Comic book geeks had better sit down as this just might cause you to faint. LG is cashing in on the current wave of Iron Man hype by releasing the LG Shine Iron Man Limited Edition. Still conscious?
Internally the likelihood is that this device will be exactly the same as your typical LG Shine but with some bonus pre-loaded Iron Man content thrown in. But it’s really all about the shiny red and gold shell, that being genuine 18 karat gold and real, erm, shiny red.
Our hopes of this handset jetting over to Europe are not high, but then, with a sizable chunk of gold worked into its body, this is bound to cost more than the average comic book fan can afford (just kidding). Just console yourself by telling yourself that by the time The Incredible Hulk comes out, this handset will feel old anyway.
The last time we heard about this phone, it didn’t even have a name and though we knew it was skinny we had no idea it was packing this sort of heat under the hood. The LG-KF750 will be joining the KF700 in the Black label line and like it’s sibling, will have a touchscreen and another interface method, namely a slide out keypad. The device will support Tri-band GSM, UMTS 2100, EDGE, 3.6 Mbps and HSDPA connectivity. Good start.
Joining the party will be an accelerometer for Auto Screen Rotation, 5 megapixel camera, media player with DivX support, FM radio, integrated Mobile Office Viewer (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), integrated Mobile Google Apps (Gmail, Google Maps,YouTube) and a video editor and FM tuner.
Pretty much a dream spec sheet by all accounts especially considering this thing is only 11.8mm thick. In keeping with it’s sleek easy to conceal stature, the LG-KF750 has been given the much snappier name, Secret. So it’s the LG-KF750 fashion phone, a member of the Black Label line and it’s the Secret - plenty names to remember it by then.
The Secret (which has its very own site here) will cost 549 Euros or about £440 for us Brits when it releases here in Europe, which apparently, will be soon.
Are you the sort of person that buys a phone and then goes *adopts moaning voice* “but it’s only got two input methods”? If so then LG is going to be gleeful that its new LG-KF700 will be loved by at least someone, because to everyone else, it’s hodge podge array of different interface methods is likely to draw suspicion.
The LG-KF700 is the first phone to sport a 3-inch touchscreen, alpha-numeric keypad and Shortcut Dial. Apparently the thinking behind this odd design choice is that not everybody likes touchscreens, hmmmmmm. Hey, we’ve got an idea, it’s a bit kerazzy but hear us out; how about a mobile phone for people that don’t like touchscreens, that doesn’t have a touchscreen. Seriously, it’s a sin that we are locked in this dark cob web filled cupboard when we could be out there revolutionizing the telecommunications industry *sighs*.
Anyways, cynicism aside, the LG-KF700 sounds like a reasonably well armed handset and though the addition of all those interface methods sounds like it could make things more complicated than they need to be, LG promises that the phone’s features have been mapped to each interface method thoughtfully.
Besides that the LG-KF700 sports a full featured Web browser, support for HSDPA 3G networks, an MP3 player, MPEG4 video player, 3.0-megapixel camera and Bluetooth connectivity. The phone is available in Europe now, though we haven’t heard anything about which networks are selling it. As soon as we do, we’ll be sure to let you know.
Nokia continues to sit pretty as the biggest handset maker in the world, having flogged 115.5 million devices in the first quarter of this year. That’s an estimated 39% of all phones shipped during that period (admittedly down from 40% in the last quarter of 2007).
LG is some way behind in terms of numbers, yet it’s still celebrating breaking its record for quarterly sales, having shifted 24.4 million handsets in Q1 this year. Its Viewty, Prada and Shine phones apparently went great guns.
Oh, and good news if you’re an LG fan: it’s due to unveil the third model in its ‘Black Label’ series of phones in the next few days, following Chocolate and Shine.
Having posted already today on the ongoing contest between cameraphones and digital cameras, LG is hammering the point home with a new mobile photography competition based around its Viewty handset, in partnership with Yahoo and National Geographic magazine.
It’s all about uploading your best shots to the Viewtyful World community (ouch!) for other users to vote on. Every week, three Viewty handsets will be given away - two to people chosen by the community, and one awarded by National Geographic’s top snappers.
