HTC and Beats Deal for a better sound experience

HTC is making a strategic tie-up with Beats Electronics, investing $300 million for a majority stake in the digital sound company and working to incorporate Beats technology into its product line.

“With the magic of mobile devices, it is easier than ever to discover and buy new music,” HTC CEO Peter Chou said in in an interview with AllThingsD on Wednesday. “However, without great sound experience it is a shame.”

LG Optimus 3D : First smartphone with a 3D screen

[ITR] : It started in cinemas, but now 3D is everywhere.TV, gaming, handheld consoles - it was the big selling point of the Nintendo 3DS - but now LG reckons that glasses-free 3D might be the thing to help it fend off the threat of a forthcoming Apple iPhone 5. But does it actually work on a smartphone handset?

Big, bold and beautiful :

We can't help really liking the LG Optimus 3D, even before we start to consider its visual speciality. This is a big handset, though. A very big handset indeed. With a screen measuring 4.3 inches diagonally, it's right at the limit of appropriate sizing for a smartphone. Many people will be unable to reach across the screen one-handed. We couldn't.

But the screen is superb. 480x800 pixels of bright, sharp rendering make for great web browsing, video viewing and picture looking. Even in 2D.

3D fun :

The 3D element of the LG Optimus 3D only kicks in when you choose that option from the home screen. Do so, and a new interface pops up in the shape of a 3D carousel, offering a 3D Gallery, 3D Camera, 3D Games and Apps, YouTube 3D and a user guide.

There are twin camera lenses on the back of the chassis. You can use these to shoot 3D images at 3 megapixels, or 2D images at 5 megapixels. There are a couple of 3D games, and a reasonable amount of 3D video available via the YouTube link.

The LG Optimus 3D can even take a stab at turning 2D stills and video into 3D, too - though we felt the effect wasn't as good as you get with native 3D content. An HDMI cable can be used to send 3D output to a 3D TV, if you have one.

One minor niggle is that you have to hold the LG Optimus 3D at just the right angle for the 3D capability to work, and it really only works for one person at a time. Nonetheles, we were impressed nonetheless.

And the rest?:

LG has put a fair amount of thought into the rest of the Optimus 3D's specifications, and they're high-end - though not quite flagship. There is a 1GHz dual-core Texas Instruments processor and 512MB of RAM, which has been divided into two sections so that the processor can access each - and, says LG, go faster as a result. We still found the Optimus 3D a little sluggish at times, though. LG's Android skin includes seven home screens and a widget-resizing feature that helps you make the most of the big screen.

Survey Says Huge demand for iPhone5 already

According to a recent survey from Piper Jaffray, there is already enormous demand for Apple's upcoming iPhone, even though there is no certain information on the iPhone's design, performance, name or launch date.

According to the survey of 216 mobile phone users, 29% of respondents currently own an iPhone while 64% of respondents plan to buy the iPhone as their next phone. The majority of the respondents (55%) planning to buy an iPhone are waiting for the iPhone 5 arrival. Interestingly only 6% of current iPhone users plan to switch to Droid while 42% of Android users plan to switch to iPhone.

Now this survey admits that the data comes from a small sample set in Minneapolis in "food courts, on the street, near the entrance of a baseball stadium on a game day" and so can hardly be taken as an indication of broader demand. Nonetheless, we thought it was both entertaining and a small indication of the impact that the iPhone 5 could have for Apple.