LG's LTE-packing M13 spied in the flesh, we still can't tell what it is
By Chris Ziegler 
posted January 6th 2010 6:50PM
posted January 6th 2010 6:50PM
posted January 6th 2010 6:50PM
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that really is a strange device.
@(Unverified)
I wouldnt be surprised if its filled with fairy dust and cocaine--I heard thats how LTE works.
lol This is what happens when you try to pull off what lenovo did but have absolutely NO clue how to do it.
it IS a netbook that uses the cellphone for connection. or take the phone with you. Kinda like my old Yorx system in the 80's that had two dual tape decks and one more on top that was removable and used as a walkman...i loved that thing! ahh the mixed tape
It is clearly a toaster.
@Esat Dedezade
AH HA! you are correct sir!
i think its burning the toast.
LG planning to tell us wat it is on next 2011 CES
@Dking7 No, they'll tell us what is is tomorrow, which is when CES actually starts. The floor may be open, but there aren't people at the booths demoing all the stuff yet.
Its a phone prototype - with a JTAG debugging port
@hh0944
This makes by far the most sense. Wikipedia confirms that JTAG ports are for testing circuit boards, and it clearly says JTAG in the second to last photo, so it's definitely prototype hardware.
The big casing just contains the phone parts, spread out so they're easier to work with.
@Zweben
actually, i think youre the closest. they have the guts planned, but nothing hardware? testing new chipsets? but i swear youre the closet
Maybe LTE in this case stands for Large Term Evolution, or is Larger Telecommunication Evolution?
Engadget is impatient. It is only at mutation 13 of its long term evolution.
working penis enlargement device, one time?
note the green and red phone buttons on the bottom of the device, clearly a cellular phone designed for tethering.
Um... It does look like the phone pops out.
@JEdelman
It doesn't, the last photo in particular. That, and the sim slot is on the base.
i think its a terminal for switching between different types of network?
http://www.lge.com/about/press_release/detail/21773.jhtml
It has to be a phone + notebook combo. I'm guessing you use it with a bluetooth headset.
thats gotta just be some kind of development or prototype device.
I can tell you what it is. It is more CES crap.
@HighestRanked
You're so right! We should wait for the next Apple event together.
/sarcasm
@Muddy this has been the lamest CES in years. All I've seen is gimmicky TVs.
It's obviously a TDX-MA device.
This _is_ an LTE device. Nothing else. They're simply that big at this time. The phone is deceiving in that it appears removable, but without the rest of it, there's no LTE. I've showed this to a friend at VZ and he confirmed that this is what he saw demonstrated internally. There's no netbook, or anything else hiding from view. The J-TAG port confirms that it's a development device for testing as well. Remember that the folks making the radios for these things are still developing the chipsets, this is how big everything is before they squish it all into new chips.
@doog
ding ding ding! and we have a winner! seems pretty obvious to me. i think engadget is just hoping for something a lot more interesting than an LTE handset, even though that is relatively interesting in its own right.
however, I wonder why they would bother to show a development device as such. put it in a big fancy looking case? odd choice. would have made more sense to make a dummy model of what the device should look like once it is completed.
I'm guessing its the next gen of home or office telephones. But that doesn't explain the data speed...or does it?
I definitely think it is a netbook with a smartphone meant to be used for wi-fi tethering.
it's a smartphone/Smartbook Combo.
You just put your smartphone inside the laptop shell when you need a keyboard and a bigger screen. The Laptop is basically an empty shell with just a Keyboard and a screen. kindda like that Palm Folio thingie.
and I though the motorola microtac was big! LOL
@doog
This seems quite reasonable. At first glance the device on the top looks integrated, not removable. The odds of this being a netbook of some type are very slim. Closer examination yields that the SIM slot and USB cover are directly over where the upper and lower halves of said netbook would open. The phone looking device on the top is most likely to give a friendly user interface with the inner workings of the modem/router, while also incorporating hands-free voice services as well.
At first glance the device on the top looks integrated, not removable. Closer examination reveals that the SIM slot and USB cover are directly over where the upper and lower halves of an alleged netbook would open. The phone looking device on the top is most likely to give a user interface with the inner workings of the modem/router, while also incorporating hands-free voice services as well.
Either that, or this is the new WiPod.
Double comments I thought I'd lost FTL.
It's actually the newest trend in mobile phones. Makers have decided to take us back to the "brick" days in an effort to curb phone usage while driving. Try holding this up to your head while driving!
Could be a couple of things -
1) Takes cell phone tower feed LTE data and turns it into WiFi kind of like the MiFi.
2) Goes the other way - a femtocell or picocell kind of substitute for a LTE cell tower for places where the network has no coverage, which is just about everywhere. Input a broadband network cable or WiFi and get cell coverage.
Those are my guesses.