AT&T LG Thrill 4G Finally Shows Up At FCC

The Thrill 4G on AT&T will be the first one of the first opportunities for smartphone users in the States to check out a handset with a no-glasses-required 3D screen. While Sharp's 3D models and the LG Optimus3D - the Thrill 4G without carrier branding - are already available, this AT&T launch will finally help (along with the HTC EVO 3D) get one of these devices out into the hands of smartphone users and give us an indication if the 3D screen fad will take off in the US. 

We've been keeping our eyes on FCC filings, to get an idea on the progress being made towards the Thrill's release, and first saw it appear in March as the original Optimus 3D. Then, in April, a similar model showed up, now with support for AT&T's 3G bands. Today, yet another variant on the smartphone saw its paperwork published, finally sporting the model number that identifies it as the Thrill 4G on AT&T. 

The first time the Optimus 3D was identified as LG model number P920. For its return in April, it became the LG P920H. While that model certainly could pass as the Thrill 4G on AT&T, it may instead be anOptimus 3D poised for release on the Canadian carriers. Today's smartphone is the LG P925, which we're able to confirm through AT&T's developer site as the number reserved for the Thrill 4G. 

Other than the model number change, this looks to be the same device we saw go through the FCC in April. Now that the Thrill 4G is done with this FCC formality, hopefully we'll be learning of a release date soon. We'd certainly expect to see the phone launch sometime before fall. 

HTC Sensation vs Samsung Galaxy S 2

We've been getting a lot of requests for a comparison between the Galaxy S 2 (review) and the HTC Sensation, and here it is! Both of these devices represent the cutting edge for smartphones: they have plenty of RAM, dual-core CPUs, special screens, and custom interfaces that are well designed. In terms of pricing and availability, the Sensation is coming to the US as the T-Mobile Sensation 4G and will sell for around $199, but right now you can import one for about $750. The Galaxy S 2 has yet to be announced for the US, but we think it's coming to AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon later this year; for now, you can buy one unlocked for $700 and it will work on AT&T.



Build quality on both is fantastic, but the Sensation feels higher quality thanks to its added weight. The Galaxy S 2 is significantly thinner than the Sensation, and the screen also seems better despite being lower resolution thanks to the insane contrast of Super AMOLED Plus. Both have front-facing cameras, but the Galaxy S 2 bumps the resolution to 2.0MP, while the Sensation comes in at just VGA resolution.

Both devices are quite powerful with 1.2GHz dual-core CPUs. In our benchmark tests, and in our web browser speeds tests, the Galaxy S 2 reigns superior.



In terms of specs, the Sensation is very similar to the Galaxy S 2, except that it has less RAM, a smaller battery, has a higher resolution screen, and is heavier.

HD Video Recording, 1080p, HTC Sensation Outdoors




HD Video Recording, 1080p, Samsung Galaxy S 2 Outdoors

T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide Cases Prove Revealing (Images)

We're expecting T-Mobile and HTC to launch the myTouch 4G Slide at an event tomorrow, but we have yet to get a good look at the device itself, save for some blurry partial shots. Well MT4GS still hasn't been fully exposed, but the pair of dummy unit-filled cases above finally give us a pretty good idea of how the entire handset will look -- minus the all-important keyboard, of course. 

Codenamed Doubleshot, this dual-core companion to last year's myTouch 4G (recently released in Canada as the HTC Panache) is expected to feature a 3.7-inch WVGA display, 768MB of RAM, and as its name implies, category 10 HSPA+ cellular broadband. The camera is supposedly an eight-megapixel job, and besides offering up dual flashes, the case photos almost make it look as if it's endowed with an optical zoom. Thoughts? All should be revealed tomorrow.

HTC Sensation Software Review (Video)

After finding the hardware to be typical-HTC (high quality, a bit of the same), we now take a much closer look at the software offering on the HTC Sensation, which comes packed with a lot of Sense 3.0 goodies. 



The fun starts on the home screen, where HTC now gives you the ability to not only launch one of four apps without unlocking your phone, but you can also change the background of the lock screen to reflect the weather, stocks, social networks, photos on your device, or it can just display a simple clock. While we're excited to see the lock screen have some functionality, it would be nice if it were more customizable. What if I want to have eight app shortcuts instead of four? 

Then we jump into the home screens of Sense, of which you can have seven...no more, no less. As before, you can re-arrange your home screens if you pinch and go into the leap feature. Also new is anSpb Shell-like spinning carosoul effect that makes your home screens seem 3D. HTC went above and beyond with the visuals for their widgets, especially weather, where you even get sound effects to represent a certain weather condition. 

Sense doesn't stop there...it touches all built-in apps of the operating system. The application tray is now sub-divided, the mail application is fantastic, the contacts application takes full advantage of the qHD resolution of the Sensation, the notification tray now has two tabs, and so on. 

Once again, HTC doesn't fail to impress with their latest Sense UI offering on Android. It's refined, complete, beautiful, and highly functional. 

Coming up next we'll compare the Sensation with the Galaxy S 2!

Motorola Droid X Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread SBF File Out

The Motorola Droid X has recently received its Android 2.3 Gingerbread update which unfortunately bricked some phone according to reports but that aside it's Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread SBF file is now out so you might want to grab it while you can. 

An SBF file is one you can flash to your smartphone with a special program and that will put your device in a factory out-of-the-box state, should anything bad come out of your tweaking or modding activities. The SBF file for the Droid X is Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread (4.5.596) and once you apply it you will get stock Verizon Gingerbread, unrooted -- and be warned that there's currently no root method available. However, download it to a safe place just in case!