After spending the past few quarters in the red, LG recently turned things around with a bit of growth in their once-ailing smartphone division. By focusing half of their 2012 capital expenditures budget on developing smartphones, LG wanted people to know that some big mobile plays were on the horizon.
As it turns out, their plans for year include the newly-leaked Optimus Vu, which isn’t exactly the sort of big we were hoping for.
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Japan’s biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo has introduced LG’s awesome Optimus Android phone in Japan yesterday. It’s compatible to Docomo’s 4G service Xi and follows the launch of the handset in Korea and North America.
The Docomo version comes equipped with NFC and a digital TV tuner for Japanese users wanting to watch 1seg channels on the 4.5-inch, 1280×720 IPS display. LG did not build in an infrared connection, however (which many Japanese mobile subscribers got used to on their feature phones). → Read More
Japan’s biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo today announced [press release in English] that LG’s 3D-capable Optimus Pad will go on sale in the country as early as this Thursday. That means that the Android 3.0 device will hit stores in Japan earlier than in the US – where it’s expected to become available on April 20. → Read More
If there’s a special someone in your life that’s into smartphones as much as you are, then you should have a gander at this:
Starting this Black Friday, T-mobile are including their entire line of Android devices (including the Galaxy Tab), as well as the WinPho7-powered behemoth that is the HD7, in a buy-one-get-one-free promotion.
Jump on past the break for all the grisly details. → Read More
Joining the Optimus party that T-mobile and Sprint have been getting down at since October, and that US Cellular is still on his way to (Verizon is reportedly partying, but at an entirely different address to the others), Metro PCS have now launched their own version of LG’s cheapest Android handset, dubbing it the Optimus M. This is a momentous day for Metro PCS, too, as it is their very first Android-powered handset. Aw… happy days. The Optimus M will be available tomorrow, November 24, for a hefty $230 — significantly more than the $30 that T-mobile want for the device (or the $1 that Walmart are asking for it) — but that nets you a contract-free $50 unlimited talk, text, and web plan. The Optimus M runs Android 2.2 atop a 3.2″ touch-screen, and has a 3.2MP camera ’round the back. Those interested can check the full press release here. → Read More
It seems that a year and a half ago, Microsoft applied for a patent for what appears to be a sort of hybrid between their own pressure-sensitive keyboard and the lovely but prohibitively expensive Optimus keyboard. The claims include “an adaptive-imaging engine to dynamically change a visual appearance of the key in accordance with rendering information received from the host computing device.”
Sounds a lot like a number of products already on the market, but the claims are more specific to a “gesture-recognition engine.” → Read More
Oh boy. LG’s Marketing VP made a mighty big claim in a recent Wall Street Journal article. I’ll state it again if you somehow missed the headline: “our tablet will be better than the iPad.” That’s like Kia saying their upcoming sports car will be better than the Porsche 911. Or some Hollywood startup saying they’re making the next Star Wars only better. A blanket statement like that just doesn’t sit well. Although, LG seems to have the right idea and might bust out the best Android tablet to date — well, that’s not that hard really. → Read More
We heard tell of the Optimus Popularis in May, but it had a completely different look. The new one, with its dedicated display bar and lack of number pad, is in my humble opinion a vastly superior design. The LED (not OLED) keys are, after all, totally customizable, and this saves a ton of money — that’s 20 less displays they have to put on the keyboard. And they can pass the savings on to the customers! Or not. It’s still going to cost nearly a grand. → Read More
I think of Art Lebedev’s odd creations the way I think of expensive, weird sex toys – maybe someone will buy one, but any way you slice it it’s not going to take off. Anyway, the Optimus Popularis keyboard uses little screens on each key, just like the old Optimus Maximus. However, instead of OLEDs it will use LEDs. The Popularis will sell for under $1,000 and should be mass produced in time for everyone to forget about it. via SlashGear → Read More
What good is that Optimus keyboard without World of Warcraft? None good, I say, which is why it brings me great joy to see this homebrew WoW layout. It was created by one of the blokes at an Optimus Keyboard message board—message boards are the new salons—and is primarily for Warlocks. → Read More
This might be something I can use. I enjoyed the easily customizable softkeys on the Microsoft wireless keyboard I reviewed a month or so ago, and this is more powerful and less attached to a bulky keyboard with non-separated F-keys. I’m pretty sure it’ll still cost north of, oh let’s say $400, but I think this is more practical than the actual full-LCD keyboard. It’ll probably be real around the beginning of 2009. → Read More
That garish Optimus keyboard that annoyed people with its price and lack of functionality will be re-born as the Optimus Popularis. That up there is the first mock-up of the keyboard, which is supposed to be “well under” $1,000. I know, feed your family, or buy a keyboard? via Wired’s Gadget Lab → Read More
Ladies and germs, the next version of the Optimus keyboard! Dubbed the Optimus Popularis, it’s currently set to retail for “well below” $1,000. That’s some deal, $1K for a keyboard. Why buy food or pay rent when you can have a cool LED keyboard? All the best stories come from random LiveJournals. Or something. → Read More
It’s out there, and it’s just as glossy and beautiful as you think. The keys are somewhat bigger than a normal keyboard, probably by 15% or so; they had a regular size one there for comparison. The screens were crisp, bright, responsive, and very high contrast. It really does look like a $500 object, and if you can afford it, I’d say go for it. Their booth girls were nice and glossy too, definitely not local. → Read More
If you’ve spent any amount of time on tech sites like this one, you’ve surely heard of the Optimus keyboard. It uses OLEDs in place of “regular” keys. One minute a key open Safari the next it open Photoshop. Like the picture! According to a recent patent filed last March (but only revealed recently), Apple is working on a keyboard just like the Optimus. Maybe with Apple R&D behind this type of keyboard it’ll actually see the light of day, unlike the as-yet vaporware Optimus. New Apple Dynamic OLED Keyboard [hrmpf.com via Mac Rumors] → Read More
Hot on the heels of this year’s never-released Optimus Maximus superkeyboard, Optimus has taken the concept one step further with the Tactus keyboard. The idea is similar, but instead of customizable keycaps, the keys themselves are virtual. Cool idea, but as anyone who’s tried to play Mario on an iPhone can attest, there’s a definite advantage to the tactile feedback real buttons (or, indeed, keys) give a user. Optimus Tactus concept keyboard [Slippery Brick] → Read More
Art Lebedev Studios was more than happy to take preorders for the Optimus Maximus keyboard (that we all thought would never see the light of day) but seems to have neglected to make the device’s firmware work well enough to justify the high price tag. The method by which the firmware gets upgraded also needs to be overhauled. Alas, she’s been delayed until the end of February. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but we’ve been waiting this long, what’s another couple of months, huh? One of us here will be sure to update you in mid-February when it gets delayed again. Optimus OLED keyboard pushed to February [MacNN] → Read More
We’ve long thought that the OLEDrific Optimus keyboard was vaporware. While we still haven’t seen anything more than a prototype, it now has a release date and price tag, both features vaporware rarely has. We’re happy to say we were wrong. We’re unhappy, though, about the fact that we can’t afford one, and you likely can’t, either. The pre-order date was rumored to be May 12, but it’s actually May 20. We’d heard of it being affordable. That was wrong. If you’ve got a spare $1,500, and don’t mind sending it to a totally legit Russian company, you yourself can have a 100% customizable keyboard as early as December. Granted, the Optimus could have been more expensive. For the technology involved, it’s not a bad price. That being said, we’ll wait for the $200 Optinus Keyz Chinese knock-off. Optimus Keyboard [Product Page, via Tekenstein] → Read More
