Mighty Gadget Blog: The latest technology news & reviews in the UK

In the old days pay as you go phones were cheap, cheerful and do everything required out of a phone one would need. They text, they ring. Nowadays, although not packing the super technological goods of an iPhone, HTC Desire or Galaxy S they still do their job and have basic extras. The LG “Cookie Fresh” GS290 is just that. As one of the cheapest touchscreen PAYG phones on the market (from £40ish) you wouldn’t expect too much, but if you want to know more on what we thought of it, then please click on and read our review.

Read the rest of this entry »

3D is now obviously what every major tech gadget producer is aiming at with everything now coming in 3D. As a user I’m still not totally convinced but I’ve only watched the odd football match in 3D and not got my eyes on a decent 3D movie or game yet. LG recently launched the LG R590 3D laptop in Korea and it’s expected to hit our shores soon.

Powered with Intel’s Core i7 processor and 1GB of NVIDIA graphics goodness this 15.6” laptop ops for the polarising 3D effect and comes bundled with a fetching pair of the cheaper polarised frames. The 3D effect comes from the TriDef software we saw on Lenovo’s recently released IdeaPad Y560d 3D laptop, it converts the 2D images on the go into a 3D image, that when fired through a polarised screen into your Joe 90s the image “comes to life”. The laptop is also capable of HD quality sound and has the option for a Blu-Ray drive.

We have no details on the exact date of release or price but LG have also gone on to say they’re planning a plethora of 3D gadgets, including monitors for PC gaming and even 200” projectors with 3D capabilities.

The GW620 InTouch Max is LG’s first Android handset and is generally aimed at the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to smartphones, obviously dominated by the likes of iPhone or other Android’s like the Nexus One. However just because of this don’t let that put you off, this phone still packs a lot of goods for the price. Not only this, it’s the first time I’ve got fully to grips with the Android OS and I like what I’m seeing but more about that later. Click on for the rest of the review.

Read the rest of this entry »

The LG OLED TV has been doing the rounds at tradeshows and on blogs the world over for a good year or so now but now us Brits can expect a release of the super sharp but small TV anytime soon. Now we can finally get our hands (well if you happen to be well-off) on a bigger rival to the Sony XEL-1 which was the only OLED screen available.

At 15” you may think this is relatively small in comparison to a 50” plasma or LCD but the quality is far beyond that of either of the older techs which if you have a mobile or PMP that utilises OLED technology you may have noticed the difference between it and its LCD counterpart. The output is a good 720p and will have Freeview inside. It also has a USB port and will playback any of your movie files including DivX HD. To top all that off though is the best part ………… It’s only 3.2mm thick.

No exact date has been posted by the South Koreans for us though but expect real soon. Also price details are a bit hazy too but you’ll be looking at around £1500. A lot you might say for a 15” screen. Unfortunately OLED screens aren’t cheap to make but when it’s only competition is the Sony XEL-1 which is a few inches smaller but £3000, it doesn’t seem too bad.

Rumoured for the past month or so and with the success of the GW620 In Touch Max(LG’s first Android phone, review coming soon) LG has announced its next Android phone only this time they’re powering up with Qualcomm’s speed friendly Snapdragon 1GHz chip.

The news comes that the phone will appear in its native South Korea in the next month and Android France has leaked the rest of the specs on the phone. It will supposedly be packing a lovely 3.5” AMOLED capacitive touchscreen capable of a super sharp 800x480 resolution. It will also have a 5MP camera, GPS and Wi-Fi plus apparently a digital TV Tuner(promising….) Android France have also stated it will be packing the latest Android, 2.1. The success of the GW620’s physical keyboard appears to have followed to the LU2300, let’s hope it’s as good.

It seems to be the norm now for the latest Android phones to be powered by the “dragon” so obviously LG is getting in with the crowd and is looking to improve on its previous Android releases which will only be a good thing. No release or price news yet so watch this space.

Originally the LG LD950 3DTV was scheduled to be released in August but now it has been brought forward allowing consumers to get a chance to snap up some 3D tech at a cheaper price(due to it being a passive 3DTV). For anyone who didn’t know this TV was originally scheduled for release, then withdrawn from LGs product line only to re-emerge again.

With the recent Sky 3D pub showings of the football recently on LGs LD920(the commercial model for LG to show off its tech) has now been upgraded to the LD950 model number as it will now have HDMI 1.4. This was needed due to the fact future 3D sources like Blu-Ray players will use this new HDMI 1.4 as its standard so the TVs needed an update so they could then be on open sale(hence the delay/re-branding).

Now this new model should be available in May time and will come out alongside the monstrous LG LX9900(the first 3DTV available with Active technology). Now for those not in the know its all to do with the type of glasses you wear and the science involved to view the image, Active being better than Passive for the image quality but Passive specs are a lot cheaper to produce. Price details are still not available.

The two Korean Electronic giants are both looking at launching their 3DTV screens as soon as next month. Samsung’s LED9000 Series 3D TV will be its first release where LG will be shipping its 32-52” Infinia LE9500 range of screens.

With so much in the 3D world appearing within the next year (Sky 3D, 3D gaming and more 3D Movies) now is a good time for the release. With the obvious popularity rise in 3D now at its highest since the 80s 3D revolution the question asked we need to ask is “will people spend the money on what could be the next fad”. Samsung seem to think so but maybe not as highly as first anticipated. Samsung Visual Display Division chief Yoon Boo-Keun said that Samsung had dropped their target of 2.6million 3DTV sales to 2 million(still a lot of sales)

Only problem is they’re keeping shtumm about prices but i wouldn’t expect it to be anything but ludicrous!

LG’s first told us about its new SL9000 a few months back now we have it here in Blighty the information is here for you. As were still waiting for OLED to break the 15” barrier LED is the next best thing inn television.

The super-slim edge to edge screen uses LED’s to backlight the screen. As LED’s are small this allows the screen to be super thin. Also they use a lot less power than a standard LCD TV, but the most important point is the clarity and depth it adds to the screen in comparison to an LCD or Plasma.

At a mere 3cm thin, it sports 4HDMI ports aswell as all the standard component and PC slots. However due to how thin the screen actually is and the fact the ports are on the back and not on the side of the panel, wall mounting this baby will require a dab DIY hand!

Prices start at £1000 for a 42” and £1500 for a “47, LG have however said this is the start of the series and it will soon come in smaller flavours which if you don’t have the space or the money for a mammoth screen, you can pick a smaller one up soon.