million users in under 2 months

Posted on 25/07/2012 by Mat Smith

As British readers bang their heads on desks, and LTE remains something perpetually happening "next year," another island nation is very much on-board with the new tech. NTT DoCoMo, one of Japan's biggest mobile carriers, has announced it now has over 4 million LTE users, with the last million joining its 4G Xi (pronounced "crossy") network in the last month and a half. Speeds top out at an impressive 75 Mbps, with eight of its most recent releases -- including the Galaxy S III and the Optimus Vu -- compatible with the new network. NTT DoCoMo saw uptake growth double after launching the LTE-centric summer range.

Filed under: Cellphones

Japan LTE growth continues, NTT DoCoMo adds a million users in under 2 months originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 04:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

NTT DoCoMo | Email this | Comments

LG’s voice recognition app studies English, aims to pass the test next year

Posted on 24/07/2012 by Mat Smith

LG's Quick Voice app's monolingual status shouldn't last long. After a quick restyle -- it's now Q Voice -- the app is gearing up to launch internationally with an English language version ready for the first half of next year. LG also adds a bit more detail on its voice recognition offering, which can pick out a single female voice in a noisy room full of men and have the ability to make settings adjustments to Bluetooth, sound and vibration by speech. Perhaps only slightly less important than real functionality, the Q Voice interface will also include some "witty emotional responses" -- ask what the device had for lunch and it will say it chowed down on 220 volts. LG Korea reiterates that the functionality is still limited to its domestic models of the Optimus Vu and incoming Optimus LTE II at the moment, but will feature on additional phones in the future. While voice recognition from bigger mobile rivals hasn't revolutionized how we use our phones just yet, LG's hoping the sheen of the newish tech won't have worn off by 2013.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

LG's voice recognition app studies English, aims to pass the test next year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 08:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

LG (translated) | Email this | Comments

Verizon LG Optimus Vu apprehended by Android Police, confesses to Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade

Posted on 17/07/2012 by Sean Buckley

If the LG Optimus Vu's insistence on running Gingerbread was the sole factor keeping you from its 5-inch HD-IPS display and its goofy 4:3 aspect ratio, your prayers may have been answered. According to a leaked gallery of images at Android Police, the oversized slab's rumored Verizon variant will be running Android 4.0.4. The images don't reveal much else --save for big red's standard logo, prominently stamped above the device's face -- but that's one less negative you can count from our review. Check out a second shot after the break, or the full gallery at the source below.

Continue reading Verizon LG Optimus Vu apprehended by Android Police, confesses to Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade

Verizon LG Optimus Vu apprehended by Android Police, confesses to Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

Android Police | Email this | Comments

LG Optimus Vu review: a 5-inch, pen-enabled phone to take on the Galaxy Note

Posted on 13/07/2012 by Joseph Volpe

Tech companies are no strangers to the game of follow the leader -- industry imitation is, after all, the sincerest sign of a successful product. In the case of the Galaxy Note, Samsung's phablet wonder has been enjoying some unexpected popularity in markets abroad and even here in the US. But the company's ownership of that once-niche category is about to be contested by a surge of copycats, spearheaded by the stylus-toting LG Optimus Vu ($866 unlocked). It should go without saying: this 5-inch not-a-smartphone, not-yet-a-tablet has a steep climb ahead if it wants to oust or even claim equal billing with its successful opponent.

Of course, the Vu isn't launching an attack on all fronts yet as, right now it's a Korea-only affair running Android Gingerbread. (It redeems itself somewhat with an LTE radio.) Though the competition is welcome, the duel is not an even one, given the Vu's unusual mix of internals: a 1,024 x 768 HD-IPS LCD display, dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor, 32GB of non-expandable storage, an ample 2,080mAh battery and a region-specific T-DMB TV tuner. But could that be enough to dethrone the current category king, or at least present a viable alternative? Join us after the break as we crack this rectangular nut and winnow out the marketing noise.

Gallery: LG Optimus Vu review