The high end edition of LG's new L-Style Optimus line is ready to roll, as the company announced the Optimus L7 is available in various "major" European and Asian locales. In case it's been forgotten in the midst of its fellow L-branded smartphones like the L3 that launched in March, the L7 is an Android 4.0 handset with a 4.3-inch screen and 8.7mm-thick frame. Check out our hands on impressions from MWC for more info, or just look for it to appear on your carrier sooner rather than later.

LG's Optimus L7 brings ICS, 4.3-inch screen to market starting today originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 23:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The so-called Value Pack upgrade that was leaked for original Samsung Galaxy S devices after the company announced they would not be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich (it was later given a passing mention in the Galaxy S II ICS upgrade notes) has been officially released, at least in Korea. The official Samsung Tomorrow page has a link to Gingerbread and Froyo upgrades for the Galaxy S, as well as the Galaxy K and Galaxy U phones. Just like the leaked version, it adds some Ice Cream Sandwich features to these non-Android 4.0 phones, including Face Unlock, the ability to take pictures while shooting video and launcher improvements, without the fully reworked underpinnings of the new OS. Owners of compatible devices can hit the source link for all the details and the files, as long as they have Kies 2.0 at the ready and a bit of open storage space (backing up existing data is also, naturally, encouraged). Of course whether this will officially come to any of our US-carrier optimized Galaxy S models is still unknown.

Samsung Galaxy S ICS-like 'value pack' upgrade officially released in Korea originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While LG neatly folded its glasses-free A540-H model into its CES line-up at the start of the year, it's now added another pair of notebooks to launch alongside it in Korea. This includes another 3D model that requires a pair of stylish squash goggles passive 3D glasses to gain that extra dimension. For those less disposed to hanging techno eye-wear off their face and watching Avatar again, there's the simpler two-dimensional joys of the A540-P, which houses a 15.6-inch AH-IPS display. All three versions house the same Core i7 processors and a GeForce GT555M for the necessary graphical grunt work. Fans of both mono and stereoscopic computing can consult the (Google-translated) press release below for more details.

Continue reading LG launches new A540-T/D 3D notebook, adds A540-P IPS model

LG launches new A540-T/D 3D notebook, adds A540-P IPS model originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG's Vu is offensive in virtually every way that an object can offend. It's called the "Vu," it has an abhorrent 4:3 screen, and, as BGR has loathsomely coined, it's a "phablet". Let it never leave Korean gadget hell. More »

The original Optimus LTE caught our eye with its 4.5-inch, 326ppi AH-IPS display, but now LG is throwing something else into the mix: an NFC-equipped version that communicates with "special stickers" that automatically switch its settings to suit a particular location. Put a sticker on your dash and you can set it to switch on the handset's Bluetooth and GPS, for example, as well as boost the volume. It's hardly a new concept, but LG's marketing mavens reckon it merits a full relaunch in Korea under the name "Optimus LTE Tag," and who are we to tell them otherwise? Read on the full specs in the PR.

Continue reading LG's Optimus LTE gets NFC variant, wants to be known as Optimus LTE Tag

LG's Optimus LTE gets NFC variant, wants to be known as Optimus LTE Tag originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seattle-based Cequint Inc. filed a lawsuit against Apple accusing the company of infringing on two patents related to its caller ID technology. “Cequint has been damaged by Apple’s infringement,” the company said in its complaint, filed in a federal court in Wilmington, Delaware. The firm argues that it “will be irreparably harmed” should Apple continue to use its patents without permission. Apple is locked in a number of patent lawsuits around the globe with other companies such as Samsung and HTC, as well. Apple is currently seeking to ban the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N in Germany and, until recently, had successfully banned the Korea-based company from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. 

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After offering to swap out a few faulty first gen iPod nanos in Korea back in 2009, it appears Apple has finally seen fit to get them out of owner's pockets here in the US (update: worldwide) too. An email just sent to registered owners (included after the break) and notice posted on its replacement program site inform users the affected units were sold between September 2005 and December 2006. If you have one (seriously, yours still works?), stop using it right now and fill out the form at the link below to order a free replacement unit. The main inconvenience -- other than finding out you've been walking around with the possibility of a "rare case" of overheating taking place in your skinny jeans -- is an anticipated six-week lag between Apple receiving the old unit and shipping you out a replacement. The reason given for waiting so long to replace them is that when it comes to this issue "the likelihood increases as the battery ages" -- and, it's finally too late for you to run out and get a Zune. No word yet on which models will be sent out as replacements, but if yours is personalized, then sorry -- no inscriptions available.

