LG G2 breaks new ground
Korea’s LG made it clear this week that it wants to compete with the big boys in the smartphone market. Its LG G2 breaks new ground in handset design, and is set to launch on all four major U.S. carriers as well a large number of international ones. LG says that more than 130 global carriers will carry its latest Android 4.2.2 smartphone. So far, pricing has not been announced.
All models of the LG G2 will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor. The Snapdragon 800 packs a Krait 400 CPU clocked at up to 2.3GHz and an Adreno 330 GPU, along with 4G LTE-A connectivity, 802.11 ac Wi-Fi connectivity, and support for three GPS constellations.
The LG G2 is also notable for a design innovation – the volume and power buttons are on the back of the phone. The company says its engineers noticed that as phones become larger, it is harder for people to use the side buttons. The G2 is 8.9mm thick, with a 5.2-inch display. (For comparison, the iPhone 5 is 7.6mm thick with a 4-inch screen, and the Samsung Galaxy S4 is 7.9mm thick with a 5-inch display.)
Image Source: ABC News
Pantech Vega LTE-A
Like LG, Pantech is also launching an LTE-A, Android 4.2.2 smartphone powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 processor. Pantech and LG are both Korean companies, and Korea has been a leader in the deployment of LTE-A networks. Pantech’s Vega LTE-A will launch on SK Telecom’s network.
Pantech’s design team also makes use of the back of the handset. The 5.6-inch Vega LTE-A uses the back panel for a fingerprint sensor, so that the owner can activate the phone by touching the back, and can use his or her fingerprint as a password.
Samsung Galaxy Gear
Samsung, of course, is king of not only the Korean smartphone market but the worldwide market as well. While its rivals were announcing new smartphones this week, Samsung was busy filing trademark applications for the name ‘Galaxy Gear’ in the United States and Korea. The company says the Galaxy Gear device will be a wristwatch or wrist band that can connect to the Internet and make phone calls.
Earlier this summer, Apple filed an application to trademark the iWatch name in Japan. Meanwhile, Sony has already launched an Android smart watch which can access mobile apps but does not make calls. U.S. startup Pebble has also launched a smart watch that runs Android and iOS apps.
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