At a New York City launch event LG has just announced the G2. This is their latest flagship smartphone and is the first smartphone under the G Series which is all about premium devices. The G2 is built  as a customer centric device, this way the best experience is given to the customer. It will be launching on 130 carriers globally and features a bold new design. The entire rollout should take 8 weeks and will start in South Korea and then followed by North America. Carriers will be announcing specific dates in the coming weeks. Sprint has just announced that the LG G2 will be coming later this year. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint are all on board, the big 4 carriers in the USA. T-Mobile is not just launching the LG G2, but the Optimus F6 and the F3.

In terms of design the biggest change would be that all of the buttons are now on the back of the device. There are no buttons on any of the side of the G2. This will make it easier to control the device as the larger the phone is, the harder it is to reach the side buttons. Your index fingers are naturally located where these buttons are placed on the back. While the power button is on the back, you don’t have to flip it over to wake it up, simply double tap the display and your phone is unlocked and ready to be used. Or by long holding the volume rocker on the back, you can easily launch QuickMemo.

The LG G2 features a 5.2-inch Full HD IPS with 423 pixel per inch with 1080 X 1920. This is a full HD edge to edge display, this looks gorgeous from the photos. This is the largest display designed to fit in one hand comfortably. It is just 2.65 millimeters thick, making it very thing. By moving the buttons to the back you can make the sides thinner. To get the most out of the 3000mAh battery the LG G2 employs Graphic RAM (GRAM) technology, this let’s you get much better battery life. For speed you get a 2.26GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 800 featuring quad Krait CPU with 2GB of RAM inside and this features 4G LTE advanced. This will give you a super fast experience on the G2. The device also features 24 bit/192kHz Hi-Fi playback for even better sounding music. You get a 13 megapixel back camera with Optical Image Stabilizer, this will get rid of blurry photos, brighter images, and even sharper images. There is a 2.1 megapixel camera on the front of the device.

On to the software side of the LG G2, it is running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with a LG User Interface. With a unique feature like Answer Me, if the phone is ringing and you bring it up to your ear it will automatically answer the call. QuickRemote will let you control many of your home entertainment devices from TV’s to Blu-Ray players, you can control them all. Guest Mode will let you set certain applications in a Guest Account. This way if you let you a friend borrow your phone, they won’t be able to see your personal information. Slide Aside makes multitasking quite easy, simply use a 3-finger swipe to close out of an application. There are many other unique user interface features that LG has created for the G2 as well.

The LG G2 will be available in your choice of either black or white. You can get either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. It will begin it’s rollout to around 130 carriers very soon. In the US it will be coming to AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint. LG is saying that the rollout should be done in just 8 weeks and specific launch dates for each carrier will be coming in the future. Verizon has just posted on Twitter that the LG G2 will be coming to their 4G LTE network and they posted a photo as well. You can see the branding on the back, check out the Verizon LG G2 in Black in the gallery below. T-Mobile has launched a sign-up page and Sprint has said it will be coming later this year. It does feature advanced 4G LTE so it might be coming with a network announcement as well. Overall, I am quite excited about the LG G2 and its unique design and software features. Stay tuned for our full review of the LG G2, but in the mean time check out the gallery and press release below.

Gallery

Press Release

LG G2 INTRODUCES NEW DIRECTION IN SMARTPHONE DESIGN

More Than 130 Global Wireless Carriers on Board to Roll Out LG’s Latest Premium Device

NEW YORK, Aug. 7, 2013 — LG Electronics (LG) today unveiled its latest flagship smartphone LG G2, the first smartphone introduced under LG’s new “G” Series for premium devices, exemplifying LG’s aim to bring forth more customer-centric innovations.

Nearly 700 guests from over 30 countries converged at the renowned Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York for the global introduction of the device. Based on LG’s research of consumer lifestyles and behaviors, the smartphone offers users more real-life benefits such as ergonomic design, practical functions and an intuitive user experience.

“Our definition of innovation today is technology that truly resonates with consumers,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of the LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, who welcomed the guests to the event. “We have always listened to and learned from consumers in pursuit of innovation. We took these insights to new heights in developing LG G2, the most exciting and ambitious mobile phone in our company’s history.”

New Perspective in Smartphone Design
The LG G2 brings everything together in a device with comfortable, functional, convenient and beautiful design. The LG G2 shifts the paradigm in smartphone design by placing all the buttons on the rear of the device, making this the first smartphone to be completely devoid of side buttons. The unique Rear Key concept came from the realization when studying users that the larger the phone became, the more difficult it was to properly access the side keys. Moving the main buttons to the back of the phone gave users more control since this place was where individuals’ index fingers are naturally located. Researchers found that moving the buttons also resulted in fewer dropped phones when adjusting the volume while talking.