[Thanks, Paul & Jordan]

Continue reading Apple is replacing first gen iPod nanos due to faulty batteries

Apple is replacing first gen iPod nanos due to faulty batteries originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skinny? Check. Thin bezel? Present. Black and rectangular? Roger. This as-yet unconfirmed sliver of a phone is purportedly LG's first Android 4.0 device. Specifications remain even foggier than these pictures, but we can glean an eight-megapixel shooter with flash and a profile that looks like a possible second-generation Optimus Black, with design litigiously close to Samsung's Galaxy S II. As GSM Arena noted, the LG-owned phone network in Korea was renamed LG U+ last year, suggesting that U1 codename may translate to "domestic-only." Here's hoping otherwise, of course.

Ultrathin LG U1 to be company's first Ice Cream Sandwich device? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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On Thursday, reports surfaced suggesting LG was laying off 30% of its mobile business workers overseas. The firm denied the rumors on Friday, however, stating “We are always looking at opportunities to improve the performance of our mobile business but no decision has been made as to any job reductions,” according to Reuters. Korea Economic Daily said on Thursday that LG was letting go of 30% of its mobile employees in an attempt to turn around its struggling mobile business, and LG said the report was simply “speculation.” The article also said the Korean-based company had plans to begin domestic layoffs in the near future.

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LG has cut 30% of its overseas mobile staff as a result of the division’s recent poor performance, Reuters reported on Thursday. Korea Economic Daily broke the news and noted LG’s layoffs mostly included employees in the purchases and mobile marketing departments, and in unprofitable groups. LG said the Korea Economic Daily report was speculation, but the Korean news outlet noted that LG is planning to layoff members of its mobile business team in Korea, too. LG’s mobile business grew during the second quarter of this year but the division still failed to turn a profit. The mobile arm reported a $49.8 million loss on sales of $3 billion last quarter.

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Microsoft Windows president Steven Sinofsky will unveil the company’s latest Windows 8 operating system running on a tablet during Microsoft’s BUILD conference in California next week, Reuters reported on Thursday. According to Korea Economic Daily, the reference model device will be manufactured by Samsung. “Investors are hungry to see how [Microsoft is] going to join where the market’s going,” HighMark Capital Management portfolio manager Todd Lowenstein told Reuters. “They’ve been lagging and they need to catch up and surpass what’s going on, to demonstrate they truly are an innovative company.” It isn’t the first time Microsoft will demo the operating system on a tablet. During the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in July, the Redmond-based firm briefly showed a concept tablet running the new OS. We hope Microsoft allows conference attendees to go hands-on and take a closer look at the device this time around. The BUILD conference kicks off on September 13th.

Read [Reuters] Read [Korea Economic Daily]

Hello, and welcome to another edition of Mystery Cellphone Theater. This week's enigma comes to us courtesy of T Store, a Korean app market, where the Developer Center lists an unannounced Samsung device with the model number SHV-E120S. Now, we can't tell you much about the E120S, only that it reports to sport a WXGA screen (that's 1280 x 768), Gingerbread, and a single-core MSM8250 Snapdragon. Sammy has a Korea-only handset with the SHV-E110S tag and a more standard 800 x 480 screen, and the company has made no secret about its desire to push pixel density well beyond the 300ppi mark -- still, there's no guarantee this is in fact a phone. It very well may be a tablet, or just a strange report from an emulator. Regardless, we're intrigued, and keeping our fingers crossed for 4.3-inch HD display.

