In mid-February 2011, we ran a preview piece on the LG Optimus 3D mobile phone. It had just been introduced in the Mobile World Congress and had an expected release date of 26 April 2011. The experts’ reviews of the first 3D mobile phone was mixed: Some people loved the 3D presentation that requires no special glasses, while others predicted eye strain and angle inconvenience. Let’s take a closer look at the model and see, if we can, how the experts’ early opinions matched user comments.

First, the UK release date was 7 July, not the 27 April advertised by vendors. The delayed date was no surprise, but it was disappointing to users who wanted a closer look at it. It sold at that time for around £515 by a few merchants.

The Optimus 3D mobile phone by LG touted its “tri-dual” technology – a trilogy of dual-purpose or dual application functions of dual-core, dual-channel and dual-memory. User feedback on each of these was just above average, possibly impacted by the distinct, single angle of 3D viewing – a match on the expert opinions. Users loved the speed of data transfer, but they found the 3D aspect disappointing – not the clarity: That was terrific, but they didn’t like the picture blurred at just a few degrees off the optimal angle.

LG offered a 3D “hot button” on the Optimus 3D: Users loved and continue to love the direct access to the 3D menu on the model.

Negative feedback was almost uniform regarding camera function, however. It’s entirely possible that users who didn’t like the app-access-only for the camera were simply used to the side-button access on most mobile phones and smartphones. A touch ironically, though, users enjoyed the touch screen navigation, partially credited to the speed of moves from screen to screen – that dual-core, dual-memory credit.

Memory capacity was and is still terrific with 512 MB of RAM, 8 GB of in-model storage, expandable to 32 GB with a micro-SD card – more than the 25 GB cloud memory offered by a few new models by other manufacturers.

The LG Optimus 3D was released with the Android 2.2 “Froyo” operating system. On 15 November, LG presented the option for 2.2 users to upgrade to the Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” OS instead, of which many users took advantage.

But one of the biggest user-like areas beyond the 3D capability, apps and dedicated menus was the sharing capability. 3D images and videos play mostly nicely on the 4.3-inch screen, but users can send the images to 3D-equipped televisions and 3D monitors, which put the eye strain complaint on the back burner.

If 3D fun is on your Wish List, the LG Optimus 3D is definitely a model you might want to consider. Find a cheap mobile phone deal and enjoy the gaming, videos, stills – and regular smartphone utilities — today.