T-Mobile and LG are looking to 3-D to push their tablet, the G-Slate, above the increasingly crowded field of pads running Google's Android operating system.

Whether the bet on 3-D will work has yet to be seen -- the G-Slate hit T-Mobile stores for the first time Wednesday. The 3-D isn't what consumers might expect, such as the theater-style 3-D glasses or the glasses-free 3-D of the Nintendo DSi handheld gaming system.

The G-Slate harks back to the retro 3-D of the 1950s and Mad magazine inserts -- the old-school red and blue glasses -- to pull off the effect, which uses dual 5-megapixel cameras on the back of the tablet to capture the depth-adding photos and video.

One pair of the two-color spectacles is included in the G-Slate's box. A front-facing camera is included on the G-Slate as well, for video chats.

Android Honeycomb, Google's first operating system designed specifically for tablets, powers the G-Slate, as it does the Motorola Xoom and the upcoming Acer Iconia Tab A500.

However, the G-Slate does run on 4G mobile networks straight out of the box -- a feature that the 4G-capable Xoom lacks. The Xoom relies on 3G or Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet, and users will have to mail their devices in to Motorola to get the 4G option added, although at no extra charge.

The Acer Iconia Tab A500, which comes out April 24 at a price of $450, will run only on Wi-Fi networks.

The G-Slate is also going down a slightly different path with its 8.9-inch screen, which is smaller than 10.1-inch displays on the Xoom and Iconia Tab A500.

Apple's iPad 2, currently the most popular tablet on the market, has a 9.7-inch touch screen and is available in W-Fi-only or 3G and Wi-Fi models.

The G-Slate, which comes with 32 gigabytes of memory, undercuts the Xoom on price, selling for $529.99, after a $100 mail-in rebate and a two-year 4G data plan. Without the T-Mobile contract, the G-Slate sells for $749.99.

The 3G/4G Xoom, which has a 32-gigabyte hard drive, sells for $599 with a two-year data plan from Verizon or $799 without.

A 32-gigabyte, 3G iPad 2 retails for $729, with no discount for a data plan from AT&T or Verizon.

So far, T-Mobile and LG have announced no plans to offer a Wi-Fi-only G-Slate.

LG's bet on 3-D isn't limited to the G-Slate. Aside from its line of 3-D HDTVs, the South Korean consumer electronics company is also releasing the LG Thrill 4G smartphone in the next few months.

The Thrill 4G will feature a glasses-free 3-D display and, as the name hints at, run on 4G wireless networks (this time through AT&T). Like the G-Slate, two 5-megapixel cameras on the back will allow the phone to shoot 3-D videos and photos.

The red and blue look, however, will be absent -- a style seemingly saved for the G-Slate for now.

ALSO:

AT&T, LG to offer glasses-free 3-D smartphone

Congressman asks Steve Jobs to explain why 3G iPhone, iPad  stores a user's location

CES: LG touts a tablet, glasses-free 3-D TVs and mobile screens, and cheaper 3-D glasses

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Photo: Technology reporter Nathan Olivarez-Giles demonstrates the red and blue 3-D on the T-Mobile G-Slate tablet. Credit: Armand Emamdjomeh / Los Angeles Times

AT&T is coming out with its first prepaid smartphone.

The LG Thrive, available April 17, will untether users from a long-term service contract. The Android phone will feature a 3.2-inch touch screen, a 3.2-megapixel camera -- and data packages with no locked-in contract (although if you want one, it's available). 

Customers can choose between being charged by the minute (10 cents a minute) and an unlimited daily talk and text plan ($2 a day). But if you want to browse the Web (and really, what's the point of a smartphone if you can't?), it will cost extra: $5 for 10 MB, $15 for 100 MB or $25 for 500 MB. If you're a frequent user of Internet on the go, the bill might get hefty.

The phone itself will cost $179.99. With a standard two-year contract, the price drops to $49.99.