Mysterious Samsung shows up in dev center sporting Gingerbread and 1280 x 768 screen originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG officially announced the long rumored LG Optimus Big on Friday, making it the Korean firm’s largest Android smartphone to date. The Optimus Big runs Android 2.2, sports a 4.3-inch Nova Display, and is equipped with an HDMI-out port, a 1GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and a 1,500 mAh battery. The NOVA Display is the star of that spec sheet though, and we loved the rich colors and deep blacks when we first saw it on the Optimus Black. The Optimus Big will make its debut on Korea’s LG U+ on April 28th and there’s no word if this beast will swim itself to the United States — but we’d welcome it with open arms if it did.

[Via Pocketnow.com]

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Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported last week that Samsung was considering making changes to its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet following the unveiling of Apple’s iPad 2. “We will have to improve the parts that are inadequate,â€� Samsung’s executive vice president of mobile was quoted as having said, leading many to speculate that the tablet might not launch on time. But Samsung denied the report this past Saturday, saying it plans to release its second Galaxy-branded Android tablet on schedule. We took a hands-on look at the Galaxy Tab 10.1 last month and found that it might even best the Motorola XOOM in some areas. We also thought Google’s Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) OS still needed some refinement, however. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 is expected to launch later this month through Vodafone in Europe, and launch details in the U.S. market are not yet available.

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LG announced at CES that it was breaking from other TV manufacturers to push its own FPR technology for 3DTVs and now they've started shipping in Korea including the LW5700 pictured above. LG's new approach means placing a special film over the LCD screen (no plasmas, although OLED versions are planned in the future) letting users use cheap "flicker free" passive 3D glasses instead of keeping a conventional display and using more expensive active shutter 3D glasses. LG's new TVs with the screens should start arriving in the US in March, although Vizio is already selling one Cinema 3D TV over here with the technology and plans to deliver a slew of new models soon. Of course, the main downside to this approach is that it halves the resolution delivered to each eye when wearing the glasses, but -- if you hadn't already guessed from its tablets and phones -- LG is betting big on 3D this year, we'll see if it pays off.

Continue reading LG starts shipping new 'flicker free' 3D TVs with passive glasses

LG starts shipping new 'flicker free' 3D TVs with passive glasses originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, would you look at what we found chilling at Samsung's booth here at MWC? Yep, it's that Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 we heard about just the other day, and it's one interesting tablet / media player hybrid. We'd be inclined to call this thing a Streak 5 or Acer 4.8 Iconia competitor, but it doesn't have a trace of cellular or 3G connectivity. We were, however, able to confirm what it does have -- it packs a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, a 800 x 480-resolution display, a 5 megapixel camera with a flash, and a 2500mAH battery. On the software front, it runs Android 2.2 (although it will be upgradable to Gingerbread) and TouchWiz. Oh, and it has the full suite of Google applications (YouTube, Gmail, Google Chat, etc.) and access to the Market.

So, what's it like? Well, it looks like an enlarged Galaxy Player (or what is now known as the Galaxy S WiFi 4.0), which really means it looks like Galaxy S smartphone and the Galaxy Tab mashup. The white slippery back clearly looks like our Sprint Galaxy Tab, but the thinner design and rounded edges remind us of a Vibrant or Fascinate. It's really a very "Samsung" device, and we don't mean that in a bad way -- the plastic build feels pretty solid and the screen seemed very high quality. As for performance, it seemed fairly quick and a preloaded video played rather smoothly. We wish we had more information on when this one was going to land stateside, but a rep on hand would only tell us that it will be hitting Korea this month and other countries soon. Check the break for a short hands-on look at this guy and the galleries below for some close up shots.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 hands-on (video)

Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to a report filed by PCMag today, Google’s soon-to-be-released, tablet-optimized Android iteration –Honeycomb — will require some serious processing power. The blog cites the managing director of Korea’s Enspert consumer electronics firm, Bobby Cha, and writes that, “Google’s new [...] tablet OS will require a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor to run properly.” Mr. Cha went on to note that Honeycomb may also require 1,280 x 720 screen resolution, but should run on tablets with displays measuring at least 7-inches on the diagonal. Presumably, single-core Android tablets already in the market (e.g. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab) would be unable to run the tablet-centric offering. Mr. Cha, who admitted his company is currently working on Froyo, Gingerbread, as well as Honeycomb devices, states that Honeycomb will be shipped to manufacturers “towards the end of January.”

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