LG takes wraps off Optimus Pad, Optimus 3D smartphone

BARCELONA, Spain--LG Electronics used its press conference here at the Mobile World Congress trade show to officially unveil its new Android tablet, the Optimus Pad as well as its first 3D smartphone, the Optimus 3D, as it sought to project confidence about its place in the high-end of the market. The Optimus Pad will be released in the U.S. market through T-Mobile USA as the G-Slate.

LG Optimus 3D Mobile World congress boothThe announcements were the latest in a series of high-profile device releases from LG, including the Optimus 2X and Optimus Black smartphones. LG has suffered mightily in smartphones and in the fourth quarter, LG's handset business reported an operating loss of $234.2 million. Handset sales dropped 15.2 percent year-over-year to $2.97 billion.

LG said the Optimus 3D features a a dual-lens camera that enables users to capture video in 3D. The device has a 4.3-inch WVGA that enables users to see 3FD images without the need for 3D glasses. The Optimus 3D runs on version 2.2 of Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform, and will be upgraded to Android 2.3. The gadget packs a dual-core 1 GHz OMPA 4 processor from Texas Instruments and also sports a 5-megapixel camera, HDMi connection and DLNA cpaabilities to share content with TVs. Users can also upload captured 3D content to a dedicated YouTube 3D channel. LG did not discuss U.S. availability or pricing.

LG also fleshed out the details on its 8.9-inch Optimus Pad. The Optimus Pad has a 1280 x 768 WXGA resolution widescreen display, a built-in 3D camera, dual-core 1 GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and runs on version 3.0, or Honeycomb, of Android.

In other LG news, the company also announced a mid-range Android phone called the Optimus Me. The company also demonstrated a Voice over LTE video call on the LG Revolution, which Verizon Wirleless (NYSE:VZ) will launch later this year. Verizon had indicated earlier this month that it would demo the technology with an eye toward launching it commercially in 2012.

For more:
- see this LG device release
- see this LG VoLTE release
- see this Wired article
- see this Know Your Mobile article

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