Refresh Roundup: week of April 15th, 2013

Posted on 21/04/2013 by Zachary Lutz

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Tablets, Mobile

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LG teases several new smartphones for MWC, is brought to you by the letters G, L, V and F

Posted on 19/02/2013 by Mat Smith

LG isn't done making vague hints at what it's got in store for us in Barcelona next week. While we admittedly missed it on our first viewing, the latest trailer flies past several red initials and vague glimpses of four handsets. There's an L (style?), a G (greatness), one V (view, or Vu) and a new one, F, that apparently stands for freedom. In short, it looks like LG might be bringing quite a few phones to the show. The short video also places plenty of emphasis on tags, which we're guessing will involve some NFC tech -- possibly expanding on those "Tag On" stickers we saw announced at CES last month. We just wish the message was as loud and clear as the music in the teaser. You've been warned.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

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LG Optimus Vu II specs officially unveiled: new CPU, IR, stylus and ‘One Key’ accessory

Posted on 27/09/2012 by Richard Lawler

Whether or not there's a 5-inch 4:3 aspect ratio spot in the world to fit LG's Optimus Vu is still up for debate, but the company is pressing on and has now officially revealed specs for its follow up, the Optimus Vu II. Matching the specs leaked previously the CPU is a Qualcomm MSM8960 that's a newer design than the previous one, but is still a dual-core chip clocked at 1.5GHz. The RAM has been doubled to 2GB, the battery is just a hair larger at 2,150mAh and it will come with Android 4.0 out of the box plus that integrated IR blaster and QRemote software to control your home theater. The VoLTE capability listed in the leak is here and accounted for, as well as a Rubberdium Pen 2.0 stylus with a thinner, more precise nub. One thing we hadn't heard about is its optional "One Key" accessory, a waterproof fob intended for your key ring that can be pressed to make your phone beep loudly if you need to find it, and light up blue or red to alert you when there are messages or if it has finished charging. The Optimus Vu II is priced at 966,900 won ($864) in Korea, though we'll have to wait for a US announcement to have any idea how much it will cost when it ships here.

Gallery: LG Optimus Vu II

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

LG Optimus Vu II specs officially unveiled: new CPU, IR, stylus and 'One Key' accessory originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 00:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Intuition review: Optimus Deja Vu with a Verizon LTE twist

Posted on 21/09/2012 by Brad Molen

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It's not uncommon for US carriers to take an international smartphone under their wings, make a few adjustments to hardware and firmware, stamp their fat logos in multiple places and then sell it to the masses. Verizon is no exception: the LG Intuition is its interpretation of the Optimus Vu, a 5-inch phablet we reviewed over the summer. Perhaps calling it an "interpretation" is a bit of an overstatement: aside from a bump in firmware and Big Red's LTE, it is the Optimus Vu. In fact, going into this review, we had a difficult time believing our experience would be much different than our run-in with the Korean version.

Our first reaction is that this doesn't bode well for the carrier. If Verizon opted for the Intuition in order to fill a gaping hole in its lineup, we have a hard time understanding why it would choose to greenlight this particular device with the Samsung Galaxy Note II coming within the next two months. The device's quiet launch is a solid enough indication that the network isn't planning on throwing a lot marketing dollars behind it, so it feels as though the Intuition's main reason for existing is to bolster Verizon's rapidly expanding LTE portfolio. Is there something intriguing about the Intuition ($200 with a two-year commitment) that wasn't there when we first played with the Vu? Or will we find ourselves in the Twilight Zone, reliving the same moment over and over again? Let's find out.

Gallery: LG Intuition for Verizon review

Continue reading LG Intuition review: Optimus Deja Vu with a Verizon LTE twist

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

LG Intuition review: Optimus Deja Vu with a Verizon LTE twist originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intuition by LG hands-on: a pen-enabled competitor to the Galaxy Note for Verizon (video)

Posted on 10/09/2012 by Joseph Volpe

It's a silly name as smartphones go (and one that conjures images of lady-focused razors), but regardless, LG's Intuition is now officially a member of Verizon's lineup. The 4G LTE device, shown off today at the manufacturer's launch event, is nigh unchanged from the South Korean model we reviewed this past July (known as the Optimus Vu). With a 5-inch 1,024 x 768 True-XGA IPS capacitive display, dual-core S3 CPU clocked at 1.5GHz, 8-megapixel rear camera, NFC, 2080mAh battery and that Rubberdium pen, the only thing separating this stateside iteration from its SK Telecom cousin is the skinned Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS onboard and $199 on contract price. So how does it fare in this Big Red debut? Follow along as we attempt to find what's been lost, if anything, in translation.

Gallery: Intuition by LG

Continue reading Intuition by LG hands-on: a pen-enabled competitor to the Galaxy Note for Verizon (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Intuition by LG hands-on: a pen-enabled competitor to the Galaxy Note for Verizon (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Intuition with Verizon 4G LTE gets official: $200 on contract starting September 6th

Posted on 04/09/2012 by Sarah Silbert

Just as rumors predicted, the LG Intuition for Verizon has been made official in time for a September 6th launch date. The phone, which is essentially the Optimus Vu with the carrier's 4G LTE connectivity thrown in, will be available for $200 on contract on Verizon's website starting tomorrow, and it will hit stores on September 10th. To jog your memory, the handset runs Android 4.0 on a 5-inch display, with a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor under the hood. The phone features the LG Tag+ app, which uses NFC to control phone settings, and two reprogrammable NFC stickers are included. Check out the press release for more info.

Continue reading LG Intuition with Verizon 4G LTE gets official: $200 on contract starting September 6th

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LG Intuition with Verizon 4G LTE gets official: $200 on contract starting September 6th originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 09:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG announces infrared-equipped Optimus Vu II and universal remote app

Posted on 27/08/2012 by Steve Dent

LG just outed the Optimus Vu II for the Korean market, designed around a remote control app, QRemote. The company's translated PR claims (erroneously) that the new device will be "the world's first smartphone using infrared," letting it operate gear like set-top boxes and home appliances, including other companies' products. The device is scheduled to launch next month in the maker's home country, around the time the Tegra 3-powered Optimus Vu will go on sale in the US as Verizon's LG Intuition. The company hasn't released any technical details for the phone -- in fact, other than the remote functions, we don't even know if there are any changes from the current pen-capable model. In any case, it might give pause to another Korean maker about to announce an awfully similar product.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Household, Tablets

LG announces infrared-equipped Optimus Vu II and universal remote app originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 09:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG announces infrared-equipped Optimus Vu II and universal remote app

Posted on 27/08/2012 by Steve Dent

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Household, Tablets

LG announces infrared-equipped Optimus Vu II and universal remote app originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 09:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Intuition spied in press shots, leaves one piece of the puzzle left to go

Posted on 26/08/2012 by Jon Fingas

The LG Intuition may be one of Verizon's more poorly-kept secrets of recent memory. Apart from LG itself having confirmed that an Optimus Vu rebranding is due for the US within weeks, there's been pricing and even an uncannily detailed FCC filing to fill in the gaps. Why not throw official press images into the mix? From the renders DroidDog has managed to obtain, the Intuition is a bit more than just a one-for-one port of the original Korean phablet. While Verizon's influence is light outside of that attention-grabbing logo, there's a switch-up in the navigation keys to reflect that Android 4.0 will be there from the beginning -- a nice break from the ancient-feeling Android 2.3 layout of the original. About the only question left at this stage is that of the exact release date. There's a September 15th mention in one of the images, but we all know how dates in press imagery can be misleading.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

LG Intuition spied in press shots, leaves one piece of the puzzle left to go originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Aug 2012 14:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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