ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser review - Affordable 13MP Cameraphone with excellent battery life

Not too long ago, cameraphones were rather expensive devices that provided excellent camera performance and features while being a smartphone at the same time. They usually had larger than average or phablet-sized displays which when coupled with their more powerful cameras usually resulted in having rather poor battery life. However, times are changing and we now have smartphones like the ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL which not only offers a 13MP PixelMaster camera and laser autofocus but also a 5.5-inch display for just RM799. Is it the affordable energy efficient cameraphone phablet for Malaysia's masses? We find out in our review of the ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL below.

Looking much like the more premium ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML, the ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL has a matte plastic back and the same slim design with a stylish concentric circle panel on the front. This isn’t a bad thing though as the curved back still fits well in the palm of your hand for a comfortable grip. Volume controls are also on the back while the power button is on the top but from a design standpoint not much is different. The only major difference here is on the inside as it now sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor and the battery is also removable. This means you can swap out a spare if you're running low, unlike most of the earlier ZenFones. The full tech specs and features list are as follows:

The ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL gets a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor with 2GB RAM

Featuring a large yet responsive 5.5-inch display, stand-out features of the ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL include the latest drop and scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 4, 4G LTE dual SIM connectivity and a 13MP PixelMaster rear camera with dual-tone LED flash and infrared or laser autofocus. All three features were previously found in much higher-end flagship cameraphones (and most of them don’t have the newer Gorilla Glass 4).

The ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL retains the same ASUS ZenFone design on the front

While on the back it follows the ASUS ZenFone 2 design with rear volume controls

A closer look at the 13MP rear camera reveals an infra red or laser sensor and dual tone LED flash

Unlike other ASUS ZenFones, the battery is removable for the ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL

Initially, I felt that the change to a lower-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor was a mistake (thankfully, I was proven wrong but more on this in a bit), but it is still one of the newer 64-bit quad-core processors out there. Thanks to the 13MP rear camera you now have access to the full range of PixelMaster camera features, including Manual mode, Low-Light, Super HDR, Super Resolution and Time Rewind but with the 0.03 second laser autofocus. A 5MP front camera ensures that most of the selfie takers out there will stay satisfied.

All of the PixelMaster 2.0 features are available for both the 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera

Surprisingly, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410-powered ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL holds its own in terms of performance with a midrange AnTuTu score of 23531. Granted, graphics performance isn't as high as the ZE551ML but the ZE550KL still managed a score of 2650 on 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme and 56.9 fps on Epic Citadel. You can generally play Asphalt 8: Airborne on medium quality settings but do expect a bit of lag due to the processor and 2GB RAM. It should be able to handle the less demanding games and apps quite well though.

The ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL scored 23531 on AnTuTu

Graphics performance is just about average in 3DMark

But gaming performance should be quite smooth as shown by the score in Epic Citadel

You can still play demanding games like Asphalt 8: Airborne but expect to have to tweak down the settings a bit

Camera-wise the ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL really shines with its very fast Laser autofocus and in this aspect alone, outmatches the more expensive ZenFone 2 ZE551ML. Images are crisp and clear and the laser autofocus enhances fast shots, burst shots and the time rewind feature so you can get a clear shot very quickly. However, PixelMaster features that require a bit more processing are also significantly slower such as the HDR, Super Resolution and Low-light modes. They still work well, but they take a bit of time to process.

13MP, auto ~ at the time this flower was blowing in the wind, showing just how quick the laser autofocus is

13MP, Auto with Flash ~ Check out the different variations in colour with the dual-tone LED flash

Low-Light mode ~ Caught while it was raining at night. See the lightning strike?

Fast autofocus means a clearer shot in Panorama mode

The faster Laser autofocus really helps to take clear shots in Time Rewind

The PixelMaster 2.0 Manual mode is just as effective here as it was in the ZenFone 2 ZE551ML and should offer a bit more options for those cameraphone professionals on a budget. While the 5MP front camera remains unchanged, it is still as good as before with Selfie Panorama and beautification features. Standard video recording is relatively smooth up until full HD 1080p but the 1/4x slow motion feature is a bit laggy.

5MP, Auto ~ Still a fairly good shot even in the haze

Another welcome surprise is the battery life on the ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL. Despite the larger 5.5-inch display and powerful camera, the ZE550KL lasted nearly 2 days on heavy usage while normal to medium usage lasted more than 3 days. Minimal usage as just a cameraphone saw the ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL last more than 5 days on a single charge, something we’ve never seen before for any ASUS ZenFone yet.

Battery life is surprisingly good on the ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL, even going to 2-3 days on a single charge and medium usage

Audio performance is clear for the most part and the phone does not get overly hot even when binge gaming. Connectivity is also fast and reliable with stable 4G LTE and strong WiFi while call quality is also good.

Overall, the ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL checks all the boxes with its affordable price tag, quality camera performance and long battery life. While at RM799 it may be just a bit pricier compared to other smartphones in this range but few can offer the same features. As a cameraphone for the masses, the ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL is near perfect except for its 5MP front camera and rather slow processing power but for that there is the ZenFone Selfie or ZenFone 2 ZE551ML. It may not be the best device for gamers but for those who need a powerful cameraphone on a budget, the ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL fits just right. While the upcoming ZenFone Max will probably offer even better battery life the ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL should offer another alternative for those looking for a long lasting smartphone.

*TechNave.com would like to thank ASUS Malaysia for providing us with the ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL smartphone for this review. It allowed us to do a more in-depth review and highlight more features.


LG KizON wristband tracks your children and makes calls

LG Electronics has just announced their new LG KizON smart wristband to help parents keep track of their kids. The device uses both GPS and WiFi to track kids wearing the device while also providing kids with a way to communicate with their parents through the One Step Direct Call feature. This feature uses a simple single button which calls a pre-configured phone number (usually the parents). The communication is two way as the device can also receive calls from pre-configured numbers and if the child fails to answer within 10 seconds, the device will automatically connect the call and activate the built-in microphone.

The Location Reminder is also useful as it provides the wearers location at specific pre-set times. The LG KizON offers 36 hours of use on a single charge and even alerts parents if this level falls below 25 percent. It is both water resistant as well as stain resistant and comes in blue, pink and green. LG hopes to market it to kids and senior citizens who need a panic button or simple way to call certain people. The LG KizON will be released in South Korea on 10 July 2014 first with other markets and news about pricing to follow afterwards. Personally, we still think that the device is too big for kids wrists but here is what LG had to say about it:

“Children as well as the elderly are ideal customers for wearable technologies, wearables allow us to stay connected without the worry of losing a device or the inconvenience of having to carry a large item in a pocket. At LG, we’re committed to exploring more ways to incorporate wearable devices into consumers lives in line with our vision to become a leader in wearables.” ” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company.

Tech specs for the LG KizON include the following:


LG L90 officially announced

After revealing it's midrange L Series III at the recent MWC 2014, LG have officially announced the LG L90, which is the top-of-the-line model for the new series. On top of some tempting tech specs, the LG L90 will also come packing the latest Android 4.4 KitKat operating system, LG's new UX features and the LG Knock Code feature. Other notable tech specs for the LG L90 include:

The LG L90 will be available shortly in CIS but should have global roll-out to Malaysia soon afterwards. No news yet on pricing, but since it is targeting the budget midrange market, we expect it to be around RM1K and above.


LG Lifeband Touch smartband and Heart Rate Earphones have arrived

Announced earlier in CES 2014, the LG Lifeband Touch smartband and Heart Rate Earphones have just been released by LG Electronics. The LG Lifeband Touch is a touchscreen smartband that looks like a bracelet but offers motion sensing and a responsive OLED touchscreen. The Lifeband Touch is compatible with Android and iOS devices and powered by a 90 mAh battery for five days worth of usage. The bracelet can be swapped out for three different sizes, so you don't have to worry about it dangling if your wrist is a bit small. The Heart Rate Earphones on the other hand provide accurate health tracking by measuring the blood flow signals in your ear. A clip-on Bluetooth medallion relays these statistics to the Lifeband Touch. While there isn't any specific Malaysia release date or pricing we expect both devices to be available in Asia and subsequently in Malaysia in the coming weeks. Check out the LG Lifeband Touch and Heart Rate Earphones tech specs below:


LG Magna, Spirit, Leon and Joy announced for the midrange

A week ahead of MWC 2015, LG have announced 4 new smartphones for the midrange with the LG Magna, Spirit, Leon and Joy. All four will be available in LTE and 3G versions and share a metallic back with a curved design for a sleeker profile. Tech specs range from the LG Magna with a 5-inch display, to the 4.7-inch display LG Spirit and 4.5-inch display LG Leon. These three will share features like Android 5.0 Lollipop,  an 8MP rear camera and 5MP front camera with some lower end variations for different model types. The LG Joy on the other hand will be the entry-level version with a 4-inch display, 5MP rear camera, VGA front camera, 1GB RAM and 8GB storage but it will still support 4G LTE and have a version that comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop as well. The phones will feature LG UX functions like Gesture Shot, Glance View and others. No news on Malaysia release dates or pricing but due to LG's rather weak presence here in Malaysia, we expect these to only show up at third-party sellers.

Check out the full tech specs and quotes below:

“LG’s new mid-range collection continues our legacy of offering amazing smartphones at reasonable prices. For millions of consumers around the world, the deciding factor on which smartphone to buy isn’t how fast or how big it is but how balanced it is. With our new mid-range smartphones, more and more customers will be looking to LG for their next handsets.”  Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company


LG Malaysia Announces Pocket Photo Smart Mobile Printer

Apart from it's smartphone range, LG Malaysia also have a rather interesting NFC photo printer in the form of the LG Pocket Photo. Filled with pre-processed ZINK 2.0 photo paper, the palm sized accessory can print standard name card sized photos. Since the printer does not use any actual ink it can be as thin and light as possible. To print, all you need to do is share the photo you want to print via NFC on your smartphone and tap the printer for it to transfer. It can also transfer via Bluetooth.

The LG Pocket Photo printer app lets you do quite a lot of photo editing including adding text, filters and even QR codes, making it the ultimate business card printer that can be customized on the fly. The LG Photo Pocket takes about 45 seconds to print each image. The special ZINK 2.0 pre-processed paper will be sold at RM49.90 for 3 packs of 10 papers (RM49.90 = 30 ZINK 2.0 papers). The LG Pocket Photo printer itself will be available in Malaysia for RM399 and the end of July 2013.