For anyone considering a prepaid smartphone, consider the pros and cons:

The pros: For a budget-conscious person, or someone who isn't glued to his or her phone, the prepaid plan could save money. And if you're not happy with a mobile carrier, you can easily switch.

The cons: The phones themselves usually cost substantially more than if they were purchased with a long-term contract. The choice of phones might also be slim. And unless you're careful or go for an unlimited prepaid option, you could very easily run through your minutes or data plan quickly and end up spending more per month than you would have on a standard contract.

RELATED:

FCC to force AT&T, Verizon to open networks to smaller rivals' Web roaming

Facebook reportedly teaming with Baidu to build Chinese social-networking site

Homeland Security to issue terror alerts on Facebook, Twitter; nix color system

-- Shan Li

Photo: Front of the LG Thrive, AT&T's first prepaid smartphone option. Credit: AT&T

Microsoft is doing some advance work that is currying customer satisfaction -- by launching a "Where's my phone update?" site for Windows Phone 7 users who are eagerly awaiting the newest software upgrades.

With an update for its mobile operating system rolling out with some bumps and mishaps, the site breaks down future software updates by device in the U.S. and by operator in other countries.

The software rollouts are broken into three stages: "Testing" means the update is being assessed by mobile network operators, "Scheduling" means Microsoft is deciding on a release date for the update (usually within 10 days, according to the website), and "Delivery update" means updates are available to customers.

However, even when an update is in the delivery phase, "it might take several weeks before you receive notice that an update is available for you," the site warns.

In the U.S., updates for the HTC Surround, the LG Quantum and the Samsung Focus are in the "testing" phase, while those for the HTC HD7 and Dell Venue Pro in the "scheduling" stage.

The current "NoDo" update for Windows Phone 7 includes copy-and-paste capability, easier browsing functionality, better syncing with Facebook and other performance enhancements.

RELATED:

Microsoft reportedly axing its Zune music and video players; Zune software to live on

LG says Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 handset sales haven't met expectations

Verizon sets sales record on first day of iPhone 4 pre-orders

-- Shan Li

Photo: The HTC HD7, which is listed in the "scheduling" phase of a software update. Credit: Microsoft Corp.

Shortly on the heels of announcing its $39-billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA Inc., AT&T lobbed out another surprise --plans to launch a smart phone with a 3-D screen and a camera for 3-D videos and snapshots.

The LG Thrill 4G will be available within the next few months and will feature a "glasses-free" 3-D display with 4G capability, AT&T said in a statement released Monday.

The Thrill, which will run on Google's Android platform, will be able to play 3-D games and display video clips in 3-D, AT&T said. 3-D content will be available through a special marketplace called "LG 3D Space." AT&T did not say how much the smart phone would cost.

Other electronic gadgets with 3-D capability have already hit the market, such as the Nintendo 3DS, which launches Sunday for $249.99 and also has a 3-D screen with no need for glasses.

T-Mobile USA has already previously announced plans to launch a tablet computer that can shoot 3-D video.

Other features of the LG Thrill 4G include:

• dual core, 1 GHz processor
• 5-megapixel, dual camera that shoots high definition videos and images in 3-D
• preloaded with 16 GB of memory

RELATED:

CES: LG touts a tablet, glasses-free 3-D TVs and mobile screens, and cheaper 3-D glasses

Android vs. iPhone: which has the faster web browser? Two studies disagree

Google removing virus-infected Android apps from phones, tablets

-- Shan Li

Photo: LG Thrill 4G. Credit: AT&T

LG's Internet-connected TVs will soon be displaying content from Brightcove, a popular online video platform for businesses and news agencies.

Brightcove Inc., which has more than 2,700 customers in 50 countries, will roll out a software development kit later this year that will enable it users to build video-playing apps for LG's NetCast software.

Among the Cambridge, Mass.-based company's customers are the Discovery Channel, General Motors, the New York Times, Ticketmaster and Reebok.

