LG Electronics launched a new flagship Android-based smartphone, the Optimus G. While LG smartphones might not be a favourite with tech experts, the South Korean firm is still the world’s fourth largest mobile vendor according to a Garner report.
The new smartphone – which LG hopes will offer a viable third or fourth option in a smartphone market dominated by Apple and Samsung – will be released next week in South Korea. The smartphone will go on sale in Japan next month and in the US in November.
Here’s a look at key features of the smartphone:
The LG Optimus smartphone. AP
•The smartphone has a 4.7-inch screen with 1280×768 resolution and True HD and IPS.
• Android 4.0 aka Ice-Cream Sandwich.
• A 13-megapixel autofocus camera.
• The G smartphone is powered by Qualcomm’s quad-core processor clocked at 1.5Ghz and has a 2GB RAM along with 32GB built-in space. The smartphone does not have a Micro-SD card.
• LG also added new video-related features. The G can dim the video in a translucent layer, allowing users to send text messages or write emails while watching the show in the background. It also allows users to zoom into a scene while playing the video using a two-finger pinch.
• The smartphone also has NFC and 4G LTE.
Previous Optimus smartphones have failed to make a mark in the fastest-growing segment of the mobile phone market. LG’s mobile division posted losses of nearly 1 trillion won ($895 million) in 2010 and 2011 combined.
LG’s mobile chief said the company hopes the G smartphone will help accelerate the division’s turnaround.
“The Optimus G is our flagship phone with a competitive edge,” Park Jong-seok, LG’s mobile business president, told reporters at a media event. “We are trying to make phones differentiated from our rivals.”
Analysts said LG was focused on making handsets primarily for voice calls and text messaging, which delayed its response when Apple’s iPhone took the mobile market by storm.
With inputs from AP
