Today LG Electronics officially unveiled their new LG Optimus Pad tablet at a press conference on opening day of Mobile World Congress 2011. The LG Optimus Pad features a 8.9-inch display (15:9 aspect ratio, 1280 × 768 WXGA resolution) and is powered by Google’s Android 3.0 platform and the NVIDIA Tegra 2 mobile processor (1 GHz dual-core and GeForce GPU). What is more interesting for us however is the fact that this tablet is the first with a 3D camera (5 megapixel) for both capturing photos and videos in 3D format. But since the tablet does not feature a 3D-capable screen (unless you want to wear anaglyph glasses), you will have to watch the captured 3D content on a 3D HDTV (using the HDMI 1.4 connection of the tablet) or transfer the content to a 3D-capable PC. You will also be able to upload the 3D videos directly to YouTube 3D trough a special client on the phone, meaning that the 3D video content on YouTube should boom after the launch of the tablet on the market. The LG Optimus Pad will begin shipping starting in March.
The other new thing today from the company presented at the MWC in Barcelona is the LG Optimus 3D smartphone. This one features a 4.3-inch WVGA (480 × 800 resolution) glasses-free 3D screen (autostereoscopic 3D display) as well as a dual-lens 3D camera (5-megapixel dual-lens camera capable of 1080p recording and playback in 2D and 720p recording and playback in 3D mode) for capturing 3D photos and 3D videos like on the Optimus Pad Tablet. The display will be switchable between 2D and 3D mode at the touch of a physical button, with a dedicated hub for the 3D content as the phone is not a 3D-only device, but the 3D capabilities come in the form of an extra features. The Optimus 3D smartphone is based on a 1 GHz OMAP4 dual-core processor from Texas Instruments and not on a Tegra 2 like the company’s new tablet. The phone also features an HDMI 1.4 output that will allow you to play stereoscopic 3D content trough it on a 3D HDTV for example. The phone will also come with a YouTube 3D client that will allow the users to upload the 3D videos they capture directly on YouTube in 3D format thanks to a partnership between LG and Google. The Android-powered Optimus 3D will be available in the second quarter of 2011.
There is still no official information about the interaxial of the two lenses for the 3D cameras on both devices, but hopefully there will soon be users reporting the distance between the two lenses and we’ll probably start seeing some early reviews for both devices. Feel free to share any additional interesting and useful information you find about these devices in the comments below …
