CTIA 2005
LG was also showing off the SV360 at their booth. It's only for Korea for now, but it's a very cool concept for a gaming-oriented phone, (and we noticed something else about it, too....)
(By the way, you might have also seen this same phone called the KV3600. The SV360 is the version for Korean carrier SK Telecom. The KV3600 is simply the version for KTF.)
First, the basics. It's a phone designed to emphasize 3D gaming. It's one of the first phones with true hardware acceleration for 3D graphics. It also runs on CDMA EV-DO networks for fast data rates and smooth streaming video. The large QVGA display presents ample detail for advanced games. A color outer display and numeric keypad provide full phone functionality when you're not fighting the enemy.
As you can see, it has a unique sideways-clamshell design that makes it sort of a cross between a Motorola A630 and a GameBoy Advance.
While I had seen this phone at CES, it had faded from my memory a bit. When I spotted this phone again on the show floor at CTIA, it instantly reminded me of something I'd seen recently on the FCC web site - a mysterious LG phone called the VX-9800. See for yourself why this came to mind:
There is a distinct resemblance, in my opinion. Could LG be planning to bring their 3D gaming phone to the US as the VX-9800? Perhaps.
But I think it's equally possible that they have taken the same hardware platform and made a smartphone out of it. At CES in January, LG's director of testing Curtis Wick specifically told me that LG was planning to get back into the smartphone game in the U.S., with a Windows Mobile Pocket PC device using EV-DO technology, like the SC8000 for Korea.
The SV360 has EV-DO and a QVGA display, which would make it an ideal candidate to be morphed into an EV-DO Windows Mobile device. It wouldn't be hard for LG to replace the gaming keys with a QWERTY keyboard...
Is that what they've done with the VX-9800? Perhaps... I honestly don't know. The FCC documents don't yet include photos of the inside, so it's hard to say. But it looks like they've taken a more conservative and business-like approach with the styling of the VX-9800 - the outside doesn't look like something that would appeal to the gaming crowd - so I think a smartphone is a definite possibility.
What I can tell you for certain is that the VX-9800 is dual-band CDMA 800/1900, and it includes Bluetooth. Looking at the photos above, you can draw your own conclusion about what it all means...
CES 2006
Review: LG VX-8100
LG VX-3300 / 3280
LG VI-125
LG VX-8100
