LG confirms Optimus Black to hit Malaysian stores in May

LG Malaysia is seriously under-selling its products. It could be a result of our own ignorance but we strongly feel that there’s so much to talk about with regards to the current crop of LG smart phones coming to Malaysia within these two months, and yet we see very little of LG in the news or social media.

First of all is the LG Optimus 2X — the world’s fist dual-core Android smart phone. It’s available now in Malaysia, and there’s nary a news report about it in the mainstream media. We’re talking about the latest Android device with cutting edge dual-core performance at a ridiculously low price and it’s available here in Malaysia right now! There’s so much to talk about the Optimus 2X and yet no one is talking about the device. Its a tremendous opportunity missed in our opinion.

Next, we have the LG Optimus Black. LG Malaysia confirms that the device is heading to Malaysia this May.

The Optimus Black boasts LG’s proprietary NOVA display technology that LG claims to be the “brightest, clearest and most readable” mobile display in the market. The Optimus Black’s NOVA display pushes out a whopping 700 nits of display brightness. In comparison, the iPhone 4’s Retina Display pushes 571 nits, the Nexus S (Super AMOLED) pushes 371 nits, Samsung Galaxy S (Super AMOLED) 347 nits. The Optimus Black’s stablemate, the Optimus 2X pushes 399 nits via its standard LCD screen with IPS.

The 700 nits brightness performance of the NOVA display would mean that outdoor viewing under bright sunlight is not going to be a problem for the Optimus Black and we’re pretty interested to see how the display will perform outdoors but we’d also like to point out that brightness is just one part of the display equation. Contrast, sharpness, black performance, colour reproduction and viewing angles must all be taken into account when assessing a display.

Another advantage of LG’s NOVA display is its lower power consumption by up to 50% less when compared to standard LCDs. LG also says that when displaying a full white screen, non-backlit AMOLED screens uses twice as much power as the NOVA display.

Other than that the Optimus Black features a 4.0-inch 480×800 screen. It runs on a 1Ghz processor (TI OMAP 3630) with 512MB RAM and 2GB internal storage expandable to 32GB with a microSD card. OS wise the Optimus Black is running Android 2.2 with Optimus UI 2.0 skin that also comes with Gesture UI which is an interface that allows you to use gestures such as lifting and shaking the device to execute commands like answering a call or playing music.

Imaging comes in the form of a 5MP rear camera with 720p 30fps video recording and a 2MP front camera. For connectivity, the Optimus Black supports DLNA media sharing as well as WiFi hotspot features. Dimensions wise, LG claims the Optimus Black is the world’s thinnest smart phone being just 6.0mm thin at it’s thinnest point and 9.2mm thin at its thickest point. In comparison, the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc is 8.7mm thin at its thinnest point while the iPad 2 is 8.8mm thin.

Although LG Malaysia has confirmed that the Optimus Black will be coming in May, it didn’t mention specifically what date and how much.

Head on over to after the jump for a full press release from LG Malaysia and a promo video of the Optimus Black.

LG INTRODUCES NEXT GENERATION SMARTPHONE DESIGN AND WORLD’S BRIGHTEST DISPLAY WITH LG OPTIMUS BLACK

New LG Optimus Black Delivers Breakthrough NOVA Display Technology in Ultra-Slim Smartphone

Kuala Lumpur, April 8, 2011 -– LG Electronics (LG) today unveiled the LG Optimus Black, providing users with world’s brightest 4-inch NOVA display in an ultra-slim 9.2 mm mobile device and creating a one-of-a-kind user experience unlike anything before.

Available for the first time in the Malaysian mobile market, LG Optimus Black’s NOVA display is designed to be the brightest, clearest and most readable among mobile screens with 700 nits* of brightness for optimal visibility. LG Optimus Black provides users with an easier and more natural experience when browsing the web, reading emails, or writing documents with higher levels of brightness and pure white tones that deliver true black and white colours for ideal handset viewing. NOVA technology featured on LG Optimus Black also enables users to maintain visibility whether indoors or outdoors under strong sunlight.

In addition to greater luminosity, the NOVA display on LG Optimus Black also radically reduces power consumption by 50 percent during general indoor use compared to a conventional LCD. Similarly, AMOLED consumes twice as much power as NOVA to display a full white screen, the most frequently used colour scheme for web browsing. Combined with the 1500 mAh battery of the LG Optimus Black, users will have enough power for their daily needs, even at maximum brightness settings.

Users will never be out of style with the LG Optimus Black’s ultra slim 9.2 mm design. Making a strong visual statement, LG Optimus Black weighs only 109g and offers sleek lines and smooth edges that improve handheld grip. Tapering down to the world’s thinnest smartphone profile of 6.0 mm, LG Optimus Black’s subtle back arch helps to create the illusion of even greater slimness. Unique to the LG Optimus Black, the flush and flawless finish of the front display is achieved by innovatively hiding the Invisible Receiver behind the edges of the phone.

“We are excited to introduce this stylish new Android smartphone and expect the LG Optimus Black to play a key role in the mobile market,” said HK Kwon, Managing Director of LG Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd. “LG Optimus Black reflects our core strengths of advanced technology, in both display and design, offering the world’s brightest screen and the world’s slimmest design in an attractive and smart package.”

The LG Optimus Black also offers a set of smarter features designed for easy and faster access to important apps and content. Optimus UI 2.0 lets users directly access messages, emails and missed calls from the locked screen with just one single finger tap. The Gesture UI offers more intuitive commands, including lifting, shaking and tapping, for taking calls, entering camera mode, or enjoying music. LG Optimus Black also includes Wi-Fi Direct™2 for quick and high-quality data transfer between mobile devices and adopts the world’s first 2MP front-facing camera.

All LG Optimus Black features are available on the Android 2.2 Froyo platform with Android 2.3 Gingerbread upgrade capability. Utilising the 2MP front-facing camera, LG Optimus Black allows users to utilise video telephony functions of higher quality after upgrading to Android’s Gingerbread.

The LG Optimus Black will be available in May; recommended retail price to be confirmed.

*Nit: a unit of luminance equal to 1 candela per square meter