LG Optimus G Pro preview: First look

Introduction

The newly announced Optimus G Pro books LG a spot in the Android hall of fame. A quad-core Snapdragon 600 chipset, a 5.5" FullHD display and a 13MP camera is the right kind of ammo of a proper flagship. The bar has been consitently raised over the past few months and only this sort of specs can get you a pass into the exclusive club of uberphones.

LG Optimus G Pro official pictures

The quad-core race is on for some time now, but display technology has been coming in leaps and bounds as well. Displays of 5+ inches in diagonal and 1080p resolution are all the rage now and we are seeing new models touting those cropping up every month.

Yesterday's flagships are demoted to runner-ups by this new breed of five-inchers. The LG Optimus G is one of the first victims in this arms race, outsmarted by the company's own Optimus G Pro.

But it's a cut-throat business and specs alone cannot guarantee strong sales. It takes a bit more than that. The stakes are high indeed, but the Optimus G Pro seems to have what it takes to make it through. We took one for a spin and are ready to let you in on all we managed to find out about it. But let's start with the spec sheet.

LG Optimus G Pro at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; UMTS 1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA, HSUPA; LTE, 100Mbps down, 50Mbps up
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar
• Dimensions: 150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4 mm, 160 g
• Display: 5.5" 16M-color FullHD (1080 x 1920 pixels) True HD-IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen
• Chipset: Qualcomm APQ8064T Snapdragon 600
• CPU: Quad-core 1.7GHz Krait 300 processor
• GPU: Adreno 320
• RAM: 2GB
• OS: Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
• Memory: 32 GB storage, microSD card slot
• Still camera: 13 megapixel auto-focus camera with backlit sensor, face detection and Best faces feature, touch focus and image stabilization, HDR
• Video camera: Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps, LED flash, HDR; 2.1MP front facing camera, video-calls, 1080p@30fps; dual video recording
• Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, standard microUSB port with MHL features (TV Out, USB host), GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, NFC
• Battery: 3140 mAh
• Misc: Optimus UI, Extremely rich video/audio codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor, active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

The Optimus G Pro has one of the most powerful chipsets around and has an intriguing screen. It's both bigger and better than the one on the the Xperia Z and that's a clear message already. There is the sleek design too, the slim screen bezel and the Android Jelly Bean edition enhanced by numerous custom tweaks and eye-candy.

LG Optimus G Pro live pictures

Join us as we look closely at what makes the LG Optimus G Pro tick.