LG’s Recent Pre-MWC Devices

By Alex Angove

Last updated 24 February 2012

LG’s been showing off a few of its upcoming devices lately ahead of the slew of handsets we’re sure to see at MWC in a few days. Whether or not it’s wise to start trickling out its announcements ahead of the huge electronics show is yet to be seen. However, good idea or no LG is still forging ahead so we thought we’d keep you all up to date with what’s going on in LG’s world.

The LG Optimus 4X HD

If you’d care to cast your memories back a year you might remember a somewhat short-lived phone called the LG Optimus 2X. Short lived in the media and minds of consumers, rather than on shelves, the Optimus 2X was among the world’s very first dual-core smartphones to see consumer pockets. Tussling with the Motorola Atrix for the right to claim “first”, depending on where you lived, the Optimus 2X was by all reports a solid device that never really saw a huge amount of adoption.

As you may have guessed from the moniker LG Optimus 4X HD, LG has now announced its very first quad-core smartphone. Also easily ascertained from the title is that the 4.7 inch display has an impressive 720p resolution, making it officially an HD screen.

The quad-core CPU will be 1.5GHz and will be powered by Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) on the software side of things and a 2150mAh battery on the more literal side. All up the LG Optimus 4X HD looks like it’ll be LG’s new flagship device, but will it be enough to boost LG’s share of the market? It’s looking unlikely at this point, as the more popular brands will be announcing very similar devices shortly. But the 4X HD still looks like a beast of a handset, to say the least.

The LG Optimus Vu

It’s still a bit too early in the game to judge public perception of phone/tablet hybrids, seeing as the Samsung Galaxy Note is currently the only viable option. That in mind, it looks like LG is willing to make a bit of a gamble and grab some of that sweet phablet (tablone?) market share with the 5 inch LG Optimus VU.

The Optimus VU has taken a slightly different approach to the Galaxy Note with regards to screen dimensions. Modern day devices have recently been tending towards the wide-screen form-factor, approaching or equalling the contemporary TV ratio of 16:9. The VU, however, has opted for a more old-school television ratio of 4:3.

Remember back when television screens were almost square and the sets themselves were as deep as they were wide? That’s the kind of screen ratio we’re talking about here. LG hopes that this ration will not only lend itself well to browsing, but also for watching TV shows. This is a curious attitude, as most of the newer television series are filmed in 16:9, which will leave thick black bars at the top and bottom of the screen when viewing, but we’ll reserve judgement for now.

The VU is looking to be pretty powerful with a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, LTE capability, resolution of 1024x768, 8MP camera and 2080mAh battery all crammed in to a surprisingly thin 8.5mm profile. However, it will disappointingly come running Android Gingerbread 2.3 out of the box, rather than 4.0 ICS.

The LG Optimus 3D Max

The LG Optimus 3D Max is also a phone that’s driving purpose should be evident from the name. The Optimus 3D Max sports a glasses-free 3D screen, just like its predecessor the LG Optimus 3D. The original Optimus 3D had moderate success in the market, so it makes sense that LG would work on a successor.

The 3D Max is basically just an upgrade of its predecessor. Running on Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, the dual-core 1.2GHz processor and 4.3 inch 3D display should get a few people interested. We would definitely have liked to see a higher resolution, however, as 480x800 is beginning to feel very last-generation at this point.

That's it for Now

There have been a few other devices that LG has announced recently, but these three are our pick of the litter. Once MWC starts we’re hopeful that LG will have even more goodies for us to check out. But even if it doesn’t there’ll still be plenty of other phones to ogle and fawn over.