LG OLED 4K TV hands-on experience

So back in August 2018, we were invited to a home appliance product showhouse by LG Electronics Malaysia and the LG OLED 4K TV was the main highlight there. We only played with it for a while, as there were many house appliances around such as the InstaView Refrigerators and TWINWash washing machine, but the company invited us back again to have a first hands-on experience with the TV and I must say, it's quite an interactive one.

The LG OLED 4K TV that I got to play is the OLED65E8PTA model. It has a lot of nice features, the OLED 4K display is one of them (obviously), followed by an α9 Intelligent Processor, ThinQ AI, Dolby Atmos as well as Dolby vision that complements the 4K Cinema HDR and 4K HFR. Of course, this comes with a hefty price tag - RM22,999. But let's check out what these features can really do.

During the hands-on experience, the place wasn't really the best environment for the photo shoot of the sleek-looking OLED TV, so to best describe the design of the TV are the image renders below:

This OLED 4K TV is a huge one, measuring at 65-inch and compare with other modern TV nowadays, I'd say this TV has one of the best slimmest looking ones because of the glass panel integration that makes it look like it is floating in mid-air. You can also put the TV on the wall with magnetic hanger and it would look like a painting on the wall that adds some bonus points for home decor. Bezels are also quite thin and the speakers are located behind the screen panel. Of course, since it has glass on it - it's super fragile.

Next, you probably want to know about the TV's colour strength. How is it? Is it too bright? Or too dark? Well, since it's using an OLED display (and manufactured by the company itself), you can bet the colour displayed on the TV is almost perfectly balanced. Normally, a salesperson would try to sell you the colour contrast but if it was me, I'll sell you the Perfect Black feature thanks to the so-called Quad-Step Noise Reduction technology. What this means is if you're watching a movie in a dark room with some low-light scenes, you won't get that "white" light from it hurting your eyes.

While the right side colours look "better", the α9 Intelligent Processor is designed to keep the colours balanced to show as much realism as it can

Personally, I'm quite a fan of this as an avid movie fan. But perhaps not to the level of Rob Legato, a professional VFX (Visual effects) Supervisor for Hollywood who got interviewed by LG explaining why it's so important for filmmakers, stating "The perfect black now gives you a portal into that world as opposed to a display of that world". Heck, even Tim Miller, the director of Deadpool approves LG OLED TV's HDR technology.

The α9 Intelligent Processor plays an important role in this, as the chipset is designed to optimize and control the visuals with clarity, colours and depth as balanced as possible to give you the best viewing experience. Do you want a cinematic experience? You got it with 4K Cinema HDR and 4K HFR feature, furthermore backed up by Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos as well. The picture samples below does no justice, but you can see the colour difference there.

Until you take a closer look, so surreal!

The light piercing through the forest is just breathtaking

So the technologies mentioned above are one thing, it's kind of expected for modern TVs to be equipped with that. But there's one more thing that sets the LV OLED 4K TV from the rest and that is having an actual interactive AI that does more than just basic commands. It actually listens, thinks and learn your watching behaviour. Currently, it can understand 70 different commands and you can do almost everything such as "Look for movies with (actor or actress name)", "I can't sleep.", "How's the weather in (country name)?" and many more. So if you're a talkative one, the LG OLED AI TV can sure keep you company.

Even for an introverted person like me, I find this quite convenient because speaking through the remote (which acts as your mic for the LG OLED AI TV) is actually faster than pressing a button, but that depends on the situation such as adjusting the volume. At this moment, the LG OLED AI TV can understand English, Korean and Mandarin.

A demo on using voice command, the AI will recommend you videos based on your watching preference

And a bonus, you can change the cursor and viewing modes too

So that's all about the LG OLED 4K TV hands-on experience, I'd love to comment further on the sound quality but as mentioned, the TV didn't have the best environment to test out the sound so it was okay-ish. I believe the sound quality would be better if it was accompanied by LG"s own soundbar (SK10Y, SK9Y and SK6) which I remember seeing back in August. Anyway, I was pretty impressed overall. But too bad it costs too much for me and you unless if you're super rich.

If you want to find out more about the OLED TV, you can visit their official website here. Stay tuned for more hands-on articles at TechNave.com.


LG OLED FLEX Malaysia pre-order - world's first bendable OLED display, priced at RM13,199

You read that right, this gaming monitor can actually bend its OLED display at will. Today, LG Electronics Malaysia announced that the LG OLED FLEX (LX3) pre-order is now available in Malaysia at RM13,199, exclusively online at LG Official Tech Store on Lazada Malaysia and Shopee Malaysia.

As the world's first bendable 42-inch OLED monitor, it has most of the high-end gaming features as expected. The display can go from completely flat to curved at 900R and 20 difference curve levels, and in either mode, the LG OLED delivers the same picture quality and performance. This includes infinite contrast, deep blacks, highly-accurate colours (100% colour fidelity certified), a lightning-fast 0.1 millisecond response time and low input lag.

In addition, the LG OLED FLEX is powered by α (Alpha) 9 Gen 5 intelligent processor and unique picture algorithms. The gaming monitor also offers eye comfort with an anti-reflection (SAR) coating to reduce visual distractions. Gamers can also choose the adjust the size of the onscreen image to 32- or 27-inches. The image-resize feature can be done from the Gaming Dashboard menu.

Besides that, it's worth mentioning that there's a Game app with shortcuts to Twitch and YouTube, an optimizer for customised sound settings that includes an equalizer, AI Game Sound and Dolby Atmos, as well as Multi-View mode to play a PC or a console game while watching YouTube videos streamed from their smartphone at the same time. Multiple ports such as HDMI and USBs are supported as expected.

Malaysian gamers who pre-order the LG OLED Flex will also get a free LG XBOOM360 XO3 Portable Speaker (worth RM1,299) but only from the aforementioned online stores. For more information about the LG OLED Flex, you can visit LG Electronics Malaysia’s website here. Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


LG OLED Z1 & OLED G1 series TVs coming to Malaysia soon, 48-inch OLED C1 TV to be added too

Way back in January, LG unveiled new OLED TVs at CES 2021. At the time, the company mentioned its latest OLED Z1 series and G1 series TVs. Months later, we still haven't seen a sign of the new TVs. However, LG recently confirmed that they'll be coming here.

According to LG Malaysia, the LG OLED Z1 series and OLED G1 series will be launching here. In addition to that, the OLED C1 series will be getting a new 48-inch model, which will also be available here. Although the prices and exact launch date were not revealed yet, LG Malaysia confirmed that the TVs will be coming here very soon.

The OLED C1 series has features catered to gaming

So, what's new about the new TVs? As revealed in CES 2021, the new OLED TVs come with the new Alpha 9 Gen 4 AI processor for improved performance. The TV panels also use self-lit pixels that are all individually controlled, ensuring superior contrast ratios, visual sharpness, and black levels.

To learn more about the new TVs' features, visit the LG Malaysia website for details. With that said, which TV would you be interested in buying? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news like this.


LG Odin octa-core AnTuTu benchmark reveals big.LITTLE architecture

The upcoming LG Odin octa-core chipset and processor rumoured to be used in the just as rumoured LG G3 has recently been benchmarked on AnTuTu. Scoring 27184, the reason for the lower performance (the LG G2 scored 35069) could be because the LG Odin was just clocked at 100MHz-1.0GHz. Considering that the Snapdragon 800 on the LG G2 is clocked at 2.26GHz we should be able to expect even better performance from the LG Odin. Then again, the higher clock speed does come at the price of a shorter battery life, so if the LG Odin could reach the same performance but offer better extended battery life, this would also be a good deal in our opinion. The benchmark also revealed that rather than run all 8 of the cores at the same time, the AnTuTu benchmark reveals that it is running the ARM big.LITTLE architecture where only one set of 4 cores are running at a time. Graphics performance was exceptionally high though, as it uses the PowerVR Series 6 GPU which is the same series used on the Apple iPhone 5S. Other tech specs and features include a 1080 x 1920 display resolution, 2GB of RAM, 4GB of storage and Android 4.2.2. The rather small 4GB of storage is to be expected though as this is probably still very much a prototype device. No news about Malaysia release dates or pricing for the LG G3 but with it just at prototype stage for now, it seems likely it could be in Q2 or Q3 of 2014.[Source]


LG Optimus 2X Review: The 1st Dual Core Phone in The World!

LG announced the world’s first smartphone powered by a Nvidia Tegra2 processor. At CES 2011 , several handset makers announced products based on the Tegra2 but this is the first smartphone or super-smart phone to hit the market. Lets see how the device meets our expectations.

The first thing you would notice about the phone is the huge 4 inch display which has great clarity and color reproduction. The display runs on a 800x480 px resolution. The left and right edges of the display have a minor curve towards the end and its nice to use.Although the phone is made of plastic for the most part, it does not feel cheap like other phones like the Samsung Galaxy S. The phone is certainly big compared to other devices but since this is the world’s first dual core smartphone, we are not complaining.

The LG Optimus 2X is equipped with an 8 Megapixel camera, autofocus and an LED flash. The amount of detail in the pictures is great. The colour rendering is on the more natural side. No artificial colouring or over saturation.The noise level is kept to a minimum even though it is present. The LED flash is not as powerful as a Xenon or Dual-LED so lighting up a dark room is out of the question. But it can do a decent job. Try avoiding using the flash while taking macros as it may wash away the colour of the subject.

The level of detail in the video is brilliant. One of the best we’ve seen in recent devices. It becomes quite useless in low light because of the amount of noise in the videos.Another problem is that the videos are recorded in 3GP format and are compressed quite a bit. We feel that the quality would have been even better if the compression rate wasn’t so high and also at least an mp4 format would have been more helpful. But the compression rate and the video format can be fixed with a software update and we hope that LG do bring these changes.

