Three will sell the LG Optimus 3D smartphone

MOBILE OPERATOR Three has confirmed that it will carry the LG Optimus 3D smartphone.

The handset's 4.3-inch LCD stereoscopic touchscreen means that you can view 3D content without wearing any 3D glasses, but you will have to view the screen directly.

The smartphone boasts a Texas Instruments 1GHz OMAP4 3D dual core processor to support the stereoscopic functionality. This means that 2D content is displayed at full HD 1080p when output to an HD capable screen and 3D video is played back at HD 720p resolution on a stereoscopic display. It will ship with Android 2.2 Froyo, unfortunately not Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but an upgrade for that will be available "shortly" after release.

The 3D video content can be viewed from the phone's storage, which comes with some preloaded content, streamed from Internet, or downloaded to the phone with LG's movie app. Other than video content, users can enjoy gaming in 3D with three pre-loaded games. If you're wondering if you will be able to get more 3D games than the preloaded ones then the answer is yes. "Gamers will be able to download the latest games from Gamesloft via a games portal on the phone desktop," according to Three's Amy Ashworth.

Possibly the most exciting of the phone's features is that users will be able to record their own 3D content via the dual stereoscopic 5MP cameras, which can then be uploaded straight to Youtube or watched on a 3D TV via the mini HDMI port.

Sylvia Chind, Three's head of branded devices said Three's "award winning network" will mean that "customers will get the quickest and most reliable experience".

Three hasn't set a launch date for availability and won't give any idea of the phone's price, so for now you'll have to satisfy yourself with the short sneak peek video below from Three. µ