S Class -- Engadget

s-class posts

LG BL40 New Chocolate review

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 19th 2009 at 11:44AM

You know the deal by now: we grab a slab of fresh new hardware, fiddle, play, and tinker with it until exhaustion or boredom is reached, then wax poetic about the whole experience, with a side serving of pictures and videos thrown in. Today's candidate for a grilling is LG's BL40, which is now available in Europe. You'll be familiar with it already from our hands-on look last month, but do join us over at Engadget Mobile where we explore what's under the glossy hood in more detail, and give you a definitive answer on just how useful that elongated screen really is.

Gallery: LG BL40 New Chocolate review

LG BL40 Chocolate Touch hands-on

by Vladislav Savov posted Sep 2nd 2009 at 9:24PM

LG's latest Black Label device, tastefully titled the Chocolate Touch, caused quite a few gasps and swoons around the Engadget mansion when it was first spotted, and subsequent photo shoots have not diminished our admiration. The gorgeous 4-inch, 21:9 display promises a whole new way to experience web browsing and video playback on a mobile phone, and we've been salivating for an opportunity to try it out. Finally, that day has come, so follow along as we get our fingerprints all over a final production sample, and bring you pictures, video and our thoughts on the functionality that lay behind that tempered glass screen.

Gallery: LG BL40 Chocolate Touch hands-on

Continue reading LG BL40 Chocolate Touch hands-on

LG BL40 Chocolate Touch reviewed, deemed 'pretty OK'

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Aug 25th 2009 at 10:28AM

We know you've been saving up your Rubles for the new LG BL40 Chocolate Touch, but in the meantime we thought we'd hep you to this pretty extensive review they conducted over at Mobile Review. And sure, at first blush this thing seems to be extremely noteworthy: that 21:9 display, the S-Class UI, the haughty demeanor -- what's not to love? The real question, of course, isn't how attractive the handset is, but how will it fare in the real world? For the reviewer, a big sticking point was the phone's dimensions. This thing is huge -- at over 5-inches tall, you're going to need a purse (or some sort of rugged man purse) to haul it around. Then again, at 25,000 rubles (about $795) you're probably not the kind of man who feels self-conscious about carrying a purse. And that isn't the only complication this form factor provides -- the extreme width (or really, extreme lack of height) means that, in landscape mode, the QWERTY keyboard takes up pretty much the entire screen, leaving you only one line of text to work with. And the display quality here can't compare to the AMOLED offered by Samsung. It's "pleasant," the reviewer said, "but nothing more." But there is more to this review, which can be found at the read link. And you know what? It's a real page turner.

[Thanks, Vinicius]

LG BL40 Chocolate Touch gets the hands-on treatment... on video!

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Aug 18th 2009 at 9:12AM

We've still got our hopes up for an August 23rd launch date, but in the meantime we do have a, well, tasty video of LG's BL40 Chocolate Touch to tide us over. As you might have guessed, the UI is of the 3D S-Class variety. The accelerometer looks pretty snappy, and watching video seems to be a joy on the 4-inch, 21:9 display. Of course, we could give you a scene-by-scene recap, but we'd hate to spoil this Oscar-worthy production for you. Peep it yourself after the break.

Continue reading LG BL40 Chocolate Touch gets the hands-on treatment... on video!

LG's 12 megapixel GC990 Louvre flagship with Schneider-Kreuznach optics records our puzzlement in HD

