LG's next-gen Chocolate BL40 teased on video, looks good enough to eat

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 13th 2009 at 1:05AM

We can't verify the authenticity of the video, but it seems a little far-fetched to believe that even LG diehards out there would've been able to toil away making a very legit-looking promo piece for the company's recently-teased new Chocolate in such a short period of time -- so we're tentatively going to say we think we're looking at the real thing here. That said, what we've got is nothing short of drool-worthy: the rumored 21:9 800 x 345 display appears real (which is said in the video to be 4 inches diagonal), plus there's a gorgeous Flash-based 3D UI, multitouch, AGPS, WiFi, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, and a glass screen surface that's said to be scratch-proof, all packed into an impossibly thin case. Yes, we know everyone's been trying to sound the dumbphone death knell for years now -- but frankly, you'd have to have a grossly miscalibrated monitor to not have a special place in your heart what you're seeing here. Follow the break for the quite-possibly-authentic video in full.

[Thanks, Edward]

Filed under: Handsets, LG, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

Tags: bl40, black label, black label series, BlackLabel, BlackLabelSeries, chocolate, lg, rumor, video

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

beast @ Jul 13th 2009 1:59AM

i just stopped drooling .

Neutral

c0z @ Jul 13th 2009 1:14AM

Looks delicious. The wider screen is handy for a more efficiently spaced on-screen keyboard, but might make browsing pages a little awkward. Horizontally you won't see MUCH, and vertically seems the same.

Neutral

drsilverworm @ Jul 13th 2009 1:33AM

What??? How tall is this? Is this a phone or a freakin' skateboard?

Neutral

highlitelife4 @ Jul 13th 2009 1:46AM

i thought the exacts same thing

Neutral

PEZOLL @ Jul 13th 2009 10:37AM

It looks like super-wide WSVGA or something. 800.. no wider than a typical 3.5 or 4.1 just not as tall. aspect ratio is radical.

BUT.. this thing looks SICK.

Neutral

carcomptoy @ Jul 13th 2009 2:20AM

This is seriously a sick phone, but what is it called?? Just a stupid "4th Generation Black Series."

Neutral

tnkgrl @ Jul 13th 2009 2:54AM

Holy shit.

Neutral

robrbrobeobeobow @ Jul 13th 2009 3:23AM

wtf 4 inch screen are you serious?

Neutral

The Great Guzoo @ Jul 13th 2009 3:42AM

wowsers that is one nice looking phone and one great UI if i must say so and do you think this might be coming to Verizon by any chance? I mean the black and red theme of the hardware kinda goes with verizon's colors and also i think this will be the first 21:9 cell phone ever made and back a few months ago engadet posted an article about verizon saying that it will release a device like no one has ever seen yet (not exactly what they said i believe but rather close, if you do some searching i'm sure you can find the actual article if you'd like) and also another reason why i think it might is because in the video you'll notice that at the top of the phones screen where the battery indicator and reception bars are there is an alarm indicator that looks very similar to the one on the Storm. This could just be a coincidence but i don't know just a thought. And one more reason why it might is because in the video (at 1:11) during the GPS demonstration the top of the phone's screen where all the indicators are (what i just mentioned earlier about the alarm) is red and looks a lot like some of the ones in Verizon's phone line. This are all just thoughts, but i really hope this phone is real and is currently being made.

Neutral

PEZOLLA @ Jul 13th 2009 10:52AM

Well, it mentiones HSPDA and 7.2 which are ATT and T-Mo specs. Since there is no mention of freqs, then it's anyones quess.

Neutral

Joe @ Jul 13th 2009 4:00AM

Damn. Seems too good to be true.

Neutral

gb @ Jul 13th 2009 4:39AM

This looks like Moblin 2. LG will be the first to produce a smartphone around the Intel Moorestown platform (Lincroft CPU et al.). That's great news, but I am curious about the overall power efficiency.

Neutral

turkification @ Jul 13th 2009 5:04AM

damn, shit just got real! I really love the widescreen, looks good!

Highly Ranked

Fattrucker @ Jul 13th 2009 6:47AM

First thoughts after seeing the still image , WTF ? After watching the video . . . . . . WOW ! "Seeing" that thing in action looks awesome . Think about it , the ultra-wide screen makes for a really useful horizontal viewing area when browsing web pages / entering text in SMS or E-mail while the narrow form factor makes the phone still pocketable . I personally don't think you could get a more perfect screen size without making the form factor *less* pocktable . Sure we might all like a larger screen more in line with *traditional* designs but then you gain in phone size and loose some of that pocketability that I think LG were aiming for here .

Back to the real world . Larger screen = higher battery drain . Slim device = small battery (These are generalisations of course) . I do hope LG have worked some magic in the battery life department here . Just read some *user* reviews of the LG arena . Daylight / bright sunlight viewing ? Some recent devices seem to be getting slated for their outdoor useability . Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to hate on this thing before it's even released , just wondering what it's gonna be like in the *real* world . This actually looks like it could be exactly what I'm looking for , if you believe the promo video .

So far well done LG try not to drop the ball on the way to the goal please.

