LG G2 Flagship Phone to Bring 5.2-inch HD Display, Snapdragon 800 and Larger Battery

If you've been in the market for a new Android smartphone but haven't yet bitten the bullet, then you might be happy to know that LG has just made your decision-making process a lot more interesting - that is, if you don't mind having the largest Android flagship around. At 5.2-inch, LG's just-announced G2 isn't going to be for everyone, but despite its size, its creative design results in a super-slim bezel, and overall, the aesthetics, as seen in the shot below, are great.

Credit: Engadget

Compared to a couple of other top-tier Android phones of the moment, including Samsung's Galaxy S IV (our review) and the HTC One (our review), LG's G2 bumps up a couple of specs considerably. The SoC is the Snapdragon 800, sporting a clock speed of 2.3GHz (vs. 1.9GHz and 1.7GHz, respectively). Over those Snapdragon 600 phones, the Adreno GPU also sees a boost, to 450MHz (from 400MHz). Overall, some serious mobile horsepower here.

As mentioned above, the G2 sports a 5.2-inch display, IPS, which not surprisingly, boasts a 1080p resolution. Also worthy of note is the large 3,000mAh battery, a 13 megapixel rear camera, and a feature I'm not sure is truly needed on a smartphone but I love to see anyway: 24-bit / 192KHz audio.

The G2 is a lot more than just specs, though. As seen in the shot above, the back is a lot busier than most smartphones - that's because the volume dial is located there, instead of on the side. The thought behind this is that because the phone is rather large, having volume control at the back would allow people to continue holding the phone as normal, rather than contort their hands to bizarre positions.

Other neat features include KnockON: the ability to tap twice on the display to power the phone on; QuickMemo: holding the volume button in the back launches the camera and note-taking software; Answer Me: automatically answers the call when the phone is put to your face; Slide Aside: enables easier multi-tasking by using three fingers to slide apps out of the way and Guest Mode: on-the-fly access to guest mode (perfect for parties, or kids).

Overall, LG has a great showing here. Pricing has not yet been revealed, but we do know that the phone will be able to be found at the "big 4" mobile carriers in the US within the next two months.