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Telus LG Optimus Black and Optimus Chat First Hands-on

By on July 7, 2011 at 6:17pm in Mobile News


In addition to the HTC Status, Telus and LG are launching a couple cool devices in the mix.

First the Optimus Black, which is launching with on Android 2.2 with a 1Ghz processor, 512MB RAM, 5MP/2MP cameras back and front, and a partnership with Skype that is hoping to set it apart from the competition. The partnership extends to preloading the app onto the device (or at least linking directly to the Android Marketplace) and allowing for the service to directly charge your Telus account when you need a refill.

The device also boasts the highest brightness of any device on the market at 700nits, and black levels seem excellent as well. It will be upgraded, according to Telus, by the end of the year.

Since it uses data, it won’t encroach on your minutes, but due to the tight integration, you are able to use it as a replacement calling app to make calls, locally or long-distance. This is the first partnership of its kind, and it seems that Telus is moving quickly towards such ventures. Linking with Facebook for the Status and Rdio music service, which also supports carrier billing, is part of the plan to be more of a middleman (a dumb pipe, if you will) between the user and the service.

We’ll have more photos and videos in the next few weeks.



The Optimus Chat is a follow-up to the Optimus One, and as a result is not aimed at the high-end market. Instead, it builds upon the strengths of the original and adds a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It’s going to run a 600Mhz processor, 512MB RAM, a 3.2MP camera with Android 2.2 Froyo (upgradeable to 2.3).

Related posts:

  1. TELUS LG Optimus Black and Bell HTC Sensation 4G up for pre-order at Future Shop
  2. Koodo Mobile to release the LG Optimus Chat for $200
  3. TELUS launching the LG Optimus Black “Skype edition” this Summer
  4. Best Buy reveals TELUS Optimus One to be $199.99

Discussion

19 comments for “Telus LG Optimus Black and Optimus Chat First Hands-on”

  1. Does this mean we can buy Canadian DID’s from Skype now?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 2

    Posted by YYZtraveler | July 7, 2011, 6:30 pm
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  2. Yay, because more devices means more competition! :-D

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 2

    Posted by Alex Perrier | July 7, 2011, 6:40 pm
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  3. $2 credit???? Wow…. This is too generous for Telus!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 18 Thumb down 7

    Posted by XER | July 7, 2011, 7:05 pm
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    • $2 skype credit is like 200 free minutes you ungrateful bass tard

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 7

      Posted by Adam | July 8, 2011, 8:52 am

  4. Why would telus want to encourage cheap calling with Skype?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 2

    Posted by John | July 7, 2011, 7:17 pm
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  5. yes! an affordable android phone with a qwerty, I hope its around 199

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1

    Posted by Andy | July 7, 2011, 7:23 pm
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  6. Far from comparable to the Sensation and GS2….. TELUS really needs to act soon and pull something out of their sleeve.
    Get the EVO 3D, maybe the Moto Photon, and the HTC Holiday and then we’ll talk.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 18 Thumb down 3

    Posted by Cody | July 7, 2011, 7:28 pm
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    • Any of those phones would be fantastic, but if Telus is insisting on LG phones, at least get the Optimus 2x.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 1

      Posted by monsterduc1000 | July 7, 2011, 10:36 pm

  7. Optimus chat is kinda ugly… and the keyboard seems small.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 4

    Posted by stgh | July 7, 2011, 9:02 pm
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  8. hoping for telus htc desire s!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1

    Posted by asdglkjaslk | July 7, 2011, 10:33 pm
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  9. Umm, yay? Another landscape qwerty slider and another mid pack Android phone that could not look more anonymous if it tried.

    Seriously Telus? These and the Status are your summer line up? Heck, at least Rogers Nokia X7 is unique looking and Symbian isn’t dead quite yet. Let’s not even mention the gems Bell has been pulling out lately. These just don’t stand out at all.

    Can you at least try and launch something moderately less vanilla?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 2

    Posted by KC | July 7, 2011, 10:49 pm
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  10. They got rdio? Rdio rules!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1

    Posted by jimmeny | July 7, 2011, 11:30 pm
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  11. The Optimus Black is Sexy.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 5

    Posted by Sunny | July 7, 2011, 11:40 pm
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  12. You know they say, “once you go black you can never go back!”

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 2

    Posted by human | July 8, 2011, 2:35 am
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  13. LG QWERTY keyboard *shudders*, brings back memories of LG Neon keyboard..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1

    Posted by A | July 8, 2011, 7:12 am
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  14. The skype android app needs to support SMS, and Canadian Numbers. IF it did this, then it would be worth getting an ipad plan from telus and relying on skype to do all your calls. :)

    Think $20 for 500mb (more than enough for idle skype and a few calls) + $3 skype calling to North america.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 2

    Posted by zico | July 8, 2011, 9:16 am
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    • …assuming you can put an ipad sim chip in a smartphone of course.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 3

      Posted by zico | July 8, 2011, 9:17 am

  15. How are they going to market this? It’s just something els to pay for every month.

    NEXT

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Crunch204 | July 8, 2011, 10:04 am
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  16. come on telus you can do better than that. bell is gonna kill you this summer with sg2 and the htc sensation super phone .so tell me telus that im sleeping and have nots woke up from a bad dream yet. and if you tell me that I’m not sleeping or dreaming I’m going to have to do something drastic maybe a switch

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1

    Posted by Patrick | July 13, 2011, 6:15 pm
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