Audio:The audio quality on the Optimus 2X is average or above average at best. The audio quality through the 3.5mm Audio Jack is quite good and even the volume levels are enough for even loud environments. The music player is actually one of the sweetest implementations we have seen in Android

Video:The phone sports a 4″ LCD screen with 800x480 pixels (WVGA) Resolution. The display is definitely good but still falls short of the Samsung Galaxy S and the Wave in terms of contrast and visibility under sunlight.  The video player supports a wide variety of formats including mp4, 3gp, DivX, XviD etc.There is no lag while playing even big files and seeking through them is fine as well. However files larger than 4GB will be an issue if the phone is still in FAT 32 format. To add individual videos of over 4GB you have to convert it into NTFS file storage format. Subtitles are supported as well. However languages other than english might not be supported sometimes.The loudness of some videos were higher than the others. We are not sure whether Optimus 2X is at fault or whether the audio bit rate is to be blamed. The skipping or changing from one video to the other was instant. There is also the option of resuming the videos from the point of last playback or to start from the beginning.

The phone comes with Android 2.2.1 build FRG83. We got to tell that Android 2.2 is not seriously optimized for dual core phones but despite that the phone runs fast. LG has promised an update to Android 2.3 Gingerbread for this device and we can’t wait to try our benchmarks with that update. Even with FroYo , most operations seem a lot faster than other Android phones in the market.

UI:We have a mixed feelings about the UI. While we loved the unlock screen and homescreens , the icons looks a bit inconsistent or out of place. You can configure the number of homescreen panels and add widgets to each homescreen.  Both LG widgets and Android widgets can be added.

Apps:The phone comes with several apps pre-installed. Twitter, Facebook and Myspace for LG apps are social networking apps developed by LG for this device. There is a Browsing Protection app from F-Secure.

The phone supports plenty of connectivity options include HSDPA and Wifi(n). You can also use the phone as a WiFi hotspot. The browser is pretty fast and supports flash content.

The Video out via HDMI is really impressive and we have a video which is processing currently to show you how it works.

This is something we were not expecting much as the Optimus 2X is the first dual core phone. But we were surprised as we could sail through a complete day with the phone. You might have to reduce the screen brightness to achieve this. With heavy usage like constant 3G downloading,  video playback it lasted for around 12-13 hours. With minimal usage it can last close to 2 days with a single charge.

There are few things to complain about the Optimus 2X. There are a lot of things which LG has got right on this phone. It could have had a more premium external casing just to make it look special. They could have added a dedicated camera key. It would have been cool with Gingerbread on board. If are a person who loves to stay up-to date with the latest technology , you can go ahead and get the Optimus 2X, the future is here. It might take a while before other phones hit the market.


ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML 4GB RAM unboxing video, find out what else is different

The ASUS ZenFone 2 is shaping up to be the flagship killer smartphone of 2015 and we managed to get our hands on the ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML packing in tech specs that include 4GB RAM, 32GB storage and more. Priced at RM1099, we did an unboxing video to see what else comes in the box. While there aren't that many surprises it does offer a good bundle for the price. Check it out for yourself in the ZenFone 2 ZE551ML unboxing video below:


LG Optimus 3D Review

The first glasses-free 3D handset is finally upon us and after months of waiting to see what the fuss about it was, we have our very own LG Optimus 3D to review for you. LG has been bringing some great, quality handsets to market and the Optimus 3D steps it up a notch with a new dual-core processor and stereoscopic cameras.

3D may be nothing more than a gimmick right now, but it’s still one of the most interesting technologies to see implemented into a handset these days. The super high-resolution displays found on devices today are nice, but the novelty wears off after a while. You can grow accustom to the 3D technology implemented into the Optimus 3D, but some may take it over a Retina or qHD display any day.

LG Optimus 3D - Build: At just 11.9mm thick, the Optimus 3D is only a couple of milimetres fatter than the anorexic-skinny Samsung Galaxy S2. It's by no means a small phone, however, keeping in current smartphone vogue by offering up a super-sized 4.3-inch display. When we played with it, it felt somehow less solid to us than its rivals, despite its slightly greater 168 gram weight.

LG Optimus 3D - Android: The Optimus 3D will run Android 2.2 FroYo out of the box, but LG are promising a swift upgrade to 2.3 Gingerbread soon after its release - necessary if it's to compete with other MWC faves like the Samsung Galaxy S2 or the Acer Iconia Smart.  LG Optimus 3D - Screen:  The handset packs a 4.3-inch LCD touchscreen, with an 800x480 resolution. Of course, the big draw on this latest of LG handsets is its 3D screen, which uses similar technology as the upcoming Nintendo 3DS to display images in 3D without the use of glasses. We were impressed with the results, noting that the effect added depth to images, rather than making them leap out at you.

LG has customized the web browser on the Optimus 3D quite a bit, but not to the point that you have to relearn how to use it. Most option will not be on-screen instead of tucked away in a menu. The browser's skin reminds us a bit of the iPhone, but unlike the iOS device, the Optimus 3D has some screen real estate to spare. A dock lines the bottom of the browser with easy access to your open windows and settings. Despite the skinned look, it's still Android blazing fast web browser with its JavaScript V8 Engine, Flash support, and more.

LG Optimus 3D - Camera & Video:  The other proud boast of the Optimus 3D is, of course, its 5MP dual-cameras, which allow users to record 3D video and take 3D still pictures. The camera can also record regular 2D footage at 1080p, while the 3D footage records at 720p. Also present is the now obligatory front facing camera for video calling, although LG are being cagey about its resolution. We'd guess somewhere around 1.3MP.

Call quality for the Optimus 3D was more than acceptable, but we'd imagine that it would be better when it's on its respective carrier. Still, calls were pretty clear with little distortion on both ends.

You won't find a 3D-enabled music player on the Optimus 3D, but then again wouldn't 3D music technically be synesthesia? You'll have to make do with the pretty much standard music player, but we would have loved to see some sort of 3D music visualizations provided by LG.

The O3D also supports DLNA, allowing you to stream media content from your phone to your TV or a PS3 or other DLNA-compatible device to view. While we couldn't test this out, we have our doubts about being able to wirelessly share 3D content using the SmartShare app. To do so, you'll need a 3D enabled HDTV as well as the micro-HDMI cord for the device.

LG Optimus 3D - Battery:  The Optimus 3D is powered by a fairly standard 1500 mAh battery, but we'd expect the power drain to be intense. The screen is standard LCD, which saps more power than the AMOLED staple of Samsung handsets, and we've seen already the effect that the glasses-less 3D technology has on the battery of the Nintendo 3DS. Expect to charge your Optimus 3D at least every night.

The Optimus 3D has a lot going for it. It sports a blazing fast dual-core processor, and it's the first glasses-free 3D phone we've been able to truly test out. Unfortunately, between the mix of poor battery life and pure gimmick, the Optimus 3D isn't going to be for everyone. Actually, I have a hard time finding out what kind of person would actually need 3D on their phone.

Overall, the Optimus 3D is a great first attempt at a phone that no one really needs. Don't get me wrong, it's very fun to use and I do see a future in 3D, but as it stands today it's just not where it should be. That said, the 3D novelty doesn't wear off like some high-resolution displays we're beginning to see on smartphones today. If you're one to have the latest tech and don't care what you'll sacrifice the process, by all means get the Optimus 3D.


LG Optimus 7 Review

LG’s styling stretches from businesslike to glitzy with a gloss edge and shiny metal back. LG has a long design heritage that oozes class, since the launch of the original Chocolate phone. Here, the LG Optimus 7 is handsome.

Solid and reassuringly weighty. The only non-glossy section is where the three WP7 icons sit just below the screen on the front. This wide button-area is the only design disappointment on the Optimus 7. All three icons (Back, Windows and Search) are pressable instead of being the touch-sensitive lights HTC favours. This is fine, but the icons themselves are slightly raised which means that the middle Windows button has a rough-edged feel which just isn’t very pleasing.

The micro USB slot is hidden under a flip-open flap – of all the phones this is the least successful version with a flimsy feeling that doesn’t inspire. However it does make for a smooth right edge, save only for the camera button which, as on all Windows Phone 7 handsets, allows you to activate the snapper and take a shot from one button press, even if the phone is in standby. This is a neatly quick-response feature other phone interfaces would do well to copy.

The camera is good and the lens has a very cool look to it with lens, mirror and flash all seated in a gleaming circle. The results it delivers are proficient and capable, comparable with the other 5-megapixel snappers on test. And the HD camcorder is similarly effective. LG has put Panorama Shot as one of the front page tiles, a simple and reasonably useful program which stitches up to five photos together. Take the first one then when the viewfinder’s in the right position it’ll automatically snap the second and subsequent shots.

Onboard memory is impressive, at 16GB, twice the amount built into all the phones on test here, bar the HD7. The Samsung phone comes with either 8GB or 16GB, so LG is offering a good level of performance here.

LG has also put an augmented reality program, ScanSearch, on the front page, too. Hold it aloft and it uses the camera to show you what’s in front of you, with markers floating in the air where the nearest hotels, restaurants, cocktail bars and more are. It’s neat enough and if you tip the phone back to look skywards, the view then shifts to reveal weather information.

With its chic, stylish looks, the LG Optimus 7 is a neat and handsome phone. Though the Windows button feels a little low-rent with its rough edge, the build quality of the rest of the handset is excellent and some elements, like the camera lens inset, look just great. LG specialities include the Panorama Shot feature and augmented reality program ScanSearch. As with other WP7 handsets, the screen is responsive and the phone works at speed. The Optimus 7 has 16GB of built-in memory, which is the most any WP7 handset boasts, and more than many.


LG Optimus Black Review

The LG Optimus Black is a smartly designed Android phone that features a nice-looking display, a simple and clean user interface, and battery life that would make some far-more-expensive smartphones envious.

I spent a day using the phone and found it to be dependable and easy to use, despite the fact that its hardware and features are far from top-of-the-line among Android phones.

The phone's single-core processor was sufficient for the modest tasks I tried to perform using the phone's Android 2.2 (Froyo) OS. LG says that the Optimus is easy to upgrade to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

LG Optimus Black - Design and build quality:

The LG Optimus Black is the leaner Optimus 2X: it still uses the same button layout and smudgy black plastic, but at 9.2mm deep it’s noticeably thinner, despite sporting a display of the same size. It’s not knock-out gorgeous like an iPhone 4, but LG’s added most of the right slots and holes: on the left you’ll find a volume rocker, while the top houses the screen lock/power button, micro USB port and 3.5mm audio jack for your headphones.

