Isaiah's Tech

It's been over two weeks without seeing anything from LG's next Black Label handset, the BL40. Well, below is some footage of some hands-on treatment. It's kind of dumb how the video they played on the BL40 wasn't even in a 21:9 aspect ratio, it's just wasted screen. I still dislike the wide 21:9 aspect ratio - let's just keep it 16:9 for now. Just take a look at the video below, I don't want to spoil anything else for you.



[Engadget Mobile]

This morning, I reported that the LG BL40 passed the FCC without 3G. Just to recap, the LG BL40 is expected to have: WiFi b/g, Bluetooth, an FM transmitter, and a measly 1,000mAH battery. Engadget has come up with an amazing vision that the LG BL40 could actually be launched on Telus' "new HSPA network in Canada as its first GSM device" - which is scheduled to launch this October. This, like the rumoured iPhone 3GS, would be a great start to Telus' HSPA network.

[Engadget]

Let's recap, shall we? Last week, we heard that LG would be launching a new Black Label handset that would be their iPhone rival. At the beginning of this week, that was revealed to be the LG Chocolate BL40. Well, two days ago I mentioned that Verizon has the "rights" on the LG Chocolate 4 and at the time, we didn't know what that could be. Apparently, the LG BL40 could be the Chocolate 4, so good job on Verizon's part.

Now for today's news. The LG BL40 has just surpassed the FCC, so it could be on its way soon. The very, very sad part about all of this is that the LG BL40 doesn't have American 3G! What is LG thinking? I really hope this is a mistake of some sort because that is a really big disappointment. How can you expect to be an iPhone rival without 3G? It doesn't even make sense. Two thumbs down for GSM 850 / 1900.

[Engadget Mobile]

Here's another photo of the LG Chocolate BL40 because you know you've been waiting for another one. This bizarre, but sexy-looking handset is very intriguing. We already know about its 800 x 345 resolution display, but now we're hearing that it has a 5MP camera with a Schneider Kreuznach lens, WiFi, an FM transmitter, and 335MB of onboard sotrage, which doesn't matter since there's a microSD card slot. If you look below, this new Black Label handset is beside a smaller LG handset that could also be part of the same series. It looks like it'll have touch-sensitive buttons, but it's all about the BL40 right now. Maybe it's the dummy model of the LG Chocolate 4? I don't know, but take a look. I removed the side-by-side picture and replaced it with a lone picture of the new LG Chocolate BL42

Update: According to Slash Gear, this handset below is the LG BL42. It's a slider phone and has touch-sensitive buttons and a number pad. This BL42 also has: a 240 x 320 non-touchscreen display, a 5MP camera, and 3G. The BL40 is definitely the better handset here.

[Engadget Mobile]

I'm sure you remember LG's Black Label smartphone aka the next iPhone competitor. Well, here it is. This is the next-gen LG Chocolate BL40 and there's even a video below - and it looks like it's authentic. This new LG Chocolate BL40 has a: 21:9 aspect ratio, about a 4-inch display with a 345 x 800 resolution multi-touchscreen display, a Schneider-kreuznach lens (megapixels still uknown), a Flash-based 3D UI, aGPS, WiFi, and 7.2Mbps HSDPA connectivity. The screen is also said to be scratch-proof glass and it looks about as thin as the old-school iPod Nanos.

Looks good doesn't it... hell yes! I'd definitely prefer a 16:9 aspect ratio display though, but we'll just have to see some hands-on videos in the future. The virtual QWERTY keyboard could probably be ruled out in portrait mode and it looks like it could take some getting used to in landscape mode as well. Anyways, enjoy the video below, it looks amazing so far.



[Engadget]

Some background information on the original LG Chocolate - it sold more than 21 million units worldwide. Yesterday, LG announced its iPhone competitor - the successor to the LG Chocolate - the next-gen Chocolate (no official name has been determined yet). It will be filed under LG's Black Label folder and will "showcase a highly distinctive design that takes optimal advantage of the device's features and performance." According to Tweakers.net that could possibly mean that this new LG handset could have a 800 x 345 resolution display aka 21:9. This resolution is similar to the Philips Cinema Display.

The new LG Chocolate "will be a disruptive force in conventional mobile screens." Well, what could this mean? This could be a hint towards an AMOLED touchscreen display - hopefully capacitive; maybe multitouch could also be an option - you never know. Other specs could possibly include: a 5MP camera, the Obigo Q7.3 browser, and LG's own OS.

So far, that's all LG has teased us with officially - just a picture. This handset is expected to be officially unveiled by LG next month. For more information, just click on any or all of the links below.

[Gizmodo, Unwired View, Slash Gear, Pocket-Lint]