LG Electronics yesterday officially took the wraps off the LG G Flex, a
smartphone curved designed to follow the contour of your face. The new
device is curved top to bottom unlike the recently announced Samsung Galaxy Round which is curved from left to right.
The
latest device in LG's premium G Series, the G Flex incorporates
proprietary innovations from other LG companies in the form of the
display and battery that have never been seen before. The LG G Flex also
boasts new user experience (UX) features that take advantage of the
curved form factor.
"The LG G Flex is the best representation
yet of how a smartphone should be curved," said Dr. Jong-seok Park,
president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "The
LG G Flex with its distinctive design, innovative hardware and
consumer-centric UX represents the most significant development in the
smartphone space since smartphone became part of our regular
vocabulary."
Form + Function: Design that Understands Human Curves
The
vertically curved design of the LG G Flex reduces the distance between
one's mouth to the microphone when the device is held against the ear,
as traditional telephone handsets used to. The LG G Flex employs a
curvature arc that is optimized for the average face, to deliver
improved voice and sound quality. The curved form increases the sound
level by 3dB compared to typical flat smartphones. The curved design
also offers a more reassuring grip and fits more comfortably in one's
back pocket. What's more, in landscape mode, the display offers an
IMAX-like experience, with the result being the most comfortable viewing
angle for watching videos or playing games.
LG G Flex also
features the Rear Key first introduced in the LG G2. Devoid of any
buttons on the sides, there is less chance of accidentally powering off
the phone and the convenience of using one's index finger to adjust the
volume when conversing is maintained.
Innovation Delivered Through Collaboration
The
development of LG G Flex was only possible through the successful
collaboration with sister companies LG Display and LG Chem. The 6-inch
display found in the G Flex is the world's largest Plastic OLED (POLED)
display developed and mass produced specifically for smartphones. The
ultra-thin, ultra-light flexible POLED display and curved OLED panel are
built on plastic substrates instead of glass, giving LG G Flex its
unique shape and durability. The POLED display is brighter and more
precise thanks to the application of Real RGB, which contains all three
sub-pixels - red, green and blue - in one pixel.
LG Chem
developed the world's first curved battery technology specifically for
application in LG G Flex. The curved battery in the G Flex is designed
with LG Chem's patented Stack & Folding technology, which reduces
the physical stress on the battery pack when in the curved form and
provides better stability and performance. Despite its thin form, the LG
G Flex battery has a capacity of 3,500mAh, enough power for more than a
full day of use.
User-Centered Technologies
Among the
several new technologies, the LG G Flex is the first smartphone to apply
a "Self Healing" coating on the back cover. The elastic coating has the
ability to recover from the daily wear-and-tear scratches and nicks
that un-cased smartphones are likely to receive, keeping the G Flex
looking newer longer.
Users of LG G Flex will have a wider
selection in the ability to enjoy in various format of music - MP3, CD
quality or 24 bit/192kHz Hi-Fi playback. UX features, such as KnockON,
Guest Mode and Plug & Pop, which were positively received when first
introduced in the LG G2, can also found in the LG G Flex.
The LG G Flex also includes an array of new UX features:
-
QTheater gives users quick access to photos, videos and YouTube right
from the lock screen. By touching the screen and dragging outward along
the curved surface with both fingers, the apps appear with the effect of
theater curtains being drawn.
- Dual Window divides the wide 6-inch screen into two separate windows for more effective multitasking.
- Swing Lockscreen alters the image on the lockscreen depending on how the G Flex is held.
- Face Detection Indicator displays the LED on the Rear Key in green to confirm status of face detection and focus.
- Camera Timer flashes the Rear Key LED to indicate that the countdown has begun.
- Urgent Call Alert flashes the LED on the Rear Key in red when several consecutive calls from the same person go unanswered.
Key Specifications (Korean Version):
- Chipset: 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm? Snapdragon™ 800 (MSM 8974)
GPU: Adreno 330, 450MHz
- Display: 6-inch HD (1280 x 720), Curved P-OLED (Real RGB)
- Memory: 2GB LP DDR3 RAM / 32GB eMMc
- Camera: Rear 13.0MP / Front 2.1MP
- Battery: 3,500mAh (embedded)
- Operating System: Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2
- Size: 160.5 x 81.6 x 7.9 - 8.7mm
- Weight: 177g
- Network: LTE-A / LTE / HSPA+ / GSM
- Connectivity: BT 4.0 / USB 3.0 compatible / WiFi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) / NFC
- Color: Titan Silver
- Other: TDMB / Hi-Fi 24bit, 192kHz Playback
The
LG Flex will be available in Korea starting in November through all
three major local carriers. Availability in additional markets will be
announced thereafter.
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