BERLIN — LG's new Android flagship, the 5.2-inch LG G2, is not exactly new, but we had no idea when it will reach the U.S., or at what price. Now we know it will be available on Verizon and T-Mobile later this month, the company announced Thursday.
The device sports a 1,080p display (as is customary for Android 5-inch phones these days), as well as a 13-megapixel camera, a Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB or 32GB of storage.
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The G2 is present at LG's IFA booth in Berlin, but it plays second fiddle to the company's huge TVs, which we'll be reporting on very soon.
The price for the G2 will be $199 with a contract at Verizon, where it will land Sept. 12. T-Mobile will have it for sale online Sept. 18 for the price of $99, plus 24 monthly payments of $21 each.
AT&T and Sprint, which will also be carrying the G2, haven't spilled the beans about availability just yet, but we reckon that'll happen soon.
One of the stand-out features of the G2 is that it has no buttons on the front or side. The only physical buttons are on the rear of the device. These act as volume buttons and as quick action buttons to launch the camera and QuickNote.
The top of the device is flush and slim.
The headphone jack and microUSB ports are at the bottom of the phone.
The full HD screen is a mind-boggling 5.2-inches. LG says, however, that because the G2 is only 2.7-inches wide, it's still comfortable enough for one-handed use.
We're not so sure. On the one hand, the phone feels physically nearly identical to the Galaxy S4. On the other hand, the Galaxy S4 is still a large phone.
One of the big features of the 13MP camera on the LG G2 is that it features optical image stabilization (OIS). The great thing about OIS is that it means that even if you are doing digital zoom -- or have an unsteady hand -- the image should be more clear and less jittery.
In our brief hands-on tests, that certainly was the case.
Just as Samsung has a line of Smart Cover cases for the GS4, the G2 has its own variation of the windowed cover.
Users can select from music, time and call notifications, all within the window.
Opening up the cover shows the full home screen. When the cover is activated, only the square part of the window is illuminated. The rest of the display is black to save battery life.
The smart cover case can also show the weather.
A nice touch with the smart cover design is that you can also control music, complete with album art and track control.
LG repeatedly touted the thinness of the LG G2.
We're still not sure if the LG G2's rear buttons are a good design decision or a bad one. On the one hand, it's a convenient place to go, especially with a phone this large.
On the other hand, we worry it will make it far too easy to accidentally cover the camear while taking photos/videos
Image: Mashable, Stan Schroeder