Meanwhile, in Korea… LG Optimus Vu with 5-inch, 4:3 display

With everyone running Android on 16:9 aspect ratio hardware these days, it’s really hard for consumer electronics companies to create devices that grab our attention. LG’s upcoming 5-inch 4:3 display Optimus Vu has my attention.

The Vu is different, yes, but I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not. The device is yet to launch, but already people’s initial reactions seem to be mixed. Is it a big phone or a small tablet? LG’s thinking here is logical. The iPad is the world’s most popular tablet with a 4:3 aspect ratio display. The 5.3-inch 16:9 display Samsung Galaxy Note is a hit. Why not combine the two? It’s very possibly an unholy union, but it could also be a fairy tale wedding to be celebrated by fandroids with a desire for a phone with more display surface area. I wonder how applications will scale, or how pocketable the form factor is. Only time will tell as there’s no official launch date as yet.

The Vu is rumoured to have a 1024 x 768 resolution, 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 1GB of RAM, 8MP camera, 8GB internal memory, NFC and (sadly) Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

It’s not clear if the Vu is intended for a global audience or if it is tailored for the Korean market, but we might see it making an appearance at Mobile World Congress this month.

It’s refreshing to see a company trying something new. I’m intrigued. Check out this teaser video LG released.