LG Optimus Vu official, tries phone-tablet crossover game
updated 01:35 am EST, Sun February 19, 2012
LG Optimus Vu detailed ahead of MWC
LG has officially provided details surrounding the Optimus Vu, its own take on the same blurring of lines between the phone and tablet as Samsung's Galaxy Note. True to leaks, the device has a five-inch display like its Samsung rival but uses a 4:3 aspect ratio like the Pantech Pocket. The 1024x768, color-rich IPS display is said to improve text reading, LG claimed, although the ratio could make it even wider than the Galaxy Note.
The design shares the Note's concept of bundling a pen, although the phone body is much thinner at 8.5mm (0.33in) thick. Its screen makes it relatively readable outside at 650 nits of brightness, which isn't as high as the 700 on a phone like the Optimus Black but is high in mobile. A dual-core 1.5GHz processor, an eight-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front camera, and a skinned Android 2.3 make it a close relative of the Optimus LTE.
Every version will have 32GB of built-in storage and a 2,080mAh battery are common to every country. They also get DLNA media sharing, HDMI video, and Wi-Fi Direct, although only South Korea will get T-DMB over-the-air TV tuning.
LG is planning a very quick release and will already have the Optimus Vu shipping to Korea by early March. It hasn't said when the hybrid will ship to other countries.
The release shows LG following Samsung closely and also suggests that they may have hit creative barriers. It remains to be seen whether the phone-and-tablet mix pays off given that the Samsung ad wasn't effective in capturing most customers' minds before the US Galaxy Note launch taking place on Sunday. Americans have so far been mostly resistant to Samsung tablets, preferring the iPad, and more recently have bought more of Apple's iPhones than even more mainstream Samsung smartphones like the Galaxy S II.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2010
Are you kidding me?
That won't fit in a pocket. That will be unreasonably difficult to hold and use. 16:9 video (aka all video) will be poorly represented on a 4:3 screen. 4:3 is obsolete. Did I mention that won't f**king fit in a pocket?! I can see being so proud of a device that you want to literally carry it around everywhere, wait, no I can't. Even my 4S isn't something I'd let inhibit my life, and I'm proud as h*** of it.