LG Optimus 3D, Optimus Pad, YouTube 3D partnership official at Mobile World Congress

LG unveiled the world’s first 3D-enabled smartphone, the Optimus 3D, as well as the 3D-capable Optimus Pad tablet, at the 2011 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Monday.

If you’ve been paying close attention, then you knew most of this already. But there may still be some surprises in store. Read on.

First, the Optimus 3D. When LG says “3D” here, they aren’t kidding. The 4.3-inch superphone, which comes equipped with a 1GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4 processor, uses parallax barrier technology with a WVGA screen to allow users to watch full 3D video on the phone without the use of glasses. Not only that, but dual 5 megapixel cameras on the back means you can shoot your own 3D stills and 3D video, which can be ported to any 3D TV using HDMI or DLNA outputs. Those who’ve already seen the Android-based Optimus 3D in action have called it “glorious,” in case you were wondering.

Additionally, videos shot using the Optimus 3D (or the Optimus Pad — more on that later) can be uploaded to the newly-unveiled YouTube 3D. Thus far, “3D technology has traditionally been reserved for the major Hollywood movie studios,” said YouTube’s head of platform partnerships, Francsico Varela, in a statement. “With the new LG Optimus 3D anyone anywhere in the world can shoot 3D videos, upload them to YouTube and share them with their friends.” Obviously, that’s a bunch of PR speak, but the claim is essentially true — YouTube 3D is now the best place for James Cameron wannabes to post 3D videos of their friends suddenly leaping at the camera, or whatever.

Second, the Optimus Pad. As we found out this weekend, the Optimus Pad measures in at a respectable 8.9 inches, with a 15:9 aspect ratio, full 1080p high-definition 1280 x 768 WXGA touchscreen display. Like the hotly-anticipated Motorola Xoom, the Optimus Pad runs on a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor, and runs on Android Honeycomb. Like the Optimus 3D phone, the Optimus Pad sports dual cameras to allow for 3D still image and video shooting capabilities.

All said and done, this release has been a solid outing for LG. How the devices fare with consumers — do people really want 3D? — remains to be seen.