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 8th 2009 at 6:19AM

If you're the type who values specs above all else then lean in close, LG's GC990 Louvre is about as spec heavy as it gets. Taking its industrial design and UI cues from the GC900 it will replace later this year, LG's newest flagship brings yet another 12 megapixel camera to market. LG's promising "zero shutter lag" while using respectable Schneider-Kreuznach optics with auto- or touchscreen-focus, a xenon flash, claimed ISO 3200 sensitivity (from a tiny cellphone image sensor?), and the ability to record 720p video at 30 fps. It'll also geotag your snaps thanks to on-board GPS. Fine, just remember that 12 megapixel images shot at full quality will result in massive (up to 18MB) files that must then be stored and transmitted to your favorite image sharing sites -- a waste of time and treasure unless you plan to blow up and crop those well-lit images. Anywho, rounding out the specs are LG's S-Class featurephone UI running atop an auto-rotating 3.2-inch (16:9 aspect) touchscreen display, WiFi, Bluetooth, DivX and Xvid video support, a TV-out jack, and support for media sharing with DLNA standard devices. Picture of the backside camera just beyond the read link.

Imation ships new SSDs, upgrade kits

by Joseph L. Flatley posted May 1st 2009 at 6:06AM

The gang at Imation have just announced two new lines of SSDs for your computing pleasure (though, sadly, we have yet to see an iCarly-branded model). Both the S-Class and the M-Class drives are available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities, and both are available in 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factors. For the budget-minded consumer, the M-Class boasts a 150MB/s read speed and 90MB/s write speed, and sports a black oxide finish -- starting at $189.99. For those of you with a little more cash to throw around, the S-Class reads at 130MB/s and writes 120MB/s speeds and sports a stainless steel finish. This bad boy starts at $659.99. Also available as part of a laptop upgrade kit (2.5-inch SSD drive, Acronis True Image HD imaging software, USB-to-SATA or SATA-to-SATA connector cable, power cable or power adapter) or desktop kit (3.5-inch SSD drive, Acronis True Image HD, a SATA connector and power cable or adapter), with M-Class kits starting at $299.99 and S-Class kits at $1299.99. Peep the M-Class drive after the break.

[Via iTech News]

Continue reading Imation ships new SSDs, upgrade kits

LG's Viewty II rumored for June release, all 8 megapixels of it

by Thomas Ricker posted Apr 9th 2009 at 5:43AM

Looks like LG's about to treat the world to an upgrade of its popular Viewty handset. The Viewty II (aka, GC900) is rumored to be hitting Orange UK sometime in June. As a refresher, the VII (or juicy 900 if you must) is laden with impressive specs including LG's 3D S-Class UI riding a 3-inch WVGA touchscreen, accelerometer, and an 8 megapixel camera with xenon flash, manual and auto focus, image stabilization, ISO 1600 support (riiiight), A-GPS geotagging, slow motion video, and even DivX and Xvid playback. Add to that 32GB of expandable storage, WiFi, and 7.2Mbps HSDPA data and you'll understand our anticipation.

[Via Pocket-lint and Electric Pig]

LG's GD900 with (multi-touch?) transparent keypad gets S-Class UI

by Thomas Ricker posted Mar 30th 2009 at 4:15AM

The recent glut of telephony news can mean only one thing: CTIA Wireless 2009 is getting ready to kick off in Vegas baby, Las Vegas. In the runup we have LG upping the hype on its 13.4mm-thick GD900 handset first outed in Barcelona at February's MWC show. This time, however, the 7.2Mbps HSDPA slider with world's first transparent glass (not plastic as originally assumed) keypad will be functional, running LG's new S-Class UI on the 3-inch display. We know that the GD900 features vibrational haptic feedback and that the transparent keypad seems to double as a touch-sensitive mouse pad (like that on your laptop) when surfing the internet or navigating the UI -- it also seems to support gestures like writing "M" to launch the MP3 music player and multi-touch such as pinch to zoom on photographs. The GD900 will launch in Europe and Asia sometime in May. No US release announced so we'll have to make the most of our time with it this week in order to clear up all the mysteries presented by the Korean press release. One more pic showing an apparent finger-swipe rotating the UI after the break.