LG’s even found space for an extra key we’ve not seen before, the G button. With gestures turned on in the phone’s settings, you hold the G button to pull off various shortcuts. You can tap sides of the screen to skip a music track, or more usefully, shake the phone to answer or hang up a call when locked – it’s very handy if you’ve only got one paw free and you start ringing.

As thin and light as the LG Optimus Black is, it’s not the mesmerising mobile you might imagine it to be from its measurements. Its sloped edges actually serve to make it feel bulkier, and certainly several sizes up from the anorexic Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and 8.5mm Samsung Galaxy S 2.

LG Optimus Black - Screen:The screen on the LG Optimus Black brings a new word to the smartphone tech lexicon: it’s a “NOVA” display, which LG claims delivers the brightest colours yet with no impact on battery life.Now it has delivered on this claim, since it’s more visible than most smartphone screens in direct sunlight, without sucking too much power. But truth be told it’s still more buzzword than anything else: all it amounts to is a bright screen with a relatively sharp 480×800 screen and decent viewing angles – we think most people will still prefer the incredible saturation and deep blacks of the Super AMOLED Plus panel on the Samsung Galaxy S 2. But this is the next best thing, and that’s no bad thing – naturally, touch response is flawless.

LG Optimus Black - Key features:If the LG Optimus 2X was LG’s monster phone for spec heads, the LG Optimus Black is the next step down: a phone for people who value design and ease of use over benchmark scores and hackability.LG’s forsaken a dual-core processor for a thinner frame, and infused it with a social ethos, from the contact syncing address book to its new Wi-Fi Direct tech. It hasn’t quite pulled off its lofty goal however: HTC does social better, while Sony Ericsson provides a better petite phone experience coupled with a killer camera.

LG Optimus Black - Usability:The LG Optimus Black is powered by a single core processor clocked “only” at 1GHz. It’s nowhere near as fast as the twin-core Optimus 2X and Galaxy S 2 handsets, but most people won’t notice that in day to day use. It’s only when it comes to crunching multiple apps and games that you might trip it up.Things aren’t so rosy on the software side of things however. LG’s shipped the Optimus Black with Android 2.2, a now year-old build of Google’s smartphone operating system. It’s not a kiss of death, but more problematic is how LG has skinned the software: it’s added some truly daft tweaks, like custom Facebook and Twitter apps that don’t do as much as the official ones, and a lock screen that you have to swipe up, and then enter your PIN to open.

LG Optimus Black - Connectivity:As with any Android 2.2 or up smartphone, the LG Optimus Black comes with the trifecta of Wi-Fi, GPS and 3G, and can act as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot to get your laptop online wherever you have signal – for free.While a HDMI telly connection is conspicuous by its absence, it also comes with one other new fangled but of tech: Wi-Fi Direct. Compatible phones (such as the Samsung Galaxy S 2) can connect at Wi-Fi speeds outside of hotspots to transfer files, like Bluetooth on speed. The number of supported phones makes it a bit pointless at the moment, but it’s a nice option to have and one we’re sure will steadily become the norm.

LG Optimus Black - Video and camera:The five megapixel shooter on the LG Optimus Black turns in perfectly respectable stills in daylight. But one area where you may actually notice the slower processor is in the camera app: it’s oddly slow to load and process between shots, which can be a bit distracting. On the plus side, it also shoots reasonable 720p HD video, but then of course, so does the thinner Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, and its eight megapixel Exmor R sensor is a far superior still performer.

LG Optimus Black - Media playback:LG hasn’t improved Android’s typical file format support beyond throwing in DivX support, but it has added a nice flourish: track controls in the notification tray, so you can pause, play and skip through songs without having to move back to your music player app every time. The LG Optimus Black also supports Flash, so you can stream online video straight to your handset.

LG Optimus Black - Call quality/battery life:We couldn’t expect much better when it comes to acoustics from a thin phone, and we think any speakerphone obsessives will be particularly pleased with the  sounds it emits. The 1500mAh battery inside the LG Optimus Black will last a solid day with all your connections turned on, but isn’t quite the match for HTC’s staminariffic Incredible S, which comes with very similar specifications.

Conclusion:Overall I was quite impressed with the LG Optimus Black, it has an excellent display, and I really like the user interface, it is good too see a manufacturer just adding the bare minimum to Android, although we would have liked to see the Optimus Black come with Android 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box.

It does a good job with videos and gaming, and it well designed and light, and has a number of cool features, plus a decent camera, I would definitely recommend you take a look at the LG Optimus Black if you are in the market for a new smartphone.


LG Optimus Black (White version) Preview

LG introduce a upgraded product LG Optimus White is a higher capacity Android phone.The LG Optimus White - Display:

The LG Optimus White is a sleek Android smartphone with a 4 inch NOVA display that is designed to be the clearest and most readable mobile display. Designed to offer superior graphics and great outdoor performance the screen also delivers a much lower power consumption compared to LCD or AMOLED screens.The LG Optimus White - Performance:

This is a powerful smartphone with a 1GHz processor, instant data access and most of battery power and memory also. More powerful than middle-range Android 2.2 phones, yet lacking the speed and features of the latest high-end models, the Optimus White is worth considering if you're on a budget but don't want to compromise too much.The LG Optimus White - Other Features:

The handset features a 2 megapixel camera for high quality video calls and all message options are supported including email and instant messaging. There is a MP3/MP4 player for keeping you entertained as well as 3G/HSDPA web browsing for browsing your favourite sites. Social Network Integration allows you to view wall updates and tweets whilst the Optimus UI allows you to access emails, messages or missed calls from the locked screen with a simple tap of the finger.

The Optimus Black/White is the first handset to feature Wi-Fi Direct for high-quality data transfer between devices and other connectivity options include WLAN, Bluetooth, GPS and quad-band roaming. The ultra thin Optimus White measures just 9.2mm and tapers to 6mm at its thinnest point and weighs only 109g.Conclusion:

If we do not take the color difference into account, both the LG Optimus White and the LG Optimus Black appear to be absolutely identical. You get the same 9.2 millimeters thin Android 2.2 Froyo-powered smartphone that shines with its bright 4-inch NOVA display. However, if neither the white nor the black version of the device seems tempting to you, a pink model is expected to land as well.


LG Optimus G2 Images and Video Appear

LG's upcoming smartphone, the LG Optimus G2 has recently appeared in a number of images and a video. It looks a lot like the LG Nexus 4 but from the back looks a bit thinner. Tech specs for the LG Optimus G2 include:

No news yet on other tech specs such as the battery or when the LG Optimus G2 will be available and for how much. For now you can check the video below of the LG Optimus G2 in action:


LG Optimus Hub Preview

LG announced its new 3G GSM cell phone named LG Optimus Hub. It works in 2G (GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) and 3G (HSDPA 900 / 2100) networks. Its dimension is 113.4 x 60.8 x 11.9 mm and weighted 123 g.

Operating System is powered by Android OS v2.3.4 Gingerbread along with 800 MHz ARM v6 processor, Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm MSM7227T chipset with 512 RAM memory.

The device has Gorilla Glass display 3.5 inches of TFT capacitive touchscreen. Its resolution is 320 x 480 pixels and 256K colors. It is inbuilt with 5 Mega Pixel camera which is capable to give good quality of images and videos ([email protected]), its resolution 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus. Camera features Geo-tagging, Beauty Shot, face and smile detection.

The internal memory of LG Optimus Hub is 150 MB user available and there is a microSD memory card slot to upgrade memory for huge storage of songs, videos, images and other data, users can insert up to 32GB microSD memory card.

LG has given all type of connectivity options like 3G, GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi, v3.0 Bluetooth with A2DP, microUSB v2.0 and GPS. It is also a good social phone it is inbuilt with many types of Google and other social apps such are Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace etc.

It is capable to play DivX/Xvid/MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV and MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+ format media players. It also has Stereo FM radio, Loudspeaker and 3.5 mm Jack connecter to music on headphone.

LG Optimus Hub is equipped with lots of useful features like DivX/Xvid/MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player, MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+ player, Stereo FM radio, Loudspeaker, 3.5 mm Jack, Document viewer/editor, Java MIDP emulator, SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM, HTML Web Browser, Li-Ion 1500 MAH battery etc.


LG Optimus Net Preview

Recently LG announced new cell phone device named LG Optimus Net. It is a multimedia phone which works on both 2G (GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) and 3G (HSDPA 900 / 2100) network. It is very attractive in look with the dimension of 113.5 x 59 x 12.1 mm and 122gm weight. The handset runs with Android OS, v2.3.3 (Gingerbread) and has 800 MHz processor, Qualcomm MSM7227T chipset CPU.

It has 3.15 Mega Pixel camera with Geo-tagging feature which is capable to capture top class picture quality and videos. It has (320 x 480 pixels) 3.2 inches TFT capacitive touchscreen which as 256k colors and Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off features.

The phone has 150 MB storage; 512MB RAM internal memory and users can upgrade memory up to 32GB with microSD memory card 2GB memory is already included in the box. With this huge space users can store more and more songs, videos, photos, movies and other data. With Li-Ion 1500 MAH standard battery is capable to give very long battery backup.

LG Optimus Net comes with lots of creative features such as Digital compass, MP4/H.264/H.263 player, MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player, Organizer, Voice memo, Predictive text input, Games, HTML Web Browser, Supports Java Apps, SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM, 3.5mm Jack, Loudspeaker, Radio etc.

The handsets is also loaded with many social apps like Google Talk, Facebook, Orkut, Google Search, Gmail, Maps, YouTube and many more this apps helps users to get connected with family and friends and share photos, videos, songs and texts.

Optimus Net allows plenty of connectivity option, now surf web or download songs and images quickly with the help of 3G in the speed of 3.6Mbps, share stuffs with other device with Bluetooth, connect with your PC by microUSB v2.0, it also has more features such as Wi-Fi, GPRS, EDGE.


LG Optimus Pad Review

Impressive specs, but 3D isn't for everyone

LG’s gone for a different approach to rivals, along with an 8.9-inch screen, the Optimus Pad includes dual 5-megapixel stills camera for capturing 720p 3D movies. It comes in a WiFi and 3G version and includes 32GB storage.

While it’s certainly innovative, the 3D camera also screams “this device needs gimmicks to stand out”. But is the LG Optimus Pad a one-trick-pony - albeit a 3D one?

