LG G2 announced: 5.2-inch 1080p, first commercial Snapdragon 800 phone (updated live blog)

LG G2 announced: 5.2-inch 1080p, first commercial Snapdragon 800 phone (updated live blog)

LG has announced its new flagship phone, the LG G2, running the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 ARM chip. It continues the tradition of big phones and big numbers. However, LG has changed up some of the traditional smartphone design conventions with a rear-facing button that serves multiple functions. In fact, that’s the only button on the phone. LG is taking a few risks with the G2.

This is the first commercially available Snapdragon 800 phone. The chip is quad-core, and clocked at a staggering 2.26GHz with an Adreno 330 GPU.  The rest of the raw specs are impressive as well including 2GB of RAM, a 5.2-inch 1080p IPS LCD, and an optically stabilized 13 MP camera. The company was keen to point out other 13MP sensors, like the one used by Samsung in the Galaxy S4, don’t use true optical image stabilization.

The screen is of interest here not only because it is 1080p, but it utilizes a dual connection touch sensor that allowed LG to make the bezel super-thin. It really is kind of amazing to see. The side bezels are only 0.1-inches wide. If there has ever been a phone that actually lives up to the term “edge-to-edge display” this is it. LG says this makes the phone easier to hold because it’s narrower in relation to the screen size. It’s likely LG is using the advanced thin display it showed off last month.

That rear button serves multiple functions including changing the volume, or launching the note taking app or camera with a long-press. The center nub is the power and sleep/wake button. LG claims this location — right below the camera — is where most users place their index fingers, so this keeps the phone more stable and less likely to be dropped. The sides of the phone are really just for gripping the handset.

The phone is only 8.9mm thick, but the combination of the thin LCD panel and new high-density battery tech allowed LG to fit a big battery in the G2. This device will ship with a non-removable 3,000mAh li-ion cell, which is almost as much juice as the monstrously huge Samsung Galaxy Note II. All day battery life is something LG promoted heavily in the teaser, and this phone seems capable of it.

There are two bottom-firing speakers with 24-bit audio support. The sound processing in this device may very well be the best on the market, but it’s not clear how good the speakers themselves will sound in real life. HTC’s BoomSound speakers are really something and will be hard to top.

The LG G2 is running Android 4.2.2, but that wasn’t the focus of the event. In fact, the version number wasn’t mentioned at all. This device has a number of software features you don’t get on other Android devices. LG borrows a little from iOS with a multi-touch three-finger swipe gesture (it’s four on iOS) to slide through open apps. LG calls this Slide Aside. The phone can also be woken up with a double-tap on the screen. Useful, but strange considering the fuss LG made about how easy to use the rear-facing button is. The phone also automatically connects an incoming call if you hoist it to your head.

LG has chosen to include a guest mode in the G2, which is nice considering Google is keeping the stock multi-user mode restricted to tablets. On the G2, you’ll be able to restrict access to personal information while still allowing someone to borrow the handset.

The LG G2 will be available on all four national US carriers, and as an unlocked international device. Interestingly, the Verizon version of the phone seems to have been physically tweaked, and I think for the worse. The rear button assembly looks huge, and the phone looks a bit more boxy overall. Pricing and exact release dates aren’t available, but several carriers have sign-up pages for interested parties to get email updates.