Hasta La Gadget!

After months of leaks and rumors, it’s finally time for us to take a look at the real LG G2. The successor to last year’s Optimus G was just officially announced and, as you have come to expect from the usual flagships, it’s loaded with plenty of specs and clever features, not to mention some interesting new smartphone design approaches. The new device, which runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, comes with a larger display than its predecessor, packing a 5.2-inch 1080p IPS panel. It also offers a 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 SoC. Additionally, you can expect to find a 13-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization (as well as a 2.1MP front-facing cam), 24 bit/192kHz HiFi playback, a non-removable 3,000mAh battery, 2GB of RAM and your choice of 16GB or 32GB internal storage. It’ll come in white and black, and LG tells us that the G2 will be rolling out to markets around the world over the next eight weeks, and we have confirmation that all four major US carriers have committed to adding the device to their lineup.

What about those unique design traits? As you may have already seen in the leaked images (or if you happened to look at the press image above), the backside of the phone is much busier than on most other handsets. LG opted to put the volume rocker and power button just below the rear camera rather than the edge of the phone. The idea for this, we’re told, is to make the handheld experience a little less awkward on such a large phone. Since the device is wider than smartphones of olden times, LG wanted to put more controls in a place that your fingers naturally rest. LG is also boasting thinner bezels — 0.1-inch thick, to be precise — thanks to a new dual-routing method in which the touch sensor uses two connectors.

On the software side, LG has done more than just throw in a few ringtones from the Vienna Boys’ Choir. It offers features like AnswerMe, which answers incoming calls when you put the phone up to your ear, and Slide Aside, which lets you do a three-finger gesture to “slide” open apps off the screen for multitasking. Text Link is another interesting idea, where the phone takes relevant text and inserts embeddable links to them in other apps — of course, this is similar to what we’ve seen on iOS previously. There’s also Guest Mode, which allows another user to access the phone (LG refers to this as a type of Kid Mode) by drawing a different gesture on the lock screen. We lay out the software in more detail here, so check it out for more info. If you’re interested in the full spec sheet and how it compares to other flagships, we’ve got that here. We also have our hands-on here for more impressions of the device, as well as a press release and gallery below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, LG

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Granted, we’ve already heard a thing or two about what LG might be launching at today’s event, but let’s face it, you never know for sure until the company hits the stage. So, while you’re following along with our liveblog, be sure to tune into the livestream of the event below. After all, that’s what multi-tabbed browsing is for, right?

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

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@evleaks has done it yet again – by revealing a leaked press shot of the upcoming LG G2 that will be fully unveiled to the masses later today. The leaked press shot does point towards the LG G2’s front as well as back sides, and you can say that it is a good looking handset by far and large, without much to complain about. Hopefully it feels as good as it looks when you place it in the palm of your hand, and will the build quality be able to hold up in the long run? The leaked press shot also confirms that the LG G2 will arrive with its volume buttons located on the back, hence making this particular smartphone unmistakable in its appearance.

Earlier this morning, we did bring you word that the LG G2 is expected to be available for purchase right on launch day itself (in select regions, of course), while it was just yesterday when we saw a promotional video of the LG G2 leaked out, in addition to part of its manual making an appearance online. Oh yeah, if you are going to pick this handset up, do enjoy the performance of the Vienna Boys’ Choir.

LG G2 Press Shot Leaked original content from Ubergizmo.

Speculation is overrated — or at least LG seems to think so. The Korean phone-maker has already announced that the Optimus G will be succeeded by a handset dubbed the G2, and it’s pretty clear that tomorrow’s event will be a launch for that very device. There’s still plenty we don’t know about this upcoming handset, though, so you’ll want to point your browser right here as we bring you the latest news live from the NYC event.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

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As the trend towards the convergence of journalism and marketing marches ever onward today we celebrate LG’s efforts to buy press for their new phone, the LG G2. We received this email this morning from a member of the Burson Marsteller team in Korea. I’ve left out her name because clearly she’s new over there. It proposes that, in exchange for an unspecified amount of money, we do either an in-depth review of a specific feature of the phone (battery or the display, naturally), or a wild and crazy 1:1 comparison against many devices, including a “torching test.” They’ll even pay for multiple reviews of the phone!

This email is, to be clear, the exception rather than the rule. I’ve never seen such an egregious offering of payola in all the years I’ve been writing for tech sites and this shouldn’t suggest that all phone reviews are tainted – although, to be fair, this doesn’t look very good for folks who may be writing about the G2 in general.

In the early, heady days of blogging company-sponsored junkets and pay for play tactics were often the norm. They were ways for small sites to gain access to the wider world of technology and allowed us (and I’m as guilty as the next blogger) to cover things we wouldn’t normally cover. Those days are no more, however, and the vast majority of writers I talk to now refuse to accept the largesse of well-heeled clients. We’ll run banner ads all day long – that’s none of my concern – we just won’t let ad dollars control our coverage.

So enjoy this, LG. The G2 is now tainted and will probably sink. I’m no crusader nor am I innocent of past crimes but this is terrible form.

Hi TechCrunch team,

This is REDACTED from Burson Marsteller Korea and we currently represent LG Mobile as its PR agency, handling the global PR for LG Mobile.

I’d like to inquire possible options on media tie-up opportunities with TechCrunch as LG is launching its new smartphone, the LG G2 in August.

To briefly explain, what kind of topics we are looking to put out:

1. Overall product review on the LG G2 (Display, Design, UX, etc): This can be a series of feature articles

2. In-depth review on a specific feature of the phone (For example – Battery or Display)

3. Product review of the LG G2 in comparison with competitor’s products: 1:1 comparison or 1 against many, including a torching test

It would be great if you can propose the types of sponsored packages as well as a rough pricing information on them.

Please let us know if you have any questions!

Thanks,
REDACTED

REDACTED
Senior Associate