That’s not all. Eventually, eight finallists will be chosen, with the ultimate winner getting their shots featured in a Viewty advertorial in the National Geographic itself, as well as a $10,000 copyright fee (i.e. prize). Competition promises to be pretty stiff, so don’t assume that blurry snaps of your cat licking its bum will see you quids in. This is the National Geographic: they’ve got more class than that.
A lion licking its bum, mind? Now you’re talking…
We were all in a fluster last month when we came across a mobile concept that included an in-built Bluetooth headset and though we were impressed by the idea, we didn’t think it was the sort of design that any big manufacturers would move on. Oh how wrong we were.
Over at engadget mobile there are some leaked pics of the new LG VX8610, a phone from LG that we have scarecely heard anything about and that has just such a feature. Perhaps the reason we haven’t homed in on this handset yet is that it is currently a carrier branded effort and will be launching on Verizon in the US long before it arrives here, if at all.
It seems likely that it will however, especially seeing as the LG VX8610 is essentially a successor to the LG Chocolate Phone, which after getting some minor modifications over the Korean version, did pretty well in old Blighty. One more pic after the jump.
Continue reading ‘LG Chocolate successor with built-in Bluetooth headset pics leaked’
The big thing about touchscreen mobile phones is that, theoretically, they do away with all the old frustrations of mobile user interfaces, heralding a new dawn of tactile touch navigation. Or something like that. The iPhone has done a pretty good job, but other handset manufacturers are trying to figure out how they can improve on Apple’s UI.
LG’s solution? Hold a competition for designers to come up with a new mobile UI, with a $14,000 prize. Check out the winning entry. It’s called ‘Driving’, and it’s an on-screen steering wheel. I wouldn’t fancy text messaging with that, but imagine playing a driving game…
(via Engadget Mobile)
For those that like their devices both incredibly thin and well endowed at the same time, LG’s new, as of yet unnamed, 5 megapixel offering is sure to please.
The device, which is part of the Black Label line, will be the thinest 5 megapixel camera phone on the market when it launches according to LG. It is also said to have a glass touchscreen and a carbon fiber body. As you have probably guessed, the reason we have been reduced to listing what it is made out of is because LG is keeping any other spec details under wraps at the moment.
The company has promised however to unveil the phone’s name this month which unless it is something like ‘Turbo Danger iPhone Eater’ or something similarly exciting, had better be accompanied by a price, some specs and a release date to keep us sweet.
Even so, we do know that the device will be launching in Europe first, presumably this year. More on this when we have it.
(Via T3)
We found this interesting phone/communicator from LG hiding out on the Nokia booth. The reason is it’s one of LG’s Series 60/Symbian phones.
It looks quite traditional - even slightly chunky from the outside. There’s a 2MP camera on the back and just check out the fake leather effect (with slightly rubberised finish). Very retro. Not very business.
But rotate and flip it open and you have yourself something very different thanks to a neat little QWERTY keyboard and stereo speakers.
We were quite impressed actually. Despite the small form factor, it felt very solid and if the build quality wasn’t up there with LG’s more stylish metal-cased models, it certainly remained better than industry standard. So not too bad for a HSDPA phone with a QVGA res screen.
More images after the break. Continue reading ‘LG gets S60 QWERTY with KT 610′
Mobile video continues to be big news. With the Viewty’s support for DivX movies, the Nokia N96’s TV streaming and multi-format playback and the ubiquitous multimedia behemoth that is the iPhone, the only thing missing is something to watch.
No less a being than Robert Redford descended on the Mobile World Congress to talk about his solution - short films in bite-sized mobile chunks.
Redford’s nonprofit Sundance Institute is working with mobile operators to bring video ‘content’ to the small(est) screen in a bid to create new outlets for filmaking talent. “There are new forms of storytelling coming,” said Redford “I don’t think we’ve explored all the possibilities yet. The only thing you know will keep going is change. If you can’t ride with it as a wave, you’re out.”
Blue Velvet star Isabella Rossellini was also on hand to promote a series of mobile-targeted short films about ‘insect sex’ entitled Green Porno.
As Nelson from The Simpsons put it after seeing Naked Lunch - “I can find at least two things wrong with that title.”
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