LG Pay White Card appears in leaked images

In November, we passed along a report that LG was in the early stages of preparing a mobile payment system of its own called ‘LG Pay.’ As it turns out, that report was indeed true.

Unlike Samsung Pay, Android Pay and Apple Pay, LG Pay will operate differently. Instead of processing payments using a smartphone, a plastic card will be required at checkout. Earlier today, an LG Pay White Card surfaced for the first time in a few images. Although it won’t eliminate the wallet, this may be LG’s best shot at launching a payment service that is accessible to the masses.

The LG Pay White Card will seemingly combine multiple credit and debit cards seamlessly into one. The card has a built-in low-power LCD display for guidance and built-in buttons for quick controls. Sources say that the buttons could be used to switch between cards. Considering the fact that the card requires power, it must be charged in some way. This is where the pins on the left side come into play. These pins will probably offer some kind of charging solution.

LG is currently working to put the cards into mass production in South Korea. According to sources, the company already produced 50,000 cards for testing purposes and is well on its way to making this become a reality. Even though it’s a bit of a long shot, it’ll be on our list of things to watch out for at MWC 2016.

Source: ETNews
Via: GForGames

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LG launches K10 and K4 smartphones in Europe and CIS

LG’s K10 and K4 budget friendly smartphones will be coming to Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). After that, the new phones will be heading to Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia.

If you haven’t heard of these phones, the K10 will feature a 5.3-inch screen, 1.3GHz Quad-Core processor, 2GB of RAM, and comes with 16GB or 8GB of storage. The K4 will come with a 4.5-inch screen, 1.0GHz Quad-Core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of storage. Both will be running Android 5.1.

Press Release:

LG K SERIES TO BEGIN ROLLOUT IN KEY MARKETS GLOBALLY

Premium Design, Advanced Camera Technology and Unique UX Offered at Competitive Price

SEOUL, Jan. 28, 2016 ― LG Electronics (LG) will begin rolling out two of its K Series models, the K10 and K4, in key global markets including CIS and Europe starting this week. Stage two of the rollout will commence in the weeks to come in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.

LG’s K Series, which was unveiled at CES 2016, is important to LG because of its mass-tier appeal. The K Series was designed with a premium look and feel and offers advanced camera features without a premium price. The glossy pebble design language of the K10 is complemented by LG’s new 2.5D Arc Glass for a smooth and seamless look. An intricately woven back cover provides optimal grip, preventing the phone from slipping out of users’ hands.

Aimed at a younger audience who enjoy consuming content on their smartphones and actively sharing on social media, the K10 features a 5.3-inch HD In-cell Touch Display, premium-level camera specifications ― up to 13MP on the rear and 8MP on the front ― with an ample 2,300mAh battery.

The K4 is an entry-level device with best-in-class practicality, featuring a 4.5-inch display, 8GB of memory and LTE connectivity. The smartphone incorporates a sleek design that flows naturally into the bezel for a much more comfortable and secure grip. The K4 offers LG’s uniquely familiar camera UX such as Gesture Shot and Flash for Selfie inherited from its G Series, making it a standout among competitors.

“Affordable mass-tier phones with advanced features are becoming more and more important,” said Juno Cho, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Our newest K Series is designed for our consumers to experience LG’s premium design philosophy and optimized mobile experience across disparate smartphone categories,”

K10 Key Specifications:

• Display: 5.3-inch HD In-cell Touch
• Chipset:
  • LTE: 1.2GHz or 1.3GHz Quad-Core / 1.14GHz Octa-Core
  • 3G: 1.3GHz Quad-Core
• Camera:
  • LTE: Rear 13MP / Front 8MP or 5MP
  • 3G:Rear 8MP / Front 8MP or 5MP
• RAM: 2GB / 1.5GB / 1GB
• ROM: 16GB / 8GB
• Battery: 2,300mAh
• Operating System: Android 5.1 Lollipop
• Size: 146.6 x 74.8 x 8.8mm
• Network: LTE / 3G
• Colors: White / Indigo / Gold
• Others: 2.5D Arc Glass / Gesture Shot / Tap and Shot / Gesture Interval Shot*

K4 Key Specifications:

• Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA

• Chipset: 1.0GHz Quad-Core

• Camera: Rear 5MP / Front 2MP

• Memory: 1GB RAM / 8GB ROM

• Battery: 1,940mAh

• Operating System: Android 5.1 Lollipop

• Size: 131.9 x 66.7 x 8.9mm

• Network: LTE

• Colors: White / Indigo

• Others: Gesture Shot / Flash for Selfie

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LG has confirmed that it will launch two flagship smartphones this year

LG has announced that despite substantial losses in both Q3 and Q4 of 2015, it will be launching not just one, but two flagship smartphones in 2016. The South Korean company also disclosed it will unveil a new “cost-competitive value” range of devices, which it hopes will increase its gross profit, thus putting it back into the green zone.

Unfortunately, the manufacturer didn’t reveal any details regarding the impending flagships, but we presume it’s talking about the upcoming G5, which we believe will be introduced at Mobile World Congress in three weeks time, and potentially a second-generation V10. That said, it’s quite possible that LG is working on a new iteration of its curved self-healing handset, the G Flex.

