Seoul, South Korea – LG Electronics provided more details about the flagship quad-core smartphone that it built from the ground up with three other LG companies to deliver longer battery life, a thinner profile and a brighter display compared with previous LG models.
The Android 4.0 phone, called the Optimus G, rolls out first in Japan, followed in September in Korea and later in other unnamed markets worldwide. A U.S. spokesman said U.S. availability hasn’t been determined.
The phone will be among the first LTE-equipped quad-core smartphones, featuring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro Processor with 1.5GHz quad-core CPU and Adreno 320 graphics processing unit (GPU). The Qualcomm processor features Asynchronous Symmetric Multiprocessing enabling each core to power up and down independently to maximize performance and improve battery life. The Adreno 320 GPU is more than three times faster than the Adreno 225 found in previous Snapdragon processors to improve game play by delivering faster frame rates, smoother play and support for higher HD resolution displays, LG said.
The phone is only 0.33 inches thich, and its display is a 4.7-inch WXGA True HD IPS+ display with 320 ppi high pixel density (1280 by 768 pixels) and Stripe RGB IPS Panel with 15:9 aspect ratio. True HD IPS+ is said to be sharper and crisper with improved color accuracy to show natural and life-like images.
The phone also sports a 13-megapixel rear camera, 1.3-megapixel front camera, and a new user interface that includes such features as live zooming on video playback. The dual-screen dual-play feature allows for mirroring between the smartphone and a TV as well as the ability to display different content on each screen. A slide presentation, for example, can be displayed on a TV while the handset displays the speaker’s notes.
The interface also includes QMemo, also available on the Optimus Vu, to let people use their finger to write, draw, or jot a memo directly on a captured screen for sharing as an attachment or a URL. The time-catch-shot feature lets users select and save the best shot among the images taken just before the shutter button is depressed, and cheese shutter takes a photo when a voice command is spoken.
The Optimus G features a slim body, premium glass on the back cover with a polarized glass pattern, and jet-black front display that flows into the body for a seamless no-gap look.
Other features include 32GB memory, 2GB RAM, 2,100 mAh battery, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi with DLNA certification, USB2.0 HS, A-GPS, Mobile High Definition Link port and near-field communication.
The phone is the company’s first smartphone to be equipped with G2 Touch Hybrid Display for touchscreen panels developed by LG Innotek and LG Display. The display is thinner than current touchscreen panels and offers no diffused reflection for clearer and sharper visibility, even outdoors. The technology eliminates the gap between the glass and the LCD panel in traditional touchscreens to deliver a touchscreen panel that’s 30 percent slimmer than previous LG displays. The technology also strengthens the screen to better withstand impact damage.
The battery, developed LG Chem, uses as high-density technology to deliver more power than similar-size batteries because it runs 60 percent more efficiently, LG said. The technology also extends the battery’s lifespan to 800 charging cycles compared to other batteries’ 500 charges “in best-case conditions,” LG added.
