LG won't say this officially, but rumor has it the next-generation Chocolate phone will sport a unique aspect ratio of 21:9.
This comes from the usually reliable Dutch Web site Tweakers, which got its hands on a profile document through LG's Web site. At a resolution of 800 x 345 pixels, the "Black Label" phone (Chocolate is not an official moniker) has the same proportions as many movie theater screens.
The first -- and to our knowledge -- the only other device that uses this aspect ratio is the Cinema HDTV from Philips. Far from a smartphone, the Cinema is a 56-inch television with ambient backlighting and special formatting technology for fitting DVDs to the screen. It also costs £4,500 in the UK.
All of this makes the possibility of 21:9 on a smartphone a bit perplexing. If downloadable or streaming video is a goal, I'd want 16:9 to ensure compatibility with most store offerings. I'm hard-pressed to think of any other uses for the aspect ratio, except the desire to be slim in the pocket without sacrificing too much screen real-estate.
Aside from the screen specs, Tweakers writes that the next-gen Chocolate will pack a 5-megapixel camera and should run on LG's proprietary operating system. Officially, LG plans to release more details through August, starting for now with a mysterious marketing photo. We'll see what the company says about aspect ratio soon, then.