First impressions of the Optimus Pad are underwhelming. It’s well built, but at 12.7mm deep it’s chunky next to the 8.8mm iPad 2 and doesn’t feel as premium as the Motorola Xoom. At 630g, it’s a reasonably weight to hold with one hand.

Along the bottom are HDMI mini and micro SD slots. Surprisingly it doesn’t support DLNA though. Slide off the cover on one side to access the Sim card compartment.  Located on either side, the stereo speakers are laughably quiet, very much suited to viewing for one.

Dig deeper and you’re rewarded with a very fine, 8.9-inch, 1280x768 screen that can be held vertically with one hand. We really like the 8.9-inch size which sits somewhere between the PlayBook and Xoom, although it’s clearly designed to be used horizontally.

The screen is the right size for watching movies comfortably, ably handling motion in our HD test clips, with detail and sharpness on par with the Asus Eee Pad, if not quite as good as the iPad 2. Off-angle viewing is respectable, though we did find that colour balance was oversaturated, with a slight greenish tint which other Honeycomb tablets.

Running Google’s Honeycomb OS, the interface is a joy to use. Honeycomb might not be as instantly simple to use as iOS, with a few quirks. Instead of solid buttons you get touchsensitve Android home, back and multi-tasking keys, the latter displaying open applications you can quickly swap between. Neat features include being able to drag apps and shortcuts directly onto a homescreen via an overview.

Powered by a Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, responsive multitouch controls ensure it never feels slow. Multitouch controls work well and you also get Flash support.

Five-meg stills are the good – far better than many tablets we’ve seen - colours are natural, yet sharp and it deals with high and low contrast situations pretty well. 1280x720p 30fps video is smooth with natural colours if a bit soft, 1080p footage is a bit blocky, but accompanying audio is loud and clear. We do feel that tablets are not ideal for shooting video and stills.

Because the screen isn’t polarised you can't actually see the 3D effect when shooting. Instead choose from four views: Mixed, Anaglyph (you can wear glasses) Single and Side by Side views, along with a depth control. To view the footage you need a 3D TV or to use the You Tube 3D channel.

3D stills and video are fine, not quite up to the standard of a camcorder or camera, but that’s hardly surprisingly. You can use depth controls to adjust the intensity of the 3D effect.

The word at MWC was that the battery in the Optimus Pad will keep chugging along for around nine hours while watching video before needing a recharge, but no-one’s been given a long enough hands-on period to verify this. The eight-to-ten hour mark seems to be the tablet benchmark from MWC this year though.

I really like LG’s first Honeycomb tablet. While it stands out in a number of ways, it is perhaps for the wrong reasons. And internally, but for the cameras and SIM slot, it is virtually identical to its contemporaries.

But its smaller size definitely lends itself to more versatility than those 10.1” beasts. Coupled with a nice case (LG makes a great modular leather cover) and a compact Bluetooth keyboard, this could be the perfect setup for the laptop-weary road warrior. Weighing only 1.35lbs, it’s all muscle.

The Optimus Pad is a quality product backed by a very attractive, usable operating system. If money isn’t a factor, this is the one to get. If it is, wait a couple months until it drops the price. Who knows, they may even have upgraded it to Android 3.1 by then.


LG Optimus Pro Preview

The Lg Optimus Pro (C660) is a mid-range smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard and the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system. The device has a 2.8-inch touch screen and supports GPRS / Edge and WiFi, making it possible to your e-mail and social networks to check. The Optimus Pro is also equipped with a GPS and MP3/MP4 player for navigating. The 3-megapixel camera can see photos and videos. The LG Optimus Pro come in black.

The LG C660 Optimus Pro is a QWERTY smartphone with an unknown weight. About the dimensions are not yet known. The operating time depends on the degree of use. The LG C660 Optimus Pro is only available in black.LG Optimus Pro: Call & Data

The LG Optimus Pro C660 supports GSM 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz networks. The C660 Optimus Pro is relatively fast mobile internet with EDGE support. EDGE is currently in the Netherlands no longer supported. So you’re reliant on the much slower GPRS. EDGE abroad is still popular. With the LG C660 Optimus Pro can include text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) messages sent and received. Thanks to the support email you can simply read your own emails. Vibrating alert and polyphonic or MP3 ringtones are of course standard equipment.LG Optimus Pro: Memory & Connectivity

About the size of the memory by the manufacturer, not supplied. In total there is 1 slot for MicroSD external memory. You can transfer data via USB and transfer to your PC. The Optimus Pro C660 also has Bluetooth (for wireless communication with other Bluetooth devices such as headsets) and WiFi (for wireless communication with home or small office network).LG Optimus Pro: Multimedia

With the LG C660 Optimus Pro can both audio (MP3, AMR, AAC and AAC +) and video (H.264 and MPEG) files mobile listening and viewing. The LG Optimus Pro C660 also features a built-in camera, where you can record videos along. The maximum resolution of this camera is 1536 x 2048 pixels (3.0 megapixels). This camera has no optical zoom.LG Optimus Pro: Display & Control

The operation of the smartphone will take place on the device itself (TFT touch screen). The LG C660 Optimus Pro runs on Android 2.3. Android is Google’s mobile operating system. Android 2.3 Gingerbread is the first edition with support for one-touch word selection and copy / paste, copy and paste from which the word has been simplified. Gingerbread is also the first version with built-in VoIP support, so you no longer need third-party applications have to join video chat. Also new from version 2.3 is support NFC, a technique that you can pay with your cell phone.


LG Optimus Sol E730 Preview

LG has recently launched a phone named as LG Optimus SOL E730. The phone has got some serious looks and the features are just too much. LG Optimus SOL E730 is announced, and its release is expected soon.

The OS of any phone is the bottom line of it. OS of all the phones nowadays is Android v2.3 (Gingerbread) and keeping this momentum, LG Optimus SOL E730 is also powered with the OS of the year – Android v2.3. Android is one of the most common OS in the world and thus the availability of apps for it is huge.

LG Optimus Sol E730: Processor and Performance

Processor of a phone is the second most important thing after the OS. If OS is the skeleton, processor is the heart. Processor contains a clock which has a certain speed and that speed decides, how quickly your phone will respond to the input. Processor of LG Optimus SOL E730 is super powerful 1GHz processor with Qualcomm MSM8255 chipset.

Storage capacity of a phone is also a major factor which must be kept in mind. Storage capacity of phones nowadays is really high, you can store thousands of songs, millions of pictures, hundreds of videos, tens of movies etc. Storage capacity of a phone nowadays is enough for the need of a common man. Storage capacity of LG Optimus SOL E730 is 2GB internal with 512MB RAM, memory is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card.

Camera quality of a phone which is produced nowadays is comparable to that of a digital camera. Phones nowadays are studded with super powerful cameras which can catch every detail of the scenario. LG Optimus SOL E730 has a super amazing 5MP camera and all the same it also allows you to shoot VGA videos at the speed of 24fps. There is even a secondary camera which allows you to click VGA format photos.


ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML extended hands-on video shows USB OTG and Asphalt 8

As the race for the 4GB RAM smartphones continues the ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML also continues to impress. This time around we take it for a spin with Asphalt 8:AirBorne and with a USB OTG flash drive. How will this versiosn with a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Atom processor and 32GB storage fare? Check it out for yourself in the video below:


LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier review - Pricey but Smart feature-filled Face Mask

As more COVID-19 variants crop up, it is becoming obviously clear that the new norm of wearing face masks is here to stay. However, they are not without their disadvantages as they muffle voices when we speak and make it more difficult to breathe easily. As the only proven method of safe conduct from the pandemic, it should be a given that tech brands are moving forward to create more improved face masks and so they are.

The LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier face mask is one of them. Offering a built-in air purifier, voice amplifier and smart sensors to last a full 8 hours of usage (about the amount of time for 1 working day), is it the upgraded face mask for you? Find out in our full review of the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier below.

The front of the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier face mask, the speaker is near the vent

The insides of the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier face mask

At first glance, the LG PuriCare looks like something you’d find a Star Wars Storm Trooper wearing (our review unit was white), with it’s smooth plastic exterior jutting out over the mouth. The mask also houses dual inverter fans that bring in air from the sides then passes them through HEPA filters and the inner filter out to the bottom.

Utilizing a patented respiratory sensor, the fans only work when you’re actually breathing, so it does save battery life that way. A silicon face guard magnetically attaches to the mask over a replaceable inner filter which looks much like a cut-out piece of surgical face mask.

The all-purpose power button and USB Type C port of the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier

One of the dual inverter fans in the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier

When you're done, the air comes in from the sides of the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier face mask

On the bottom of the mask there’s a single button for power, activating or turning off the VoiceOn voice amplifier and turning off the mask. Next to the button there’s a USB Type C port for charging (which LG says takes about 1 hour and a half for 8 hours of battery life).

Our PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier review unit is actually the 2nd generation, and is smoother, less bulky and more lightweight at 94g. It has adjustable straps on the sides so you can strap it to your ears, but there’s also a silicone mask extender, which is useful if you wear a tudung or hijab or have soft ears.

There's an inner cover and silicone face guard for the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier

The inner cover goes here, LG recommends that you change this one daily

The face guard magnetically attaches to the face mask part of the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier

According to LG, you can also control the volume of the VoiceOne voice amplifier and speed of the fans via an app which connects via Bluetooth, but said app won’t be available until Q4 of 2021 (so we’ll update this review when it does come out). Inside the box, there’s also a charging stand, a charging cable and a pouch for the mask.

Trying out the PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier mask it does take some getting used to, as the top part of the mask obscures your steps at first. However, it does do as advertised in that it is easier to breathe and therefore speak through the mask. The dual inverter fans are relatively silent and provide a slightly cool breeze on your face, but if you listen for it, you can hear a slight hum. Most other people shouldn’t be able to hear it unless they’re really close. Battery life lasts a full working day (we used it intermittently though) but the status light did become orange halfway through.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing, this app was not available yet

The LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier set, complete with the extender

It fits snugly even for those of you wearing a hijab or tudung

Depending on the humidity, condensation can form on the inner face guard

Thanks to the inner silicone face guard sticking to your face and hanging from your nose, the PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier mask does not feel that heavy even if you don’t use the extender. However, depending on the humidity, condensation does form on the face guard (but thankfully you can detach it and give it a wash). Your glasses definitely don’t fog up as much either but just after 2 days, the inner cover will already smell of your saliva, so you should probably change it out once a day as LG recommends.

