LG Confirms Optimus Pro G for the USA, has Samsung in its Sights

LG’s new flagship smartphone the Optimus Pro G has already been announced for Korea and Europe, and today it was the turn of the United States as the Korean company confirmed that the Optimus Pro G has been confirmed for Q 2 this year. The device will pit itself against Samsung’s hugely popular Galaxy Note 2, a handset that clearly inspired LG’s latest.

In fact there are those who say LG was not only inspired by the Note 2 but has outright copied it, and there is certainly plenty of Samsung’s phone in the Optimus Pro G design and conception. When Samsung launched the Galaxy Note and then the Note 2 last year, the Korean tech giant proved that there was a market for “phablet” phones, handsets that are small enough to be a smartphone but also big enough to be a tablet.

Many companies have reacted to Samsung’s big screen success by delivering their own phablet offerings. Sony is coming forth with the Xperia Z, while Chinese brands like ZTE and Huawei are also going big. However, none has followed the Galaxy Note 2 mould quite like LG. Just one look at the Optimus Pro G and the Galaxy Note 2 side by side will reveal a striking resemblance, while in terms of specs they are both very similar, which means the LG handset packs a punch under the hood.

The Optimus Pro G sports a full 1920 x 1080 HD display (making this the first full HD smartphone), quad-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, 2.1-megapixel front facer, and a 13-MP rear camera. The handset is certainly a formidable unit, but will LG manage to dent Samsung’s significant appeal in the United States and beyond?

LG is selling other smartphones in solid numbers, certainly enough to carve out its own market place, however even the super quick Optimus Pro G is unlikely to take the title of phablet king from Samsung. There has been no word on exact release dates for the Optimus Pro G in the U.S. while LG has not issued price details either.

Fabio says

March 12, 2013 at 07:34

2 years ago when I bought my Galaxy S (captivate), it was the same price as iponhe 4 ($ 200), so I don’t think there is going to be a price difference). The fact is, IPhone doesn’t have better quality as somebody else mentioned. When it was first released, some screens had yellow stains on them because the adhesive they used was not fully dried before getting shipped to customers. Then, there was the antenna issues and Steve Jobs’ famous comment about You’re not holding the phone correctly Also, if you follow the news, you hear a lot about poor working conditions at Foxconn, the chinese company that builds iponhes and many other electronic devices that are used here in the U.S. If they don’t care about their employees that commit suicide on a regular basis, what makes you think they care about the quality of their products.IMO, the biggest problem with new android phones is that the screen sizes are getting ridiculously big. Holding a Galaxy Note next to your ear in public is nothing short of dancing in your underwear in NY subway. But, some people like that because they rather watch movies on their phone with limited battery than to sit in their living room and watch movies on their TV. Other than that, there are many big advantages to GS3 and android phones in general over iponhe.- You can replace the battery and have more than one battery when you go on trips.- You can buy a SD card for $ 40-50 and expand your memory instead of paying $ 100 to steve jobs so he can build that same SD card into your phone where you can’t replace it.- Most android phones use universal micro usb for charging, so when you go out of town and forget your charger, you can borrow your friend’s blackberry charger to charge your phone. This is while apple continues to push their useless proprietary connector.- Since apple fans love shiny objects and prefer to have something pretty rather than practical, the iponhe is made of glass and is heavy. So, in order to protect it, you have to wrap that shiny pretty phone in bulky plastic covers and to help fix its antenna problem. I have given up on counting the number of iponhes I have seen with shattered glass. On the other hand, I have never spent a dime on protecting cases for my Captivate and have dropped it a dozen times. It has barely a few scratches on its back and its screen looks good as new.- Android has a large developer community. You can have your phone unlocked and rooted with not much hassle, so you can use them overseas. Apple on the other hand won’t even let you have flash on your phone. Having an iponhe is like going for a long walk on the beach with high heels. It may look pretty at an occasional party, but it won’t be that practical for everyday use. If you listen to iponhe fans, the only reason they provide for choosing their phone is: It’s just better. Having mentioned all these reasons, you can choose for yourself which phone you like better since it all comes down to preference and what suits you.

Comments

Fabio says

March 12, 2013 at 07:34

2 years ago when I bought my Galaxy S (captivate), it was the same price as iponhe 4 ($ 200), so I don’t think there is going to be a price difference). The fact is, IPhone doesn’t have better quality as somebody else mentioned. When it was first released, some screens had yellow stains on them because the adhesive they used was not fully dried before getting shipped to customers. Then, there was the antenna issues and Steve Jobs’ famous comment about You’re not holding the phone correctly Also, if you follow the news, you hear a lot about poor working conditions at Foxconn, the chinese company that builds iponhes and many other electronic devices that are used here in the U.S. If they don’t care about their employees that commit suicide on a regular basis, what makes you think they care about the quality of their products.IMO, the biggest problem with new android phones is that the screen sizes are getting ridiculously big. Holding a Galaxy Note next to your ear in public is nothing short of dancing in your underwear in NY subway. But, some people like that because they rather watch movies on their phone with limited battery than to sit in their living room and watch movies on their TV. Other than that, there are many big advantages to GS3 and android phones in general over iponhe.- You can replace the battery and have more than one battery when you go on trips.- You can buy a SD card for $ 40-50 and expand your memory instead of paying $ 100 to steve jobs so he can build that same SD card into your phone where you can’t replace it.- Most android phones use universal micro usb for charging, so when you go out of town and forget your charger, you can borrow your friend’s blackberry charger to charge your phone. This is while apple continues to push their useless proprietary connector.- Since apple fans love shiny objects and prefer to have something pretty rather than practical, the iponhe is made of glass and is heavy. So, in order to protect it, you have to wrap that shiny pretty phone in bulky plastic covers and to help fix its antenna problem. I have given up on counting the number of iponhes I have seen with shattered glass. On the other hand, I have never spent a dime on protecting cases for my Captivate and have dropped it a dozen times. It has barely a few scratches on its back and its screen looks good as new.- Android has a large developer community. You can have your phone unlocked and rooted with not much hassle, so you can use them overseas. Apple on the other hand won’t even let you have flash on your phone. Having an iponhe is like going for a long walk on the beach with high heels. It may look pretty at an occasional party, but it won’t be that practical for everyday use. If you listen to iponhe fans, the only reason they provide for choosing their phone is: It’s just better. Having mentioned all these reasons, you can choose for yourself which phone you like better since it all comes down to preference and what suits you.