"Consumer electronics companies, such as our partner LG, are creating the largest global distribution network into the living room," said Eric Elia, Brightcove's vice-president of TV solutions, in a blog post. "SmartTV, as LG calls their platform, is to the TVs of yore like smart phones are to feature phones."

Elia noted that Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has forecasted that 106 million Internet-ready TVs will be sold in 2012 -- each being an outlet for online video distribution.

Financial terms of the deal, or how long it will last, weren't disclosed by either LG or Brightcove on Wednesday.

The deal to distribute content on LG's NetCast TVs is Brightcove's first pairing with a TV maker, though it can distribute video on set-top boxes such as the Boxee Box.

Brightcove also offers video players compatible with Adobe Flash and HTML5, in addition to mobile operating systems such as Apple's iOS, Google Android, Nokia's Symbian, HP WebOS, Windows Phone, and Research In Motion's BlackBerry phones -- as well as Facebook and YouTube.

RELATED:

Is Apple looking to build a TV?

Online TV service Ivi loses a round in court

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Philipp Humm, the new CEO of T-Mobile USA, has come from sister company T-Mobile Germany to try to boost the carrier's fortunes in the U.S.  Humm is visiting dozens of cities around the nation, holding grassroots town halls with employees to get a sense of where they feel the company should be heading.

Humm sat down with The Times recently to talk up his plans to make smart phones affordable, to get everyone a tablet, and how he'll face off against his bigger rivals in Verizon and AT&T.  He also has a few words about the iPhone (which T-Mobile doesn't yet have) and Apple's Steve Jobs. 

What is one of the more important lessons you learned from operating in the European market?

The best way of being a good challenger is by having played defense for a while.  Now you know how the defenders play the challenger game.  Back at the time in Germany we had very good challengers attacking us.  Looking at how other people attacked you is a very good way to determine how you’ll make your next attack.

Most of the major television manufacturers have given up on plasma-TV technology. But the public hasn't.

According to a report from the research firm DisplaySearch, shipments of plasma sets were up 9% in the fourth quarter of 2010. That's especially surprising because plasma-TV shipments were down in 2009, causing many TV makers to stop making plasma sets.

Last year, shipments of plasma TVs jumped from 14.8 million to 19.1 million, an increase of nearly 30%. The reason? Price.

Plasma sets are "the most affordable large flat-panel TVs for many consumers," DisplaySearch said.

The few plasma-TV makers left saw a spike in plasma business, with plasma-panel shipments up 37% for Samsung year over year, LG jumping 30% and Panasonic up 22%.

The plasma-panel comeback also was fueled by a slowdown in the decline of prices for the more popular LCD TV sets, which were kept from falling much by the increased offering of LED-backlit LCD TVs.

Also, the aggressive TV-industry push for 3-D helped, DisplaySearch said, noting that many reviewers and consumers found that plasma TV had better 3-D performance than LCD TV in terms of on-screen flicker.

"With 3-D functionality, plasma can reposition itself as a lasting technology in the TV industry," said Ken Park, DisplaySearch senior analyst for Korean TV market research. "In fact, plasma-TV brands are entering 2011 with 3-D across their product portfolios, from 42-inch HD to 152-inch."

Large screens are where plasma panels are seeing the bulk of their success, the firm said.

The share of plasma-TV shipments at 50 inches or larger hit 40.8% in 2010, up from 38% in 2009. Most plasma-TV makers have abandoned the 32-inch market due to low LCD prices, DisplaySearch said.

RELATED:

Is 3-D TV hot or not?

Escaping the walled garden of connected TV

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Photo: Panasonic spokeswoman Michelle Roberts gives a presentation of Panasonic's 3-D technology in front of a wall of plasma TVs at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Credit: Laura Rauch / EPA

LG and T-Mobile showed off more specifications of their upcoming G-Slate tablet on Wednesday as the companies prepare to release the product this spring.