Once you activate the VoiceOn voice amplifier, your voice does become slightly louder but it also sounds a bit tinny, like you’re speaking through a microphone (which you are basically). The experience would have probably been better if we could finetune the speed of the fans or control the loudness of the voice amplifier, but with no app available, we couldn’t test that. You can definitely pull off a “Luke, I am your father…” Darth Vader moment with it nonetheless.

It would be more fun if you could actually change your voice when said app does come in and actually sound like Darth Vader or whatever other character, but there’s no news on that just yet. However, that’s not all the bad news, because since the pre-order period is now over, the price tag for the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier is now RM849 while a box of HEPA filters (to be changed monthly) and a box of 15 inner covers (to be changed daily) will each cost RM53.

Overall, the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier mask and set are definitely useful and effective in delivering a more comfortable face mask experience. Yes, you can speak louder and clearer with it. Yes, you can breathe more easily with it. Unfortunately, the pricey monthly upkeep is quite high compared to just buying a box of normal surgical face masks (about RM30 or lower for a box of 50 or so).

We think that for the people who can afford it, this is a small price to pay, but the price of that convenience may be a bit high for some folks. Once the app comes in, the mask could even be used to track your kids as well but we’ll know more about such features once Q4 of 2021 rolls in. There are no other contenders out there at the moment, but Razer are already beta testing their Project Hazel smart mask and we expect both Samsung and Xiaomi (who both also make air purifiers) to also step into the fray soon.

So, would you wait or get the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier face mask set? Or have you already bought it or someone you know has bought it already? Let us know in our App (for some giveaway tickets) or on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com.

Here are the tech specs and features of the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier (AP551AWFA):

Pros: Does as advertised, let’s you breathe easier and speak louder under a purifier face mask with plenty of smart features.

Cons: Pricey to maintain. No usable smart app available yet.

Summary: A comfortable, well-designed premium smart mask from LG


LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier will be available for pre-order in Malaysia starting 20 August

Mask is a necessity for us nowadays, and we're talking about the ones that help block out the virus. Other than surgical masks or even fabric masks, some of you might have come across the air purifiers which you can actually wear on your face. Not long ago, LG has launched the PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier, which serves the mentioned purpose. Until now, the company is finally opening the pre-order for Malaysians.

Starting from 20 to 31 August 2021, you can pre-order the PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier through the LG official website. The product will soon be available in September with two different packages that cost RM749 and RM1,498 respectively. Those packages will come with extra inner covers, and the couple package will include an additional HEPA H13 Filter.

For those who don't know about it works, the PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier is equipped with a fully automatic fan airflow control system that increases breathing comfort. With the help of HEPA H13 Filters, it can remove harmful particles such as dust, virus, bacteria and allergen up to 99.95%. Not only that, but it also features VoiceON that automatically recognises when you are speaking and projects your voice out, with the built-in microphone and speaker.

Let us know if you're getting one on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for the latest local tech news.


LG PuriCare wearable air purifier first impressions

As we learn to live with COVID-19, it really seems as if face masks are here to stay with the release of products like the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier. We recently managed to get our hands on this face mask with a built-in air purifier, patented Respiratory sensor and voice amplifier, so here are our first impressions of the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier.

Weighing in at 94g it comes with adjustable straps and a silicon extender bar so you can wear it on both the ears or around your head (useful for those ladies wearing a hijab or tudung or guys with soft ears like myself). At first glance, there seem to be Dual Inverter fans (one on the left and right of the face) which bring in air through the replaceable H13 HEPA filters which can last a month before needing to be replaced.

The LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier weighs in at 94g

There's a filter and magnetically attached silicon face guard on the inside of the mask

There’s also a silicon face guard that magnetically attaches to the PuriCare mask over an inner filter layer (which lasts for a day) that LG says will allow you to speak without that feeling of a mask pressing over your lips. Coming complete with a stand for charging, the LG PuriCare is rated to be able to last 8 hours but you can turn it on or off with a single power button near the USB Type C port on the bottom right side of the mask.

The LG PuriCare also comes with a built-in VoiceON voice amplifier, so you can also speak more clearly beneath the mask. How clearly and how easily that may be we’ll have to wait and see for the full review though. No definite Malaysia price details yet either, but again, we’ll know more after the full review, so stay tuned for that at TechNave.com.

One of the two Inverter fans that will pull in air through the H13 HEPA filters


LG Reveals World's Slimmest 1080p LCD Panel for Smartphones

As the tech world marches on to thinner and lighter devices, LG has revealed that they'll probably be the first in line. Introducing their 2.2mm thin LCD panels for smartphones, the 5.2-inch panel on display was not only about as thin as cardboard but sported the ability to display Full HD 1080p resolutions. The new LCD panel uses Advanced One-Glass-Solution (OGS) to create a better touchscreen experience. Crafted using dual flexible printed circuits placed between the panel the number of lines on the panel has been reduced by 30%.

So far, LG's LCD panel beats the performance of all other current full HD LCD panels in the market. Other tech specs include a brightness of up to 535 nits and an Ambient Contrast Ratio of 2.74:1 based on 10000 lux means that the panel will work quite well under direct sunlight. No news yet on when these panels will be introduced but rumours suggest that they are intended for LG's next upcoming flagship smartphone.[Source]


LG Smart TV owners get to enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free starting from 15 November

LG Smart TV owners will be able to enjoy a three-month subscription to Apple TV+ for free starting from 15 November. The promotion applies to all compatible 2016-2021, 8K and 4K LG Smart TV models. For those who are eligible, you may sign up for the promotion by 13 February 2022.

To redeem the freebie, you may follow the on-screen instructions in the LG Content Store or click on the Apple TV+ advertisement banner on the LG TV home menu. After completing the process, you will get access to shows like Ted Lasso by Jason Sudeikis, The Morning Show starring andexecutive produced by Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, Foundation, Dr. Brain, and more.

For more promotional news, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


LG TONE Free and XBOOM series 50% off on Lazada & Shopee until 10 October

Are you looking for a pair of wireless earbuds or portable audio speakers? Here are some great deals that are going on right now by LG Electronics Malaysia. The company is doing a promotion up to 50% on selected items and the price is as low as RM249.

The products include the newly introduced LG TONE Free and LG XBOOM series. LG TONE Free are a new pair of wireless earbuds with Noise Isolation, and the charging casing features a UV sterilizer that can clean the earbuds. LG XBOOM series are compact audio products with Super Bass Boost.

From now until 10 October on Lazada & Shopee, you can check out the table below to know about the product models and prices:

For more information, you may visit the LG Official Tech Stores on Lazada or Shopee. So what are you waiting for? Open the Lazada or Shopee apps and check out the gadgets. Let us know what gadget are you getting and don’t forget to leave in the comments below, be sure to stay tuned for more tech news on TechNave.com.


LG TONE Free wireless earbuds Malaysia release: Comes with a UV sterilizing charger case and priced at RM799

With the popularity of wireless earbuds, it's LG Electronics' turn to release their version. Introducing the LG TONE Free wireless earbuds, this pair cost RM799 and come in Stylish Black and Modern White. Malaysians can now purchase them across all authorised LG retailers and major IT retailers in Malaysia.

So anything special about these new wireless earbuds? According to LG, they actually collaborated with Meridian (one of the pioneers in high-resolution audio) to feature Headphone Spatial Processing (HSP) for the best sound possible. The earbuds have most of the necessary features such as Noise Isolation and long battery life, but they took another level by equipping the product with a unique UV sterilization feature that is said to "self-sanitizing".

How does that work? Well actually, the UV sterilization is only on the charging case and they are calling it the UVnano charging case. LG claims that the casing can eliminate 99.9% bacteria on the earbuds by utilizing UV LED light while charging. It's also worth mentioning that the earbuds have built-in dual microphones for maximum call clarity with Echo Cancellation and Noise Reduction.

If you want to learn more about the LG TONE Free wireless earbuds, you may visit their official website right over here. What do you think about the earbuds with a UV sterilization casing? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more trending gadget news at TechNave.com.


LG Tone Free DFP8W release: ANC, IPX4 water resistance, and 24-hour battery life for ~RM889

In April, LG quit the smartphone business for good. But while we won't see any new phones from the company anymore, that's not to say it has stopped making mobile accessories. The company still manufactures wireless earphones and has announced a new one.

As spotted by GSMArena, the new LG Tone Free DFP8W is the company's latest TWS earbuds that come with 8mm dynamic drivers and three microphones. Its major features include active noise cancelling (ANC), IPX4 splash proofing, and a UVnano charging case. Interestingly, the charging case can clean the device's silicone tips and speaker mesh using UV rays.

The Tone Free DFP8W uses Bluetooth 5.2 for pairing, allowing you to connect it with up to five devices. It also supports Google Fast Pairing and Windows Swift Pair. For audio playback, it supports apt-X, AAC, and SBC codecs. In terms of battery life, the earbuds can last up to 10 hours without ANC and the charging case provides an extra 14 hours.

LG is expected to retail the Tone Free DFP8W for 180 euros (~RM889), which is a decent price for what it offers. It even has three nice colours of white, gold and black colours. But what do you think of it so far? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


LG Tone Free FP8W review - ANC TWS with almost all the bells and whistles + UV

True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbuds are packing in more and more features. It isn't enough to have a good sounding TWS device but these days, brands are also adding extra features like Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), fast charging, touch controls and more. The LG Tone Free FP8W takes this a step further by not only offering all of the above but also built-in UV light disinfection. Does it manage to deliver on all fronts? Find out in our full review of the LG Tone Free FP8W below.

Looking much like Apple AirPods with a shorter, thinner stem, the FP8W are fairly light at 5.2g  for each earpiece. Going for an ergonomic look which LG says should fit most ears, they fit in the ear quite comfortably with a twist. Once inside, they tend to stay and not fall out and they aren’t so thick that they stick outside of the ear either.

