LG has just announced its new flagship in the form of the G2 (D802), it is probably one of the company’s biggest launches in years and there’s no doubt the handset has some very attractive features. What you immediately notice when you look at the handset is that there is hardly any bezel surrounding its 5.2-inch IPS display with 1080 x 1920 resolution and 423PPI. The bezel on the side is just 2.65mm thick. From the looks of it, we’re sure it takes the Xperia ZL’s crown of “highest screen size to phone size ratio“.
The LG G2 is powered by a 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon chipset, 2GB RAM – pretty much what you would expect from any new flagship launch right now. However, it also houses a 3000mAh battery in its chassis which is mighty impressive. The LG G2 also uses Graphic RAM (GRAM) for more efficient energy usage, LG says that this increases overall usage time on the device by approximately 10 percent.
LG have also done something unusual with the volume/power buttons and placed them on the back of the handset just under the camera module. LG says that their research indicates it is more intuitive for users on the back. Other features include a 13MP camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and 1080p 60fps video recording as well as a front 2.1MP camera.
The LG G2 will launch with Android 4.2.2 and have dimensions of 138.5 x 70.9 x 9.1 mm. LG says the handset will launch over the next two months starting in South Korea followed by North America, Europe and other key markets.
The question we have for you today, is can Sony’s upcoming flagship, codenamed Honami, compete with the LG G2? There’s no doubt that LG has improved its design, although the curves still look a little Samsung Galaxy-esque to our eyes. Despite this, there is no denying it has some interesting features, especially its near-zero bezel.
Putting this into perspective, LG has managed to squeeze a 5.2-inch display into a chassis measuring 139 x 71mm, which is incidentally the same sized chassis of the 5-inch Xperia Z, ignoring the thickness. Judging by leaked photos, Honami will be larger than the Xperia Z and is also rumoured to have a 5-inch display. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Honami is rumoured to also carry a 3000mAh capacity battery.
Sony ‘Honami’ is also expected to sport a Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) chipset with 2.2GHz quad-core processor and 2GB RAM. However, the camera is expected to be upgraded to a 20MP Exmor RS CMOS sensor with Sony G Lens and BIONZ image processing engine. We don’t know whether OIS is on the cards, however.
We look forward to IFA on 4 September for further details on Sony’s next device, but given what (we think) we know about Honami, has Sony done enough to compete with LG’s latest offering? Would you ever consider buying a LG smartphone? Does Sony have anything to worry about here? We’d love to hear your views below.
