Future LG and Nokia handsets to offer augmented reality?

Some of you might be familiar with augmented reality. That is the type of experience you get from the Layar browser which shows you icons for Gas Stations, Restaurants, ATM/Banks etc. and overlays them on a map. It is a technology that allows you to see digital information mixed with real world info as seen through your phone's camera. While recently the company announced a deal with one of the top 3 handset manufacturers to put the Layar browser directly on some handsets, both LG and Nokia have recently said that they would be adding augmented reality to phones. Nokia's Senior VP for Smartphones, Jo Harlow, recently took the time to sit down and talk about some things that Nokia is planning on using on new models like the Symbian^3 OS, concentration on touch and touch and QWERTY models like the Nokia X10, and augmented reality and how it could be used in Ovi Maps. What she didn't say was when Nokia users might get this experience on their handsets.

On the other hand, Korean manufacturer LG is a bit more precise, saying that the LG LU2300 will come out of the box with augmented reality. Previously unannounced, the model will launch in South Korea in Q2 of 2010. For those with Android devices or the iPhone, the Android Market and the App Store currently offer augmented reality through the Layar browser.

source: NokiaConversations (video), UnwiredView