There's infrared sensors to detect if the earpiece is actually in your ear

Touch controls are responsive but a bit slow

The ergonomic shape lets the LG Tone Free FP8W stick inside the ear better

LG have used medical grade silicone ear gels for the FP8W and they’ve been kind enough to include other differently sized ear gels if the default ones don’t feel like an exact fit. While it means the gels are hypoallergenic (probably won’t cause an allergic reaction) the gels themselves are a bit softer than the usual silicone earbuds, so they tend to get turned inside out when you take them out of your ears.

The earpieces themselves come with fairly sensitive touch controls but like most TWS, are a bit slow to respond. Placing them into the case not only recharges them but also activates the UV Nano blue lights for 5 minutes which LG says will kill 99.99% of bacteria on the earpieces. This should mean that after those 5 minutes, you could hand them over to other people to use (after you get rid of any earwax or other gunk that might have got caught, of course).

The LG Tone Free FP8W charging case is fairly compact and portable

There's a built-in UV nano disinfection function in the case

You can charge the case via the USB Type C port on the back

The case is quite compact with a matte surface, so it feels nice to hold without any unwanted fingerprints or smudges. It’s also quite portable and should fit most bags but may bulge a bit in some pockets. You can recharge the case via the USB Type C port or you can also charge it wirelessly. The case does have fast charging though, so you can get 1 hour worth of playback in just 5 minutes with a fast charger.

In terms of audio quality, the FP8W sounds full and rich and you can choose from the presets or make the settings yourself in the app. Both music and voice sounds crystal clear with clear separation between each instrument or audio source. The earpieces deliver very stable Bluetooth connectivity even through walls and other obstacles, so they clearly passed our bathroom test.

You can also recharge the case wirelessly

Game performance is unfortunately rather laggy but you can fix this by going to the app and setting it on Game Mode in the Tone Free Lab (it’s not on by default). Active Noise Cancelling or ANC does work quite well, almost placing you in a sound bubble of sorts but you can still hear loud or high pitched noises on the outside as well. The earpieces are rated IPX4 so they should be able to take sweat or rain fairly ok.

According to LG, there are 3 mics on each earpiece and calls sound clear. Audio recording shows that the mics work better than most, with only a slight echo of ambient noise in the background. Trying out whisper mode, you should first activate it in the app and then take out the right earbud before placing it near your mouth. Wait for a sound to show it is activated before using it, but I have to say that it’s rather unsatisfying because while you can hear whispers a bit better, it also amplifies all other ambient noises as well.

You can customize many of the settings from the app

Whispering mode may not be that useful but Game Mode is great for lag free audio during gaming

There’s a number of other features as well like Voice Alert, but all this does is to let you know there’s a new SMS or message from someone. It doesn’t open it and read it out to you like how Google Assistant can. This doesn’t seem to work for WhatsApp though, instead it just plays the usual notification sound. The Find my earbuds feature just plays a really loud chirping noise but it’s completely inaccessible if you’ve misplaced the earpieces and the case, as you can only access the TONE Free app if the earpiece is activated. Also, a word of advice, don’t pick up the chirping earpiece and put it in your ear straight away, as it doesn’t turn off automatically.

For battery performance, each earpiece is rated at 10 hours without ANC but with ANC we used up about 5% to 15 minutes of listening, so I’m not so sure how accurate that rating actually is. At that ratio they should still last for about 5 hours and a bit more (which sort of matches their 6 hour rating with ANC). According to LG, the case can extend this battery life to 24 hours of continuous usage (real world usage is probably less than this) but we sort of expected this battery life with all the features the FP8W has running.

What's in the box? ~ extra earbud gels, a charging cable and manuals

Overall, the LG Tone Free FP8W are good ANC TWS devices for enjoyable listening, gaming and good communications with almost all the bells and whistles. Currently priced at RM899 on promo (the normal RRP is RM1099), all the features like the touch controls and UV Nano makes this TWS ideal for today’s current pandemic life, however, we would have liked it more if the battery life was longer.

Despite all the other features, the FP8W does seem to be missing automatic talk through and automatic switching between devices, but we have mostly seen these features for devices around or above RM1.3K, so this makes sense at least. While there are other contenders that cost less but offer more or less the same in features, none of them have built-in UV disinfection, so if you’re looking for a more health-conscious TWS, the LG Tone Free FP8W could be the one for you.

Here are the tech specs and features for the LG Tone Free FP8W:

Pros: Full rich sound. Good ANC. Built-in UV disinfection. Fast / Wireless charging. Lag free gaming audio. Customizable features.

Cons: A bit pricey. Average battery life.

Summary: A good all-rounder ANC TWS with nearly every feature you might need for the pandemic.


LG Ultra Tab release: Wacom stylus support, SD 680 SoC and 7040mAh battery at ~RM1578

Previously, we reported that LG is planning to release a new Android tablet under an internal project named ‘Project Jetta’ and the device has finally been launched in South Korea. Called the LG Ultra Tab, the tablet features a 10.35-inch IPS LCD dsiplay with a standard 60Hz refresh rate, 5:3 aspect ratio and 2000 x 1200 pixel resolution.

Under the hood, the Ultra Tab is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM. There’s only one variant available with 64GB of storage though it is expandable via a microSD slot.

The 7040mAh or 27.1 Wh battery is more than adequate for a tablet of this size, which also sports a quad-speaker setup for immersive audio. Besides that, LG is also providing Wacom stylus support on the Ultra Tab, making it a viable choice for visual creators out there.

Camera-wise, there’s an 8MP camera at its rear and a 5MP selfie camera on the front. Other notable specs include USB Type-C, Android 12 OS and US Army’s MIL-STD 810G standard for durability certification. The device is only available in a singular Charcoal Gray colour option.

For now, the Ultra Tab is only available in South Korea for KRW462,000 or ~RM1578. As of the time of writing, LG has not yet revealed any plans to expand its availability outside of the country.

So, what do you guys think of LG’s comeback into the Android space, albeit in the tablet market? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for more trending tech news!


ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML hands-on video

How do you improve on a good smartphone like the ASUS ZenFone? You add on more useful  features and make it prettier than before, or at least that's how it seems with the ASUS ZenFone 2. We managed to do some hands-on time with the new and improved ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML smartphone with tech specs that includes a 64-bit Intel processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB storage and a 5.5-inch full HD display. Apart from these features the new ZenFone 2 moved the power button to the top, volume controls to the back along with a brushed metal-like backplate. Check out our hands-on video of the ZenFone 2 below:


LG UltraFine OLED Pro monitor and mid-range OLED TVs at CES 2021

When people talk about OLED screens, most of them are referring to OLED TVs. However, it seems that LG is prepared to bring the display tech to the PC space. At CES 2021, the company launched the new UltraFine OLED Pro monitor, which is a high-end monitor for productivity.

According to Engadget, this is a 31.5-inch 4K monitor that uses an OLED panel. Like all OLED panels, it has individual dimming for all its pixels, which gives it better brightness and contrast. At the back, the monitor's I/O ports include one for USB Type-C, three USB Type-A, two DisplayPorts, and one HDMI port. Made for professionals, this monitor delivers 99% DCI-P3 and Adobe RBG colour gamut.

Besides that, LG also announced a slew of new OLED TVs. First, there are the G1 series TVs that aims to deliver higher brightness, as well as improved image clarity and detail. Then there are the C1 series TVs that provide the widest range of options, from 48-inch to 83-inch models available. LG also talked about its latest Alpha 9 Gen 4 AI processor, which will improve performance for all LG TVs in 2021.

LG hasn't provided the fine details for each model, but expect them to be revealed in the coming days at CES 2021. With that said, would you invest in a 4K OLED monitor like the UltraFine OLED Pro for work? Let us know what PC monitor setup you use for work in the comments below! Also, stay tuned to TechNave for more CES 2021 updates.


LG UltraGear Gaming Monitor series release: World’s first 240Hz OLED panel

LG Electronics (LG) has announced its latest premium OLED gaming monitor, the LG UltraGear Gaming Monitor series which is currently being exhibited at CES 2023. Comprising the 27-inch 27GR95QE model and the 45-inch 45GR95QE model, the monitors are the world’s first 240Hz OLED panel.

In a statement today, LG said that the panels are exclusively manufactured by the company and deliver a record-breaking response time of less than 0.03 milliseconds Gray-to-Gray (GTG). Furthermore, the panels also sport superior self-lit picture quality complete with accurate, lifelike colours and infinite contrast.

Check out the full specs of both gaming monitors below:

Currently, the UltraGear OLED Gaming Monitors are available for pre-order in the US starting today. Moreover, the South Korean company will be launching the monitors in key markets throughout North America and Asia in January 2023, Europe in February 2023 and in the Middle East and Latin America afterwards. As of the time of writing, LG has yet to reveal whether the monitors will be part of the January 2023 launch in Asia.

So, what do you guys think of the UltraGear Gaming Monitor series? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned for more tech news and releases such as this!


LG UltraGear OLED gaming monitor Malaysia pre-order - world's first 240Hz OLED panel for RM4497

If you're looking for the best gaming monitor to feed your craze of having the ultimate performance, you ought to consider the LG UltraGear OLED gaming monitor (model 27GR95QE). Starting today, it will be available in Malaysia for RM4497 for pre-order.

In terms of features, it is equipped with the world’s first 240Hz OLED panel. Measuring 27 inches, the display has a response time of 0.03 ms Gray-to-Gray (GTG), QHD (2,560 x 1,440) resolution, NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible and FreeSync Premium.

Moreover, it delivers a 1,500,000:1 contrast ratio, 98.5 % DCI-P3 colour gamut, as well as using Anti-glare & Low Reflection (AGLR) panel. It also supports HDMI 2.1 specifications and DisplayPort 1.4 connectivity and incorporates a 4-pole headphone jack.

The pre-order period begins today and will last until 12 February 2023 on the LG Monitor Official Lazada Store. Customers who purchase the monitor during the pre-order period will receive an LG UltraGear canvas bag and water bottle. For more information to purchase the latest LG UltraGear gaming monitors, visit the nearest LG authorised dealer and LG Electronics Malaysia’s website.


LG UltraGear gaming monitors Malaysia release: QHD Nano IPS display & ATW Polarizer technology, starting from RM765

Today, LG Electronics just announced a brand new LG UltraGear gaming monitors lineup. The lineup consists of LG UltraGear's first OLED gaming monitor - the 48GQ900 model, the flagship 32GQ850 model, the QHD Nano IPS display and Advanced True Wide (ATW) Polarizer technology.