P.S. Can anyone make out what resoloution the camera is ? All I can make out is ?.0 MEGA pixels Kreuznach Schneider.

Neutral

natezire71 @ Jul 13th 2009 2:59PM

It's gotta be 5.0 megapixels

Neutral

Douglas @ Jul 13th 2009 10:39AM

Is that a ruler or a phone?

Highly Ranked

Hurro @ Jul 13th 2009 11:57AM

Oh, herro Dugress. Howr are U? I must say, you funny postings!

Neutral

dmachine @ Jul 13th 2009 11:47AM

I would really like to see a person with that phone on their face talking.

Neutral

michael.s.underwood @ Jul 13th 2009 12:14PM

Even an umbrella is pocketable, I wonder how the part sticking out of the pocket will hold up to the elements

Neutral

InfinityFlex @ Jul 13th 2009 12:14PM

Hard to believe thats real, but it's pretty sweet looking.

Neutral

snrbnr @ Jul 13th 2009 12:36PM

this is a badass fone!!
one question is this fone going to sold in the states?

Neutral

Toney @ Jul 13th 2009 1:05PM

next-gen Chocolate going to verizon???

Neutral

tande @ Jul 13th 2009 1:13PM

Neutral

natezire71 @ Jul 13th 2009 3:01PM

How do you know? All the past Chocolates have been on Verizon. It's only right to assume it is coming to Verizon.

Neutral

topgearfan427 @ Jul 13th 2009 3:42PM

The QWERTY looks exactly like the iPhone's!

Neutral

david @ Jul 13th 2009 4:28PM

GUYS this phone is realy nice but it is very long its like a skateboard like shit i dont want to stick this is my jeans n have half of it sticking out my pocket or b talking to someone n the end passes my face i mean lol.....but besides tht its really cool n i kinda want it
its now between this n the pre, iphone or hero for my next phone :D:D

Neutral

Alek @ Jul 13th 2009 5:34PM

Holy Shit!!!!!!!!!!!1
I am saving up for this phone.
The Flash UI looks sexy and the screen looks very sharp.
But I'm a little worried about performance and bugs.
LG hasn't always done the best job with touch UIs, or even touch phones.
Lovin' it though.

Highly Ranked

ciphotog @ Jul 13th 2009 9:44PM

Is that an LG chocolate in your pocket or you glad to see me????

Neutral

Galen20K @ Jul 14th 2009 12:41AM

I don't know, it's kind of U G L Y.

No thanks.

Neutral

nightstar @ Jul 14th 2009 1:57AM

Could it be powered by the Nvidia Tegra chip?

Neutral

Verizon Tester @ Jul 14th 2009 12:44PM

I work in the testing lab and I can tell you that although the specs listed above are not the exact same ones as the one Verizon will be launching, the design and most features are exactly the same. I can say with 100 % certainty that this will be a phone available on Verizon by christmas. If engadget wants some sort of verification than I can provide something to them. Let me know if you have any other questions about this phone or upcoming launches.

Neutral

K Hop @ Jul 14th 2009 8:02PM

So what is going to come out first, this or android? I'm antsy for the calgary but once i saw this video I kinda changed my mind, that is a sexy phone. I've had an upgrade for a month but i dont want to waste it!

Neutral

Jake @ Jul 15th 2009 10:47PM

Thanks for the info Verizon Tester! A few questions have been irking me: Did they dumb down the processor on the phone? And also, have they added their own "special" UI to it, or will it look like the one on the teaser vid? Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Neutral

Joseph @ Jul 17th 2009 4:56PM

After watching the video again, I want it even more. Come to Verizon!
VerizonTester- anymore info you can provide for us?

Neutral

Verizon Tester @ Jul 14th 2009 9:35AM

To add to that, it is currently in testing as the "Chocolate Touch" (how original!). Anyways, it is going to be LG-VX8575

Neutral

cucabueno @ Jul 14th 2009 10:40AM

oh baby... BUT! didn't anyone notice the extremely thin USB port (.34sec) on the side? That's a little tooooooo thin... sure hope it's real though... i love my Chocolate 3 and would to stick with LG. (iPhone never comes to Verizon so... sorry Apple)

Neutral

Rob @ Jul 14th 2009 4:49PM

http://www.telefon-treff.de/showthread.php?postid=3728125#post3728125

Neutral

Verizon Tester @ Jul 22nd 2009 12:16AM

I will say that Xmas will be good for verizon customers who are eligible for their upgrades. The link that Rob has provided is very accurate to the design of the phone that will be on Verizon. It will contain Wifi and the camera is set to be 5 mp. The Calgary will be launching for Xmas as well! It is being tested as the Motorola A855 Smartphone (The Calgary name is no where to be seen but it is the same device. I will try to make a video some time soon if possible...of course all of us carry camera-less blackberries to avoid this temptation.

Neutral

Takashi @ Jul 30th 2009 2:14AM

i was just wondering how much would it cost with a 2 year contract?
worth the wait?
will it come out buggy?
Worth the price?
How is it better then the Iphone?

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