AT&T announces its own glasses-free 3D phone

Just in time for this week’s CTIA conference in Orlando, AT&T has announced two brand new smartphones, one of which it promises will be the first “glasses-free 3D” phone to hit store shelves.

The LG Thrill 4G will come equipped with Android 2.2, a 5-megapixel (3D) camera, 8 GB of onboard memory, and an 8 GB microSD card pre-installed.

will literally take smartphone users to the next dimension. Not only will it connect to AT&T’s high-speed 4G network, it also has brand new technology that allows users to view images and video in 3D, without the need for special glasses.

The technology works by incorporating a huge amount of tiny mirrors, allowing what is technically a flat display to create an optical illusion as though it has depth. For users, it looks like you can reach through the screen. As for content, LG will be launching a special “LG 3D Space” hub, with videos, games, and images specifically for its glasses-free 3D mobile devices.

It’s one of those “see it to believe it” kind of technologies, and it is catching on. AT&T says the Thrill 4G will be the first glasses-free 3D smartphone to be released in North America.

In case you were wondering, this is the same device as LG’s “Optimus 3D” when it was announced earlier this year. The Thrill 4G is what it will be called in the US.

There are also rumors that Sprint will be announcing a glasses-free 3D phone under its ‘Evo’ brand this week. And next week, millions of gamers will be able to experience the technology when Nintendo’s 3DS handheld system goes on sale in the US.

Elsewhere in AT&T’s press release this morning is the HTC HD7S, which is buzz-worthy for another reason – it’s equipped with Windows Phone 7 instead of Android.

The HD7S will have a 1 GHz processor and is coming pre-loaded with AT&T’s U-verse app, which allows customers with a U-verse TV account to watch select TV shows on their phone.

Windows Phone 7 still has a long path ahead of it, but it’s not out. AT&T is becoming a vocal supporter of the platform as it too has to find a way to reinvigorate the market after the loss of its iPhone connectivity.

We’ll be on site at CTIA this week and will try to check out both of these phones.