LG Group Optimus G Pro Release Date Feb. 20 in South Korea; U.S. Release April?
The LG Optimus G Pro smartphone will be released in South Korea on Wednesday.
The company also announced plans on Monday to release the successor to LG's popular Optimus G in North America and Japan in the second quarter of 2013, according to an LG press release.
It is likely that the Optimus G Pro will hit those markets in April based on a previous announcement made in January by the Japanese provider NTT Docomo. This may mean the device will also be available in the U.S. the same month it is released in Japan.
The Optimus Pro G will be slightly thicker than the LG Optimus G, 0.4-inches compared to 0.33-inches, in order to accommodate a larger battery. Its Wi-Fi tethering feature will be able to accommodate up to eight devices.
The device runs Android 4.1 integrated with LG's Optimus UX. It will ship with LG's custom interface and added applications, including improved camera software for tracking moving subjects, taking automatic panoramic images, and a dual recording mode that captures images from the front and rear cameras. LG includes a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera and a 13 megapixel rear camera, according to CNET.
The phone integrates its glass surface with the touch sensor to generate a thinner display and body.
Other specifications on the device include a 5-inch 1080p HD display, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro Processor, 32GB of internal storage, 2GB RAM, 3,000mAh battery, and 4G LTE support. Adding a microSDXC card can add as much as 64GB of additional storage. The 3,000 mAh battery supports fast charging but is not removable.
The pricing for the Optimus Pro G has yet to be announced for the United States.
LG will reportedly show off the new device during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) tech show, according to IT World.
The MWC will take place in Barcelona, Spain starting on Feb. 25 and last until Feb. 28.
