LG’s latest smartphone, the G3 Beat, is a sports car chassis with a golf engine. Like many other “mini” devices on the market today, it takes after its namesake, the G3, in looks and features, but dials down the specifications to a more mid-range price point.
Coming in at a still-massive 5-inches, the 720p display sports a quarter the number of pixels as the G3 proper, though its IPS lineage should stand it in good stead against HTC and Samsung’s similarly-priced One Mini 2 and Galaxy S5 Mini, respectively. It also maintains the thin bezels and rear controls of its larger counterpart, making it considerably more compact than most 5-inch devices being offered today.
The G3 Beat offers a 1.2Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, a SoC familiar to anyone with a mid-range phone these days, along with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. The camera is also dialled back slightly from the G3, with a smaller 8MP sensor on the back and a 1.3MP shooter on the front. The rear camera does, however, maintain the G3’s laser auto focus mechanism, though its speed will likely be hampered by the significantly slower Cortex-A7 architecture of the Snapdragon SoC itself.
As for battery life, the device has a 2,540mAh removable cell, along with LTE capabilities and Bluetooth 4.0LE. LG’s skinned version of Android 4.4.2 complements the many software features, including Smart Keyboard and QuickMemo+, and the device will be offered in separate black, white and gold hues, much like the G3 itself.
Going on sale this week in South Korea, the LG G3 Beat will come to other countries, potentially including Canada, in the coming months. It will go on sale in Europe as the LG G3s.
Full specs below:
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor 1.2 GHz Quad-Core
- Display: 5.0-inch HD IPS (1280 x 720, 294ppi)
- Memory: 8GB / 1GB RAM / MicroSD slot
- Camera: Rear 8MP with Laser Auto Focus / Front 1.3MP
- Battery: 2,540mAh (removable)
- Operating System: Android 4.4.2 KitKat
- Size: 137.7 x 69.6 x 10.3mm
- Weight: 134 g
- Network: 4G LTE / HSPA+ 21Mbps (3G)
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS/Glonass, NFC, USB 2.0
- Colours: Metallic Black, Silk White, Shine Gold
- Other:Touch & Shoot, Smart Keyboard, QuickMemo+, Gesture Shot
[source]LG Newsroom[/source]
