LG preps 3D augmented browser for the Optimus phone

TRANSFORMERS FANS will be glad to hear that the Korean hardware outfit LG will add an augmented reality (AR) web browser to its Optimus 3D smartphone.

The company has worked with augmented reality firm Wikitude on the web browser, which it said would let users see their surroundings through their phone screen in 3D with much more depth and information.

While usual AR only shows the first level of buildings and so on in the vicinity, the LG 3D smartphone will apply the technology to all objects, which the firms said should make them easier to distinguish.

As well as improving the view, the browser will also overlay locations with information from Wikipedia and Twitter for example.

"AR technology has been praised for its potential to replace the ‘abstract' realities of standard mobile browsers with 'actual' reality streamed through the camera of the smartphone," said Jong-seok Park, CEO and president of LG Mobile. "LG's cutting-edge hardware and 3D API software technology now pushes this reality a step further."

Wikitude 3D provides information on 100 million places, and includes content from a large sample of content providers, which should make placing relevant information much easier.

"The synergy here is simply perfect and the resulting partnership has the potential to take both AR and smartphones to a whole new level," added Martin Herdina, CEO of Wikitude.

The LG Optimus 3D will be available in Europe this Summer. µ