Mobile Phone News:

The past few days have seen a couple of rumours pop up about the next LG Chocolate, not to mention a product video that’s supposed to be the genuine article. Well, it looks like the info we’ve seen so far is genuine, because according to IntoMobile, the new LG Chocolate LB40 has been spotted and photographed in the flesh.

And yes, the downright weird screen resolution is actually real!

I have to confess, I’m downright intrigued by that screen. I’m not particularly bothered about the LG Chocolate LB40’s other specs, although they’re pretty decent, as it’s running a 5MP camera, HSDPA, WiFi and GPS. Pretty common specs in the modern world, those, but what sets it apart from, say, the LG Viewty Smart, is its screen size, or more accurately, the screen ratio.

Y’see, when you take a phone that’s got a ‘widescreen’ when you tip it on its side, the most recent example I can think of being the Toshiba TG01, it’s closest to the resolution you get on widescreen TVs, which is 16:9. The new Chocolate’s screen is a lot longer (or wider, depending on how you hold it, of course) and thinner. So it ain’t 16:9, which is the ratio you always think of for widescreen TVs.

What aspect ratio is it, then?

Ah well, here’s why I’m intrigued. Y’know when you’re watching a DVD, and even when watching on a 16:9 telly, you get black bars at the top and bottom? There’s a reason for that. Cinema screens aren’t 16:9. So, when you get the black bars on a 16:9 telly, or when you go see a film at the pictures, what you’re actually seeing is the aspect ratio that Panavision anamorphic film cameras produce, which is about 21:9.

Guess what phone uses an aspect ratio of roughly 21:9…

So, what it’s increasingly starting to look like is that the LG Chocolate LB40 is running a screen resolution that would show off anamorphic movies in proper widescreen, without black bars. Coupled with the recent rumour about LG wanting to open their own app store, does this indicate they might be offering movie downloads in the original cinematic aspect ratio, and that the LG Chocolate LB40 is going to be their first phone in Cinemascope?

Only time will tell, but I have to admit it’s the only logical reason I can think of for having that unorthodox screen ratio…

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