Is T-Mobile Launching A 3D Android 3.0 Honeycomb Tablet With 4G On April 20th?

Rumor has it that at the upcoming CTIA 2011 convention T-Mobile will be announcing the launch date for their much anticipated first 4G Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet in the LG G-Slate. The rumor comes via tmonews, a popular news site dedicated to T-Mobile news. Tmonews states that their info tells them that T-Mobile will during CTIA (March 22nd – 24th) announce the LG G-Slate will launch on April 20th.

The G-Slate or other times known as the LG Optimus Pad is an 8.9-inch tablet that has 3D capabilities as well as standard Android 3.0 tablet specifications. LG states the tablet is capable of recording 3D content using the supplied rear dual cameras and you can view recordings with 3D glasses on 3D HDTV’s or on the tablets own 3D display.

LG has previously indicated they will be launching the G-Slate branded tablet in the US only with T-Mobile and have the Optimus Pad brand used everywhere else. Pricing for either tablet hasn’t been officially announce yet.

LG G-Slate/Optimus Pad Main Features:

• 8.9-inch WXGA (1280 × 720 pixels) 3D-capable multi-touch display
• Nvidia Tegra 2 SoC (Dual 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 cores and 8-core ULP GeForce graphics engine)
• 32 GB of internal memory
• Gyroscope, Accelerometer and Adaptive Lighting sensors
• Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS
• Wi-Fi capable
• HDMI output with Full HD 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels) support
• One front facing camera and dual rear facing cameras (one 5MP sensor and LED flash with 1080p HD video capture capabilities).
• The two rear facing cameras can capture 3D content (at unknown resolutions) but you need 3D glasses to view captures.

LG woos Sony while it battles with Samsung over which 3D is best

The fight between the active shutter glasses 3D technology favored by TV manufacturers like Samsung, Panasonic and Sony against the Film Pattern Retarder (FPR) passive glasses 3D technology being pushed by LG got uglier this week. The Wall Street Journal points out LG's print ads currently running in Korea (they could be running here already, but we'd have to read physical magazines or newspapers to know for sure) claim that unlike the competition, it will work even when viewers lay down on their sides, though the effect may be slightly weakened. Samsung responded by citing experts recommending keeping your head horizontal to watch 3D since the cameras used to film it are aligned horizontally, and an executive apparently called LG's engineers "stupid" at a press conference, although reports of a "yo mama so fat" diss could not be confirmed.

Of course, since these are the world's two biggest TV manufacturers, they sell to end users and other manufacturers like Sony, which Reuters reports LG is waiting to hear from about using its technology in the future. Sony and Samsung are already tight when it comes to LCD manufacturing but it's obvious LG is looking for a few more friends to line up alongside Vizio, Toshiba and Philips (which just announced its latest displays using active and passive glasses.) But back to the end users for a moment, if anyone's going to buy any of these 3DTVs, it may be wise to start selling consumers on why the feature is worthwhile at all and pointing out the growing amount of content -- this week's Big East basketball tournament, Killzone 3, the NBA Finals or Blu-ray 3D releases like Tron: Legacy -- before folks decide just waiting for 4D would be the wisest choice.

Sharp delivers three new Blu-ray 3D players

After making their debut at CES 2011, Sharp has started shipping its newest Blu-ray players. Each one is Blu-ray 3D ready with currently standard features like DLNA, Netflix, VUDU, Pandora and YouTube access built in, but are priced a step above the average deck these days. The lower end BD-HP25U lacks the included WiFi and IP control of the higher end models (dongle optional) while the BD-HP35U (pictured above) lacks only the RS-232 control port of its BD-HP75U counterpart. The BD-HP25U ($249) and BD-HP35U ($299) are shipping now while the BD-HP75U ($329) is due to arrive March 14.

CEA kicks off process to standardize active 3D glasses

This one's still in the earliest stages, but it looks like the Consumer Electronics Association (a.k.a. theCEA) is doing its part to add a bit of order to the wild world of active 3D glasses. To that end, it's just put out a request for proposals on a standard IR sync interface for active 3D glasses, and it's encouraging companies that wish to participate to join the 3D Technologies Working Group -- they'll have to work fairly fast, though, as proposals are due in by March 31st. The ultimate goal, of course, is to ensure that 3D glasses sold by one manufacturer are compatible with 3D TVs made by another manufacturer, although there's no word on any companies that have actually signed on to the plan just yet.


PRESS RELEASE:


ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® today announced the launch of a new standards process for 3D glasses. CEA, the nation's largest technology trade association, represents more than 2,000 technology manufacturers, retailers, service providers and installers. CEA seeks proposals for standardizing 3D active eyewear that uses an infrared (IR) synchronized interface from consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers. Interested participants are encouraged to join the 3D Technologies Working Group, R4WG16.

"The expanding presence of 3DTV in the home makes the need for interoperable 3D glasses more urgent than ever," said Brian Markwalter, CEA vice president of research and standards. "As the hub of technology industry innovation, CEA is the logical host for such a crucial effort. Industry participation will help meet consumer demand and expectations regarding 3D interoperability in the home."

Xbox 360: "Fully 3D Capable!"

Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg has said that Xbox 360 is fully equipped to handle 3D games, although he again questioned the current level of consumer interest in the technology.

The Xbox director of product management said that the platform holder could embrace the technology eventually. But while rival Sony dives headfirst into the 3D revolution, Microsoft appears set to wait on the sidelines to see how it develops and consumers react to it.

"From the technical standpoint, we are fully 3D capable. We have 3D games running today… As consumer interest for 3D grows, we'll grow with it," he told G4TV at CES.

"It [3D] is the hot thing at CES and we've got 3D on the show floor, so we've checked the 3D box if that's important to people. If it becomes really important and people want to do more with it, we're absolutely happy to support it."

Greenberg added: "I think right now we're unsure what level of interest there is from consumers to really want a 3D experience in the living room. Many, many years from now when it becomes a reality, we absolutely can support it, we do support it today. If developers want to make more 3D games, they can."