LG has recently been teasing a new flagship smartphone that it’s been building in partnership with Qualcomm, and now that both Apple and Nokia have revealed new phones, the new Optimus G has become official.
We’ve heard a little about the Optimus G before, but LG has impressed us today with a whole host of new and intriguing features. Qualcomm’s input means that one of their own Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processors sits at the core of the new phone, providing super speeds for gaming and multitasking, as well as speedy 4G LTE mobile internet. LG is backing that processor up with an impressive 2GB of RAM, plus 32GB of internal storage to boot.
Measuring 131.9 x 68.9 x 8.45mm and weighing 145g, the Optimus G isn’t in the same leagues of thin and light as the iPhone 5, but it certainly looks pretty neat. There’s a big 2,100mAh battery cell inside which should provide plenty of juice to get you through the day.
The phone itself is very sleek and slim, finished in a glossy black with a fine silver band running around the edges. LG has flaunted superior design when it comes to the back panel, which is made up of lots of tiny reflective dots, which LG is calling ‘Crystal Reflection’. It says the back of the phone will display different patterns depending on the angle at which you look at it, which is a nice touch, as it’s the side of the phone most people will see when you’re holding it in the street.
A large 4.7-inch display adorns the front of the phone, designed in a near-widescreen 15:9 aspect ratio which makes for very little space either side of the screen. The panel itself is classed as a True HD IPS+ display, and boasts a high resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels. Similarly to the new iPhone 5, LG has employed the latest screen technology which means there’s as little gap between the top glass panel and the screen itself as possible – this is called ‘Zerogap Touch’.
We’d heard before that LG was developing something special in the camera department, and it looks as though the results can be seen in the Optimus G. A whopping 13-megapixel camera can be found on the back of the phone, while a comparatively small 1.3-megapixel camera sits above the screen for video calling.
All the usual connectivity aspects are present, including; Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi n, USB 2.0HS, MHL and NFC connectivity for instant wireless pairing and file transfer.
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich runs the show, but LG has also added in plenty of great-sounding features as well as its own user interface. The camera app contains features such as ‘Cheese Shutter’, which instantly takes a picture when you say ‘cheese’, while something called ‘Dual Screen Dual Play’ allows you to wirelessly mirror your smartphone’s screen onto a smart TV.
The LG Optimus G will launch in Korea next week, and will roll out to other countries across the globe in October.
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