LG Unveils Its First Android Smartphone

LG has just taken the wraps off the GW620, its first model based on Google's Android OS.

Despite today's announcement, details are still a bit sketchy. LG says this smartphone will have a 3-inch touchscreen and a landscape-oriented sliding keyboard, but left out many other specifications, like camera resolution, amount of memory, or anything about its wireless networking capabilities.

Fortunately, this isn't the first glimpse LG has given of this device -- early this month, it gave a "teaser" preview of it at a tradeshow in Germany. At that time, the company said it will have a 5 megapixel camera and Bluetooth.

The GW620 will apparently run a standard version of Google's Android, without LG's S-Class user interface that appears on many of its other models.

Consumer-Oriented
LG has made it clear this smartphone will be focused on consumers, not business users. The announcement says it included a keyboard to "meet the growing needs of consumers who rely on their mobile phones for more than just making calls."

"The LG-GW620 will appeal to first-time smartphone customers by offering a new and different kind of user experience,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG.

Coming Soon to Europe
The LG-GW620 will be released during the fourth quarter of this year in "select" European markets, but exactly which countries was not revealed.

It was on display at the Vodafone booth at the IFA Trade Fair earlier this month, so there can be no doubt about at least one of the wireless carriers that will be offering it.

There is no word on pricing, though.

Source: LG