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LG's Sera Park talks about the design story behind the Optimus G
LG's Sera Park has been talking about her latest handset, the Optimus G, and how it carries the DNA of its Chocolate and Prada phones from way back when. One of the aims was to build a display that was seamless with the rest of its unibody construction, so that it "floats in your hand," as you use it. It also banished all front-side decoration, but compensated by adding a crystal reflection method to bling up the back. Of course, we wouldn't be surprised if the clip was timed to appear as a timely reminder to those sensitive about design that LG certainly can't be accused of following a trend. The company isn't letting people embed the video, so if you'd like to watch her wax lyrical about rectangles, you'll have to head on down to the source link.
Verizon's BlackBerry 8530 and LG Chocolate Touch go hands-on
Rounding out the flurry of interesting Verizon Wireless launches today are the BlackBerry Curve 8530 and LG Chocolate Touch (pictured). The 8530 is pretty much just the Verizon edition of T-Mobile's 8520, but the LG Chocolate Touch bears closer examination. Basically it's just a war on the eyeballs of anyone who's ever seen the BL40, with the front, back, materials and interface of the device all falling incredibly short of aesthetic pleasure. However, the $80 phone does have a relatively responsive and usable touchscreen interface for a "dumbphone," and we've used worse touchscreen keyboards on Windows Mobile. So it's not a complete tragedy, but we really feel sorry for someone who skips over the DROID ERIS for this just handset just to save $20.
LG BL40 Chocolate Touch hands-on
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.
LG BL40 Chocolate Touch reviewed, deemed 'pretty OK'
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!
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.
LG Chocolate Touch and Samsung Omnia 2 slated for August 23rd, according to supposed Best Buy leak
If this screen capture to be believed, August 23rd is gearing up to be one helluva day for phone lovers. According to this snapshot from Best Buy's computers, that's when LG's desirable BL40 Chocolate Touch will be making its way into the consumer world, alongside a red Xenon and a bevy of Samsung phones including Omnia 2, Rogue, and Solstice. No clue on what the Tour is doing up there dated for the 23rd, since it's already out on both Verizon and Sprint, but perhaps a major shipment is in the works. As for that M330 for September 8th? Yeah, we're not sure. Surrounding that tantalizing list from the top and bottom, respectively, are Samsung's eco-conscious Reclaim -- presumably listed for August 16th, although the date is obscured -- and a red and black "G2" from august 5th, which would undoubtedly be referring to T-Mobile's sophomore Android device, the myTouch 3G. Two weeks seem awfully close, but if this pans out, we certainly won't be arguing.
LG teases next-generation Chocolate for August unveiling
To say that the Chocolate was a hit for LG would be similar to saying the PlayStation 2 went over well for Sony. Indeed, the outfit's best selling handset ever (21 million units worldwide) holds a special place in the hearts of suits and shareholders alike, so it's hardly a shock to see the company issuing a next-generation version of the device. Slated to fall into LG's Black Label series, the phone -- which is simply dubbed the 'second generation LG Chocolate' for now -- will be fully unveiled in August, with bits and pieces to be strategically dropped during the run-up. The only real hint at features that we're given is the following: "The new LG Chocolate will be a disruptive force in conventional mobile screens in an effort to maximize usability while inheriting the original minimalist-inspired style and iconic design of its predecessor." Haptics? OLED? A portal into the future? Only time will tell. Update: The typically reliable Tweakers.net has come through with a few more details, namely that this here phone will become the first of its kind with a 21:9 aspect ratio display (much like Philips' 56-inch Cinema HDTV). We're also told that the model number will be BL-40, the screen resolution will be pegged at 800 x 345, the display itself will be over 3-inches diagonally, the inbuilt camera will be 5 megapixels and HSDPA will be included. Now, if only we knew how the UI would handle...[Via Engadget Spanish]
RM650 and RM550 RAmos DAPs get "chocolized"
Fed up with the overcrowded iPod-rippin' game, RAmos has moved on to the other hotness of 2006: LG's Chocolate. And RAmos makes no bones about its "inspiration," as seen in the press shot above. At least Meizu has the modesty to deny it once in a while. Anyways, specs are pretty standard for the RM650 and RM550 players: 2.4-inch QVGA displays, 1GB to 4GB of flash memory (2GB max on the RM650), less than 0.45-inches thick, mic recording and decent codec support, including XviD. Prices range from $52 to $78, no word exactly when they'll be hitting shelves in China, and little hope for such imitation to make it to the States through any formal channels.[Via The MP3 Players
Keepin' it real fake, part XLII: what if LG's Chocolate was a DAP?
Mebbe your phone is treating you just fine, but you still find yourself lusting after those glowing accents of LG's ultrapopular Chocolate phone. Well never fear, Asia (we'll go out on a limb here and narrow it down to China) totally has your back. The new Sunlike MP611 PMP liberally "borrows" stylings from the LG flagship, but is no slouch on specs: a 2.4-inch QVGA screen, MPEG-4 video playback with external speaker, built-in microphone, USB 2.0, ebook reader and even gaming -- perhaps via Flash Lite. Memory is expandable via miniSD, though we're not sure how much, if any, memory comes standard. We're also digging the 0.39-inch thickness. Too bad all that silly "respect for intellectual property" stuff keeps DAPs like this out of the States.[Thanks, Steve]
LG's KE800 Chocolate Platinum: the KG800's and KV-6000's pretty baby
Mmm, yummy leaked photos of LG's Chocolate v2, otherwise known as the KE800 Chocolate Platinum, unofficially that is. While it certainly shares the looks of LG's KV-6000 Black Label II slider, this model goes tri-band 900/1800/1900 with GPRS (like the KG800) and now EDGE data while doubling the internal memory to 256MB and packing a bigger 2 megapixel shooter with autofocus and macro mode. What's more, you get an FM radio to accompany that media player supporting MP3/AAC/AAC+/AAC++ and WAV formats along with microSD expansion and Bluetooth stereo support to make this is viable music phone. All these bumps yet it measures a scant 9.9-mm / 0.39-inch thin compared to its relatively chubby 15.2-mm / 0.69-inch VZW Chocolate cuz. No word on where or when but without the 850MHz band, we're happy to wait for this to go quad, right Cingular users?[Via Phonearena]
M-Cody's M20 merges nano with Chocolate
Why just swipe one product design when you could be keepin' it real fake-er with two unabashed design steals? M-Cody asks that question with their new M20 music player, which merges a few stylings of LG's uber-popular Chocolate phone with a nice helping of iPod nano to create a quite stylish and sexy -- if a bit unoriginal -- music player. The specs aren't that bad, with MP3, WMA and OGG support, flash storage ranging from 512MB to 2GB and a nano bustin' 1.1 to 1.4-ounce weight. The positively bulky 0.3-inch thickness doesn't quite match up though, and 128 x 64 pixel OLED display isn't going to win many awards either. We don't have a price or launch dates yet, but this presumably China-bound player isn't looking too shabby -- fakery and all.
Hands-on with the KG800 (Chocolate) and Dopod S300 (Star Trek)
Good times can be had over at our sister site, Engadget Chinese, which has managed some alone time with two recent releases, the LG KG800 Chocolate and Dopod S300 HTC Star Trek. Both phones are plenty sexy in their own way, with the KG800's obvious aesthetics leading the charge, but the S300's ability to pack in all that Windows Mobile goodness in such a small package earning it plenty of kudos as well. Decisions, decisions.Read: LG KG800Read: Dopod S300
