LG Electronics today announced its new LG GD880 or LG Mini, the LG GT350 QWERTY messaging phone and rival Samsung took the wraps off the new Samsung Monte.
The LG GD880 or LG Mini is a stylish phone with intelligent features. LG Mini is the smallest and slimmest 3.2-inch full touchscreen phone on the market today.
"We developed the LG Mini in response to specific requests from actual consumers who were unhappy with current full touchscreen phones that are too bulky, too clunky and too expensive," said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "The easily pocketable LG Mini delivers great looks at a reasonable price, along with the trendy features that people want."
Thanks to a slim, compact form factor made from highe quality materials, the LG Mini easily slides in a shirt pocket or small handbag. Textured metal accents on the sides of the LG Mini add to the phone's looks without detracting from its overall simplicity. On the front, a 3.2 inch touchscreen with an aspect ration of 16:9 extends all the way to the edge of the phone. In addition, a button-free face keeps the LG Mini simple and sleek.
Besides features such as speedy web browsing and fast push email, the LG Mini also offers Social Network Connect, which makes keeping in touch with online friends even easier than on a desktop PC. Popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are instantly accessible through built-in applications and a Social Network Feed provides instant and automatic updates of friends and family members on the home screen. Updates also appear next to each contact in the Social Address Book.
What's more, the LG Mini boasts a 5.0 megapixel camera featuring face detection which allows uploading of sharp, vivid pictures and videos wirelessly to multiple social networks in one simple step. The device also plays music and movies in several file formats and includes an FM radio.
With HSDPA connectivity at 7.2 Mbps and Wi-Fi, the LG Mini can browse the internet at high speed and also provide real-time location information using A-GPS.
The LG Mini will be available in Europe starting in March, followed by other markets. LG did not unveil pricing details.
LG also today announced the launch of the LG GT350, a new QWERTY messaging phone with built-in applications for major social networks, all optimized for its 3-inch touchscreen.
The LG GT350 improves upon the earlier LG KS360, a messaging phone that has sold over five million units worldwide since its launch in August 2008. Both phones have slide-out full QWERTY keypads designed specifically for the textually-minded.
More powerful than its predecessor, the LG GT350 includes upgrades to its messaging and social networking experience. Opening its slider reveals a four-line QWERTY keypad, versus a three-line keyboard on the earlier model. What's more, the 3-inch WQVA screen on GT350 is now fully touch enabled, an upgrade from the partial touchscreen on the original KS360.
Social networking is a strong suit for the LG GT350. Its entire interface is optimized for social networks, providing full integration with sites like Facebook, Twitter. It aggregates information from multiple social networks onto one screen, making it easy to instantly check status updates, keep track of friends and respond to messages. For direct access to social networking sites, the LG GT350 has a dedicated shortcut key on the keypad. In addition to social networking, the keypad also includes dedicated buttons for accessing push e-mail, the web browser and instant messaging.
With real-time push e-mail, the LG GT350 immediately notifies users when they receive new e-mails. Registering multiple e-mail accounts is easy and messages are ready for viewing as soon as the GT350 intercepts them.
The LG GT350 will be available in Europe from this April and will then launch in other markets around the world. The phone will come in four color combinations including Blue, Purple, Silver, and Black.
LG's rival Samsung today announced the launch of Samsung Monte (model: S5620), its new full touch screen device.
The handset is launched with a host of multimedia features and a sleek design. With a TouchWiz 2.0 Plus User Interface (UI), the Monte is set to become the latest must-have full touch device.
The Samsung Monte has also a lot to offer to the social network savvy consumer with a suite of native social networking applications including Facebook and MySpace, allowing users to access their profiles whenever and wherever they choose. This is teamed with advanced Twitter and Bebo widgets - and multi-IM capability - to provide users with the opportunity to chat in real-time via their chosen service. In addition, Monte users can enjoy full Internet browsing, with an accelerometer sensor allowing the onscreen image to automatically adjust as you rotate the phone.
The Monte includes GPS supported by Google Latitude, ensuring you know where you are - and can keep your friends updated on your location - at all times. This combines with Geo-tagging, allowing users to imprint their photos with geographic tags to share their travels and experiences with friends. Other connectivity features include optional anytime, anywhere Wi-Fi connectivity, Exchange ActiveSync for access to Outlook email accounts, and Google Sync. This allows users to simultaneously update their social networks schedules and Outlook calendar, without the hassle of accessing each application individually.
The Monte comes equipped with a 3.0-inch WQVGA LCD screen with 16:9 landscape viewing. It also boasts a 3.2-megapixel camera with many features including smile shot, panorama shot, and face detection. For convenience, the phone also supports Smart Unlock and One finger zoom.
Samsung is exhibiting at Mobile World Congress 2010, stand 8b 169.