4G is everywhere, but not everyone has it yet, and if the reason you’re still relying on 3G is because of price, LG is hoping to tempt with two sub-$200 options this year.
The two models that are on the way will borrow the style of LG’s flagship G3 from 2015, as the company tries to impart some of the success of that phone to two others, the slightly unconventionally named LG Spirit and LG Leon, two 4G phones with mid-range specs, mid-range batteries, and Android 5.0 “Lollipop” for not too heavy a price tag.
“We’re really proud of what we’ve achieved with our G3 flagship smartphone in the last year, but I’d also say that it’s really indicative of our heritage in the mid-range smartphone market in general,” said Lambro Skropidis, General Manager of Marketing at LG Australia, adding that “with consumers at the heart of everything we do, LG understands that the more premium model is not always going to be accessible to everyone.”
Those less premium models start with the LG Spirit (above), a handset which will grab a 4.7 inch HD (1280×720) screen with a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 401, 8GB storage with room to move via a microSD slot, 1GB RAM, and an 8 megapixel camera on the back with a 1 megapixel camera up front.
There’s also a 2100mAh battery, suggesting a day of life will be possible here, based on what we’ve seen with prior LG Android phones and that generation of Snapdragon chip.
This one will sit on the Vodafone 4G network, sold locked to that telco, with a price tag of $199 hitting this phone at Big W and Vodafone stores.
Meanwhile, Optus will snare a slightly less expensive (and less feature driven) phone, this one again with an unconventional name.
You can call it “Leon” because that’s the name LG has provided, making it one of the only phones we’ve seen with a more human name bestowed onto it.
Aside for a very human name, this model includes a 4.5 inch 854×480 display, the same 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 401 processor, the same 8GB storage with a microSD to expand this if needed, the same 1GB RAM, but a change at the battery and camera, with a 1900mAh battery, and a combination of a 5 megapixel rear camera and a VGA camera up front.
Both will be designed fairly similarly, though, including a curved back with LG’s rear buttons, allowing you to switch on the phone using the one in the centre, as well as control volume up and down using the buttons that flank it above and below.
LG’s Leon will come in for $149, and is locked to Optus 4G, available from Kmart, Dick Smith, Big W, Harvey Norman, Australia Post, and of course Optus stores.