[Via Akihabara News and Engadget Korea]

Continue reading LG's GD900 with (multi-touch?) transparent keypad gets S-Class UI

LG GM730 hands-on (with video!)

by Sean Cooper posted Feb 16th 2009 at 10:47AM

We had opportunity to check out one of LG's newest smartphones, the LG GM730 at MWC today. We've seen all the specs but ~~thought~~ knew you all needed a really good look at the new S-Class UI. This phone is not final, so our hands-on shows a few interface hiccups, but, you'll get the drift. So what's the take away here? This appears to be a darn fine overlay on Windows Mobile, access to things from the home screen are simple and quick: mail, messaging, calendar, menus to get at network settings and so forth are a welcome addition. The device feels sturdy (even without a back) and looks just fine in our sleep deprived eyes. Carry on for a video with all the action and a gallery stuffed full of MWC love.

Gallery: LG GM730 hands-on (with video!)

Continue reading LG GM730 hands-on (with video!)

LG brings S-Class UI to Windows Mobile with GM730

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 16th 2009 at 9:00AM

Turns out LG's fancy new feature phone UI -- S-Class, as it's called -- isn't just for feature phones. The GM730 brings the same 3D interface into the wide world of Windows Mobile, along with 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 2Mbps HSUPA, quadband EDGE, and Internet Explorer Mobile 6.0 into a package just 11.9mm thick. Sadly, LG's elected to do nothing but 900 / 2100MHz with the 3G here, so North Americans are left out of the equation at this point -- but much of the rest of the world can look into picking it up in the first half of the year.

Gallery: LG brings S-Class UI to Windows Mobile with GM730

LG Arena KM900 hangs onto limelight, reveals multitouch capabilities

by Ross Miller posted Feb 10th 2009 at 2:21PM

At this rate, LG isn't gonna have any secrets left about the Arena KM900 when it takes the stage for its Mobile World Congress press conference on Monday. The company's released a few more snippets via its Korean site, chief among them being multitouch capabilities for image and web page zooming. Other details include a dedicated multimedia chip and designations for each of the four sides of the interface's 3D cube: phone, widgets, shortcuts, and multimedia. One of our favorite lines, which is almost certainly made funnier by the machine translation, is that this UI is the culmination of 100 years of interface research. We'll have more on the KM900 -- assuming they don't reveal everything before then -- next week in Barcelona.

[Via Unwired View]

LG Arena (KM900) pops official, brings along 3D S-Class UI

by Darren Murph posted Feb 8th 2009 at 10:16AM

Rather than waiting for the KM900 to get lost amongst hundreds of other handsets set to vie for attention at Mobile World Congress, LG has decided it best to go ahead and make its newest touchscreen handset official a few days early. The so-called Arena, which will take the crown as LG's "flagship phone for 2009," is hoping to wow onlookers with its dynamic 3D S-Class user interface. According to Dr. Skott Ahn, president and CEO of LG Mobile: "The direct, intuitive and dynamic S-Class UI will be unlike anything that has appeared on a mobile phone before." We're not quite sure we believe all that just yet, but there's little doubt this bugger will be keen on multimedia. Other specs include integrated Dolby / DivX technology, support for HSDPA 7.2Mbps, WiFi, Assisted GPS and "far more" amenities that should be uncovered in Barcelona. Excited yet?

[Via UnwiredView, thanks Staska]

Mercedes S400 BlueHybrid aims to be first to use Li-ion battery

by Darren Murph posted Mar 1st 2008 at 1:04PM

There's a decent chance your average hybrid owner wouldn't know the difference between a lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride battery if their life depended on it, but we know you -- dear reader -- are not one of those "average" joes / janes. That being the case, you may be interested to know that the 2009-bound S400 BlueHybrid is in prime position to be the world's first production Li-ion hybrid, which will offer up "compact dimensions and far superior performance" compared to existing rivals. M-B goes on to trumpet the technology's "high ampere-hour efficiency, long service life, and great reliability, even at very low temperatures." No word on just how astronomically high this thing will be priced at, but you can expect just shy of 30 miles-per-gallon in mixed driving conditions, for what it's worth.