LG Optimus G2 details: Are these next specs for 2013's superphones?
A Korean publication that has a habit of leaking Samsung and LG's future plans, has reported that LG's production of the Optimus G2 is a way ahead of schedule and will be released at the same time as the Galaxy S IV (or whatever it is called given the number 4 is unlucky in Korea) in approximately six months time.
If this leak is right then this will quickly become the standard in 2013 and just as we thought specs were starting to plateau there's reportedly; a 5" Full HD LCD panel with 440ppi, made my LG themselves, and a 2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon Prime processor with a next generation LTE radio which will reportedly be even lighter on battery consumption. We're not sure whether the camera will be improved, especially given the 13MP unit which is in the Optimus G is already class-leading and hopefully manufacturers will be prepared to take internal storage to the next level, starting with a minimum of 16 or 32GB's!
We'll have to wait and see! Perhaps this could be an LG phone which will be successful in Europe given their dwindling mind and market share on this side of the pond!
Via PhoneArena.
In other news:
- Just in case you missed it, you only have this evening to snap up a £99 or $129 Kindle Fire from Amazon because of their Black Friday discounts. Amazon issued this statement today highlighting just how popular the sale has been in Europe:
“In response to strong customer demand we included Kindle Fire in Black Friday deals week, dropping the price to just £99, and the reaction has been incredible. Customers purchased more than three times as many Kindle devices on Black Friday than on any other day in its history on Amazon.co.uk, and our previous record was impressive,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, Vice President, Kindle EU. “This fantastic Kindle Fire offer runs until midnight, Monday 26th November, so customers still have time to snap up a Kindle Fire in time for Christmas.” Via Android Central.
- Nokia has showed off their new Symbian Series 40 powered Asha 205, which is also a Facebook phone! Now for most people the phone isn't anything to get excited about unless you're a huge fan of bright colours; there's black, cyan, magenta, yellow, and white options to choose from. On the spec front there's 2.4-inch non-touch display, a VGA camera, microSD card support and connectivity is limited to 2G only.
Via PhoneArena.
- Samsung have recently been showing off some of their 'stores within stores' and it seems like HTC thinks it's a pretty good idea too, with the Taiwanese company opening their very first 'store' in a branch of Saturn electronics in Hamburg, Germany. We would love to see every company having their own section in a retailer like Phones4U or BestBuy and this is a trend we expect to see more and more. What's your take on the HTC green of that table? It certainly catches your attention!
Via UnwiredView.
- Sprint has announced that their 4G LTE will be expanding to eleven new cities today. It's not an earth shattering roll out this time, but it's always good to see carriers expanding their network. The places going live today are:
- Anderson, Ind.
- Clarke County, Va./Jefferson County, W.Va.
- Harrisburg/Carlisle/Hershey, Pa.
- Hagerstown, Md./Martinsburg, W.Va.
- Harrisonburg, Va.
- Muncie, Ind.
- Peabody, Mass.
- Salina, Kan.
- Shenandoah County, Va.
- South Bend/Mishawaka, Ind.
- Winchester, Va.
- LG's Nexus 4 isn't meant to have LTE capabilities, but that Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset which runs the show has LTE built in and, as we reported on Friday, some Canadian users have managed to get access to their LTE networks. Since then LG has sought to clarify the reason why the Nexus 4 has an LTE radio inside of it. It's because:
“In order to provide the best possible specification for Nexus 4, LG utilised the same powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset as can be found in its 4G LTE product, namely LG Optimus G. This powerful chipset is only available with a combined processor and modem and cannot be implemented separately.” Via Phandroid.
- It appears that HTC has confirmed there will not be a version of their 'J Butterfly' or 'Droid DNA' coming to European shores, if a post on their Facebook page is to be believed. We do find it strange that HTC would choose to ignore Europe which has traditionally been a good market for them. Perhaps their statement just means it won't be coming with the HTC Deluxe name? We'll have to wait and see.
Via GSMArena.
- The Financial Times has reported that Microsoft may well be planning to launch some of it's retail stores in Europe, with the UK first in line! They reported that 'Microsoft is already in talks with landlords in the UK and is feeling "confident" about launching several stores in 2013'. A store in the UK would be a good platform for Microsoft to launch off of if they wanted to expand to the rest of Europe as well!
Via PhoneArena.
- Apple reportedly leased the 'lightning' trademark from Harley-Davidson so that the company could call their adaptors that name.
Via PhoneArena.
- Samsung has reportedly terminated their supply of batteries for Apple's iPad's and MacBook's. This comes a couple of months after Samsung terminated its LCD contract with the Cupertino giants. That means that Apple will have to rely on it's other manufacturing partners to make up the gap!
Via Geek.
- Digitimes has today said that Google has plans to launch a 12.85-inch touch-screen Chromebook early next year. They have said that Taiwanese company, Compal Electronics , will build the device and Wintek will supply the touch panels. Apparently the device will be shipping as soon as the end of this year!
Digitimes via Slashgear.
And finally, we know that smartphones get put through their paces with extensive manufacturer testing before they're released onto the market. But, if you'd like to see a video, not in English, which shows you how mechanised the process is, then hit play below! It's quite interesting to see how Samsung recreates some of the real life situations your phone is exposed to every day!
Via SamMobile
