LG’s ‘Arena’ Takes On Touch-Screen Rivals
Posted by TechInfo Admin on February 9, 2009
With the introduction of the Arena smartphone, LG Electronics is trying to emulate the success of touch-screen rivals like Apple’s iPhone 3G and the BlackBerry Storm. With a 3-inch touch screen, and at 0.47 inches thick, the Arena does bear a resemblance to Apple’s smartphone. LG is also positioning the handset as a multimedia device, and it has loaded the phone with a customized user interface to make navigation easier. The company’s 3-D S-Class user interface has a cube-based layout that can provide customizable one-touch access to videos, music, Internet services, and other features.
“The direct, intuitive and dynamic S-Class UI will be unlike anything that has appeared on a mobile phone before,” said Skott Ahn, president and CEO of LG Electronics’ mobile division, in a statement. “With rich 3-D graphics, touch sensitivity and exciting multimedia capabilities, it will truly make Arena a fully loaded multimedia phone.”
Users will be able to hear tunes through the audio player, and there’s also an FM radio. The large screen should make the Arena a good handset for playing videos on the go, and LG said video playback will be aided by Dolby and DivX technologies. The Arena can also be used for work purposes, as it will have an integrated document viewer, and will be able to receive e-mail on the go. To stay connected, the Arena has built-in Wi-Fi, and it has 3G HSDPA capabilities for up to 7.2 Mbps downlink speed. The smartphone packs a 5-megapixel camera that the company said is capable of recording “DVD quality” video.
LG hasn’t revealed the pricing or availability details for the Arena, but specifics are expected to emerge from next week’s Mobile World Congress.