Long-pressing on the rear-mounted volume keys allows users to launch QuickMemoTM and the camera, making note taking and photo capturing even easier than before. And if the LG G2 is lying on a surface face up, there’s no need to lift the phone to access the power button on the back. With KnockON, the LG G2 can be powered on simply by tapping twice on the display.

Edge-to-Edge Display and Best-In-Class Power Capacity
LG upped the ante by incorporating a 5.2-inch Full HD display in the LG G2, the largest display designed for one-handed operation in today’s popular 2.7-inch width smartphone category. In addition to the expansive viewing experience, LG’s innovative Dual Routing technology reduced the phone’s bezel to a mere 2.65mm on the side edge. And with proven IPS technology, the LG G2 offers superior graphics, accurate colors and clear images without any distortion.

For more efficient energy usage, the LG G2 employs Graphic RAM (GRAM) technology. GRAM reduces the display’s energy use by up to 26 percent on a still frame and increases overall usage time on the device by approximately 10 percent. And with a generous 3,000mAh battery that is thoughtfully designed to take maximum advantage of the interior space, the LG G2 is more than ready for a full day’s work or play.

OIS and High Resolution for Great Pictures
The LG G2’s high-resolution camera comes equipped with Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS) technology to prevent blurring, allowing for clearer, brighter and sharper images even when in motion or shooting in dim environments. Most current smartphone cameras with OIS tend to offer resolution in the 4MP to 8MP range. The G2 is unique in that it offers 13MP and OIS technology in a slim design without a protruding lens. And fea-tures such as Super Resolution and Multi-point AF help keep everything in focus, just like a standalone point-and-shoot digital camera.

Studio Quality Hi-Fi Sound
In recent years, there has been an increase in consumer demand for superior sound in smartphones as high-quality multimedia content becomes more ubiquitous. Smartphones have become hubs for entertainment of all kind — TV shows, movies, games — and consumers expect the sound to be just as good as the image. The LG G2 is the first smartphone on the market today to feature 24 bit/192kHz Hi-Fi playback that reproduces studio-like quality sound, far superior to a CD. Now consumers can hear a level of audio realism that hasn’t been possible before in a smartphone.

Practical UX Connected to Everyday Life
Research shows that the most frequently used smartphone features are the most basic ones that users often take for granted such as SMS, social networking, directions and of course, making phone calls. The LG G2 comes with a number of compelling user experience (UX) features that provide the most practical value by focusing on a smartphone’s most popular tasks:

- Answer Me — Automatically answers the call after lowering the ringtone when the phone is raised to one’s ear.
- Plug & Pop — Recommends options or related features to choose from when the earphone or USB cable is detected.
- Text Link — Allows information embedded in text messages to be selected and easily saved in a memo or calendar and searched on a map or the internet.
- QuickRemote — Not only can LG G2 be used to remotely control popular home entertainment devices, it can also learn from conventional remotes and be customized to operate multiple devices with flexible layouts and keys.
- Slide Aside — Enables easier multitasking by simply “sliding” open apps off to the side using a three-finger swipe.
- Guest Mode — Protects owner’s privacy by displaying only pre-selected apps when guests access the phone with a secondary unlock pattern.

Unmatched Performance with Next Generation LTE
The LG G2 runs on the industry’s most advanced mobile chipset, the Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 800 Processor and redefines the smartphone experience through stunning performance, rich graphics and outstanding battery efficiency. Qualcomm Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated. Through a long-term partnership collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, LG was able to deploy the chipset integrated perfectly with the LG G2 hardware to offer powerful and yet stable performance.

Following the global launch event in New York City on August 7, the LG G2 will be rolled out in over 130 wireless carriers in the next eight weeks starting in South Korea followed by North America, Europe and other key markets. Specific dates for market availability will vary by region and carrier.

Key Specifications:
- Processor: 2.26GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 800 featuring quad Krait CPU
- Display: 5.2-inch Full HD IPS (1080 x 1920 pixels / 423 ppi)
- Memory: 32GB / 16GB
- RAM: 2GB LPDDR3 800MHz
- Camera: Rear 13.0MP with OIS / Front 2.1MP
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Operating System: Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2
- Size: 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9mm
- Colors: Black / White