The device, which can be held upright in one hand, will be T-Mobile’s first to be hooked up with the Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system. The company already produces the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The G-Slate, set to be the first in a line of G-series products, will feature an 8.9-inch HD display capable of 3-D with special glasses. For gamers, the device will have a gyroscope, accelerometer and adaptive lighting.

A 2-megapixel camera that faces the user can be operated for video chats through the T-Mobile network or through Wi-Fi with Google Talk. The tablet, which will have 32 gigabytes of internal memory, can also record HD 3-D video.

RELATED:

Samsung Galaxy Tab sales 'quite small'

Consumer Electronics Show: T-Mobile bets on tablets with Dell's Streak 7 and LG's G-Slate

-- Tiffany Hsu [follow]

LG said Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 line hasn't lived up to expectations so far, according to a report.

James Choi, a marketing director at LG, said phones running the rebuilt Windows operating system for smart phones launched in October with high industry expectations, but consumers haven't yet taken to the handsets as hoped, according to a report from Pocket-lint.

In an interview with Pocket-lint, Choi said one problem might be that the Windows Phone 7 OS might be too easy to use for the tech-savvy.

"For tech guys like us it might be a little bit boring after a week or two, but there are certain segments that it really appeals to," Choi said. "We strongly feel that it has a strong potential even though the first push wasn't what everyone expected."

Both LG and Microsoft have been working together on phones running Windows Phone 7 "from the beginning," and Choi told Pocket-lint that Microsoft's OS is "absolutely perfect for a huge segment out there. What we feel is that some people believe that some operating systems, mainly Google, are extremely complicated for them."

So, despite the phones not yet selling as expected, LG isn't planning on dumping Windows Phone 7, Choi said. Currently, LG makes one Windows Phone 7 handset available on AT&T -- the LG Quantum.

"Being dependent on one OS is not beneficial for us," he said. "That's the same with not just the manufacturers, but the operators as well."

Choi also said cheaper smart phones running Windows Phone 7 might help boost its market share.

"There is a lot of skepticism at the moment, but once Windows Phone 7 handsets that are mid-tier to low tier start appearing the market share will grow," he said. "Right now it's only exclusively present in a high tier, because of its hardware requirements, and that's limiting growth."

Microsoft officials weren't available for comment on Friday, but the company has said in the past that 1.5 million Windows Phone 7 handsets were sold in the six weeks following launch.

RELATED:

Microsoft: Windows Phone 7 sells 1.5 million units in first six weeks

Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 HTC HD7 sells out temporarily online

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Photo: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer holds a Windows Phone 7 smart phone during his keynote speech at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show on Jan. 5 in Las Vegas. Credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

In days gone by, you could pick out a teacher in a crowd by the chalk dust on his or her clothes. But at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, LG has offered an alternative to the slate-green monster at the front of the room. 

The idea of a computer-driven writing board is not new -- Smart has been making them since 1991 --  and the LG Pen Touch Multi Board is, in essence, a large widescreen TV that supports a stylus touch interface. But two things make LG's product different. 

First, it supports input from more than one stylus at a time, allowing for multi-touch functionality and collaboration among simultaneous users. Second, Smart's writing board uses a projector to create the display image, whereas LG's board is an LCD screen. This is no small advantage.

Having used a Smart Board, I found that the ability to project from your desktop computer can make for some very compelling presentations. The downside, aside from lighting and visibility, is that to write on the Smart Board you have to stand in front of it, thereby blocking the projector. Hence the case for an actual video screen. 

After using the LG Pen Touch Multi Board, teachers may become a little less conspicuous in a crowd, and students will have to do something other than clap erasers for after-school punishment.

RELATED

Consumer Electronics Show: Gorilla Glass strengthens mobile device screens

Consumer Electronics Show: Sphero, a baseball-sized toy driven by smart phone or tablet

-- Tim French