I, for one, am eager to see what LG has come up with for the G5. If recent leaks and rumors are anything to go by, it certainly looks like it’s set to be a fantastic device with the potential to compete head-to-head with the market’s finest smartphones, which should, in theory, win the company some new customers.

Reports from reliable tipsters suggest that the G5 will pack a 5.6-inch 4K display, a Snapdragon 820 System-on-Chip (SoC), an Adreno 530 GPU, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable internal storage, dual 20-megapixel rear-facing cameras, an 8-megapixel front-facing shooter and a 3,000mAh removable Li-Ion battery.

Source: LG

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The LG G5 and its “magic slot” modules: some thoughts

You may have heard the rumors regarding the LG G5 and its so-called magic slot. While not a lot is known about this slot, I am personally convinced (or at least strongly hoping) that the rumors are entirely accurate, and that these new removable “modules” will radically alter the fate of the G series, for better or worse. There are plenty of reasons why this could be one of the coolest new additions to a flagship smartphone for a long time, but just as many that make me think this could ruin the G5 if things go badly.

Let’s be honest: smartphones haven’t changed much in form or function for a while. Sure, smartphone photography has only fairly recently become a true replacement for pocket digital cameras and apps continually replace tasks we used to use computers for. But the basic structure and feature set for most phones – barring the BlackBerry Priv – have been pretty stable since flip phones disappeared.

See also: LG G5 rumor roundup: release date, specs, and features69

Breaking the mold

Front-facing LED flashes and speakers aside, most phones these days have stabilized into a fairly predictable pattern of features, with a variety of superficial enhancements designed to help them stand out from the crowd. If the LG G5 arrives with a removable bottom that allows users to insert optional modules – like a bigger battery or a variety of better cameras – the smartphone game will be blown wide open.

Imagine the possibilities: a battery exactly the size you want it, a 360-degree VR cam or action camera, physical keyboard, audio amp, professional microphone, the options are pretty much endless. The G5 would basically become a mobile hot-shoe hub for everything. While the move is obviously targeted at the highly profitable accessories market, it is also a very novel way to make the LG G5 truly unique.

Other rumored features like a twin camera array for wide-angle photography, the secondary ticker display like that found on the LG V10, or even the elusive iris scanner, can all be categorized into run-of-the-mill upgrade expectations for a brand-new flagship device. But user-switchable modules are a whole new kettle of fish, one that is as risky as it is exciting.

A risky gamble

The real trick to pulling it off is twofold: the “magic slot” needs to be an entirely optional feature that can be ignored (and not paid extra for) by the casual user that has no intention of using it, and the module idea needs to avoid being seen as a proprietary cash grab, in the same way as Sony’s custom “Memory Stick” SD cards once were or Apple’s endlessly non-compatible cables still are.

A failure on the first score – meaning that the G5 is either much more expensive than “normal” phones or that the magic slot is deemed “too complicated” for the casual user in the popular consciousness – would turn the LG G5 into a niche product when, as a flagship, it needs to appeal to as many consumers as possible.

A failure on the second front – that the magic slot is seen as an unnecessary and costly gimmick that is simply designed to squeeze even more money out of the consumer – could be fatal to the G5’s success. While Apple has managed to get away with endlessly “upgrading” its connectors and accessories, requiring fresh purchases of things you already have, LG doesn’t enjoy half the cultural cache as Apple and, if the gamble is unsuccessful, could cripple its most established flagship device.

This is the conundrum facing LG right now: it desperately needs a unique, stand-out feature in order to differentiate itself from its countless competitors with similar specs and frequently lower price tags. But even more importantly, LG needs to finely balance the form that competitive edge takes with something that is also entirely optional so as to avoid alienating “regular” customers. Just as Samsung lost a lot of fans by removing microSD expansion, LG could suffer a similar fate by adding something unnecessary and costly.

What do you think of the module idea? Will it catch on?

LG admits to persistent bootloop problem being a hardware issue, will fix defective units

LG G4 owners across the globe have been complaining of a persistent issue in which their G4 randomly reboots then gets stuck in an endless bootloop cycle. There has been no official remedy for this problem, that is until now. Today, in an official statement to Android Authority, LG has admitted that the bootloop problem is due to a hardware defect, and it will be repairing all afflicted devices.

Android Authority questioned LG directly to receive an answer to this problem, with LG’s official response reading:

LG Electronics has been made aware of a booting issue with the LG G4 smartphone that has now been identified as resulting from a loose contact between components. Customers who are experiencing booting issues with their LG G4s should contact their local carrier from where the G4 was purchased or a nearby LG Service Center (http://www.lg.com/common) for repair under full warranty.

Customers who purchased their G4 devices from non-carrier retailers should contact an LG Service Center with the understanding that warranty conditions will differ. LG Electronics is committed to providing the highest standards of product quality and customer service and apologizes for the inconvenience caused to some of our customers who initially received incorrect diagnoses.

Prior attempts by LG to remedy this affliction have been confirmed as misdiagnoses, leading to the wrong hardware components being replaced. Now with an official confirmation from LG on the problem, I think those of you with afflicted devices can rest easy knowing that LG has figured out exactly how to fix your device.

Source: Android Authority

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