Yesterday we told you how we’d be venturing to the capital at the behest of Korean mobile manufacturer LG in order to check out their LG Optimus 3D event in Cavendish Square, the focal point of which would be the LG Optimus 3D Play Hub. And that’s exactly what we did …
Upon arriving at the mini exhibition pod situated just off London’s busy Oxford Street we were greeted by the sight of several industry figures and bloggers (the most prominent of which was The Gadget Show‘s Jason Bradbury) gathered around LG’s impressive-looking Play Hub, a pop-up structure divided into four sections each showcasing a different facet of the recently released smartphone.
As you may be aware, the Optimus 3D is the first device of its kind to offer a full 3D experience without the requirement for users to wear 3D glasses and this is something that LG were keen to make a point of via its choice of hubs. The most impressive demonstration of the phone’s visual element came via the 3D Movie Theatre situated atop of the temporary installation and kitted out with 11 LG Optimus 3D handsets. A selection of the assemble tech journalists, us included, were ushered into the makeshift cinema, seated and offered an Optimus 3D each on which to view a short high-definition 3D movie.
We at Dialaphone have had course to check out the Optimus 3D’s movie-playing capabilities during our review of the phone before visiting the Play Hub, and yet watching the film clip whilst sat in an authentically replicated cinemasomehow managed to make the experience seem even more impressive and really give it something of a ‘wow’ factor. So well done to LG’s marketing agency!
Moving swiftly on to the gaming area, and we were equally impressed by the imaginative way LG’s ‘experiential team’ had set about demonstrating the 3D gaming aspects, namely by rigging 4 of the handsets to a wall-mounted big screen and offering those in attendance the chance to participate in a multi-player challenge over Wi-Fi on Asphalt 6, the racing game that comes pre-installed on the device. Whilst we enjoyed the concept (particularly the Top Gear-style ‘Best Time’ board situated outside the entrance that players had their lap times unceremoniously slapped on aftewards), it would have been nice to see some of the other games it launches with demoed, such as the addictive ‘Let’s Golf 2‘.

The other two hubs were decidedly less spectacular and included the ‘Photo Zone’ replete with an actual full-size Harley Davidson positioned in front of a giant image of the iconic Route 66, allowing geeky tech writers to play out their Easy Rider fantasies and LG to showcase the stereoscopic lens on the Optimus 3D and the remarkable 3D photographs it’s capable of. The Quick Zone was merely an info point where punters/journos could get a quick debrief from a helpful LG staff member and have any questions they may have had about the handset answered.
All in all, we’d say that the event was more than useful for the uninitiated to not only get their heads around, but also their hands on the revolutionary device. However, as we at Dialaphone are already converts to the Optimus 3D cause after being won over during our testing of it, the Play Hubs didn’t really tell (or show) us anything we didn’t already know. If you’re a phone fan not lucky enough to be involved in the industry though, we urge you to drop by and check it out for yourself.
The LG Optimus 3D Play Hub is in Cavendish Square, London, until Friday 29 July before setting off on a tour of the UK. Check back to Dialaphone  for more details.