Starting with LG's ultimate OLED Gaming Display, the LG UltraGear 48GQ900 gaming monitor features a 48-inch 4K display, 120Hz refresh rate, overclocking up to 138Hz, 0.1ms response time and a full borderless design. In complementing the OLED display, it also has an anti-glare low reflection (AGLR) coating for gamers on PC or console gaming. There is also a remote control specially designed for gaming convenience.

On the other hand, the new 32GQ850 is certified with VESA AdaptiveSync Display, featuring a QHD (2560 x 1440) Nano IPS panel with ATW Polarizer technology. It also comes with VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification, covering 98% of DCI-P3, an ultra-high 240Hz (O/C 260Hz) refresh rate, and a 1ms response time.

Last but not least, the UltraGear 27GQ50F and 24GQ50F models are sleeker gaming monitors. Starting today, the latest LG UltraGear gaming monitors are now available in Malaysia for purchase at the prices:

For more information, you can visit the nearest LG authorised dealer and LG Electronics Malaysia's website, or check out the LG Monitor Official Store at Lazada and Shopee for more platform-exclusive deals. Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


LG V20 taking multimedia experience to the next level with Steady Record 2.0, front & rear wide angle cameras, Hi-Fi Quad DAC, Android Nougat and more

Today, LG Electronics (LG) unveiled the LG V20, the latest in its V series of smartphones boasting new features including Steady Record 2.0, Hi-Fi Quad DAC, HD Audio Recorder and front and rear wide-angle lens cameras to deliver best-in-class performance. It is also the world’s first smartphone to come preloaded with Android 7.0 Nougat OS and the new Google In Apps phone search function. Below is the official specifications:

Introducing Steady Record 2.0, it leverages Qualcomm Technologies’ electronic image stabilization (EIS) 3.0 to record sharper video footage minimizing shaky images. V20 users can also record Hi-Fi videos and manually control the settings with Low Cut Filter (LCF) that removes unwanted background noise and Limiter (LMT) that sets recording distance.

Furthermore, the V20 is the world’s first smartphone to feature a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC, powered by ESS Technology, the V20 delivers clear sound by minimizing distortion and ambient noise by up to 50 percent. And there's the HD Audio Recorder, which can capture studio-quality audio with a wider dynamic frequency range using three high AOP microphones to record sound that surpasses audio recordings on conventional smartphones. Users are also able to manually control sound via Studio Mode with easy-to-use keys similar to ones found in video cameras.

The wide angle lens allows easier phototaking for big groups

Last but not least, the V20 is the world’s first phone to showcase Google’s In Apps. The new search mode featured in the Google app, helps users find content not only from built-in apps including contacts, emails, text messages and photos, but also from user-installed apps. It also enables users to discover recently accessed apps, people to get in touch with, messages to read or activity across apps without having to type a query.

“The LG V20 is designed to offer customers a more dynamic experience by building on the most popular video and audio features of the V series,” said Juno Cho, president of LG Electronics and Mobile Communications Company. “With the LG V20, we are giving our customers more of everything they love and less of anything they don’t need to set a new standard for premium smartphones.”

The LG V20 will be available in Korea starting this month followed by other regions. Information regarding other markets and launch dates will be announced locally in the weeks to come.


LG V20 will launch with Android 7.0 Nougat in September

Fans of the latest versions of Android, start saving your money – the upcoming LG V20 will be the first OEM device to be shipped with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box when it is launched in September.

LG promises the “V20 will be a new standard for premium phones [with] more enhanced multimedia capabilities”. But LG also notes a “close cooperation” with Google to launch the V20 with Android 7.0 on board. No features list are known for the LG V20 as yet, but we may expect a 5.7-inch Quad HD screen, a high-end Snapdragon Qualcomm (either 820 or 821), and following the current trend, 6GB of RAM.

We shall wait until September to get more information, so stay tuned to TechNave for more information on the LG V20.


LG V60 ThinkQ smartphone will come with flagship specs and 4... microphones?

We don't normally hear much from LG about its smartphones, largely due to the fact that it's not a priority market for LG Malaysia. Regardless, the brand makes some interesting devices and the upcoming V60 ThinkQ has an unusual feature - four-channel microphones.

Frequent leakster Evan Blass posted a screenshot on Twitter that's allegedly taken from a promo video for the LG V60 ThinkQ. The post mentioned a few interesting details, such as the phone's expected release window being around spring 2020 (late March to late June) and its 5000mAh battery. We can also see from the image that there are four microphones installed inside the phone, along with a quad-camera setup and dual-LED flash. A followup image also shows that it has an audio jack.

LG hasn't confirmed any of these details nor explain what the four microphones would be useful for. But it's not something common and has certainly piqued our interest somewhat. Aside from though, the V60 ThinkQ is likely going to sport some pretty beefy flagship tech specs, such as the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset.

Unfortunately, we won't be getting any news about LG at MWC 2020 since the company is pulling out of the event. Having said that, would the 4-channel microphone open up new use cases and would you care for an LG-branded flagship device like this? Let us know on our Facebook page and remember to follow TechNave.com for other geeky tech news.


LG Velvet tech specs fully revealed, comes with 6.8-inch OLED display and 48MP main camera

LG has been popping up in the news recently, as it gears up for the launch of its new LG Velvet smartphone. This is going to be a mid-range device with 5G connectivity and is expected to be released on 7 May 2020 in South Korea. However, the specs of the device have already been revealed ahead of the launch.

In our previous article on the phone, we already confirmed that the LG Velvet will be equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 5G chipset. Now, it's been confirmed that it will also have 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, and a 4300 mAh battery. If 128GB isn't enough storage for you, it's also going to support microSD cards with up to 2TB of storage capacity.

According to ZDNet, the LG Velvet is also going to sport a 6.8-inch OLED display and stereo speakers. That's not unusual, as a lot of LG's smartphones have an emphasis on multimedia performance. For example, the LG V-series smartphones come with dedicated DAC inside, allowing them to support even audiophile-class headphones.

Besides that, the camera specs of the new smartphone were revealed. It's going to be a triple rear camera setup combining a 48MP main sensor, 8MP ultrawide lens, and 5MP depth sensor. On the front is the 16MP selfie camera, set under a U-shaped notch.

I find the LG Velvet an interesting mid-range option. If nothing else, at least it sports a design that's slightly different from what we normally see. We'll be keeping an eye on this one and will let you know once (or if) it gets a local release date. Until then, stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news updates.


LG Velvet variant with Dimensity 800 chipset found on Google Play Console

It's been over two months since LG launched its new premium mid-range smartphone, but so far it has been released in only selected countries. That may be changing soon if the latest leak is any indication. Specifically, the LG Velvet was recently found on Google Play Console sporting rather different tech specs.

According to Gizchina, this could be a variant of the LG Velvet that's more affordable (the original is ~RM3178). This is because the Google Play Console leak lists a device featuring the MediaTek MT6883 chipset and 6GB of RAM. The switch to the slightly weaker Dimensity 800 chipset and 6GB of RAM should help with reducing the cost. Speaking of which, the variant sold in the US and Europe features the Snapdragon 845 chipset and was priced at USD 599 (~RM2545), which is cheaper than the South Korean model with the Snapdragon 765 chipset. Bizarre...

We're not sure if anything else will be cut out to reduce the price, but the possibility is there. In the original model, the phone has a triple-camera at the back, consisting of a 48MP main sensor, 8MP ultrawide lens, and 5MP depth sensor, while the front packs a 16MP camera. LG could swap the 16MP front camera for an 8MP one, which could further reduce the cost of the phone.

Of course, this is just our speculation so do take it with a pinch of salt. Having said that, would you be keen on the LG Velvet if the price was more reasonable? Let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news like this.


LG Vu 3 officially announced

We've always felt that the LG Vu series of 4:3 aspect ratio smartphones doesn't really get the hype it deserves, and the same is true for the latest LG Vu 3 which was recently announced by LG in a very quiet sort of manner. Packing in a slightly larger 5.2-inch screen but still maintaining the same 4:3 aspect ratio, the Vu 3 looks just as wide as the previous version. However, slightly curvier corners give it a less boxy look and the slightly larger size also means it has some space to put a Rubberdium stylus pen (which unfortunately, isn't a digitizer pen like some other phablets). Other tech specs and features for the LG Vu 3 are still quite generous and include:

Inheriting features seen on the LG G2 like Knock on, Guest mode and similar Quick View casings, the LG Vu 3 should probably be available first in South Korea due to the LTE-A support. Malaysia pricing and release dates were unfortunately not available at the time but we'll keep you posted. If it does make an appearance here in Malaysia expect accessory support to be very limited so if you can get the Quick View casing and other accessories with the phone then we recommend that you do so.


10-inch ASUS MeMo Pad 10 (ME103K) tablet announced, coming to Malaysia?

ASUS has officially announced the MeMo Pad 10 (ME103K) 10.1-inch display tablet for just $199 (RM652). If it does come to Malaysia, this would place it in direct competition with the ASUS FonePad 8 tablets. However, the tech specs for the MeMo Pad 10 (ME103K) are a bit lower-end with a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB Storage, 10.1-inch display with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, 2MP/5MP rear camera, 0.3MP front camera, SonicMaster speakers and Android 4.4 KitKat. It also weighs a good deal more at 525g but has a 9.5-hour battery life. No Malaysia release dates or pricing yet, but do check out the video below:


2021 iPad Pro will come with thinner bezels and squared edges based on leaks

It seems that a bunch of renders regarding the 2021 iPad Pro may have been spotted on cnbeta.com, showcasing the design and what to expect when it is officially available in the global market. Based on the leaked image, it seems that the upcoming iPad Pro will most likely come equipped with a thinner bezel, squared-off edges, as well as squared-off camera module.

But that’s not all, our source also mentioned that the tablet will come equipped with LiDAR capabilities as well as a USB Type-C port towards the bottom of the device. However, do take some of the information with a grain of salt, due to the fact that Apple has yet to provide an official statement on the leaks.

Not only that, but there’s also no news on the Malaysia release date, local pricing, and exact tech specs of the 2021 iPad Pro for now. Would you be interested in getting the tablet in question as soon as it is available in the local market? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.