Australia has been cut off the top-tier list of countries to get LG's new LTE-capable Optimus G flagship first, forced to wait until 2013 despite the smartphone's global launch next week.
Korea will get the phone first next week followed by "key markets" in Q4 and Australia next year.
"The Optimus G will undergo a range of testing and ranging to meet specific Australian requirements and network frequencies, hence the longer testing time," an LG spokesperson told CRN.
As Korea uses the same 1800 MHz frequency band as Australia, it is expected that the LG Optimus G will be 4G-capable when it eventually launches in Australia. [Update: An LG spokesperson has since confirmed that the phone will be compatible on the Australian 4G network.]
At present, there has been no word on local telco providers or pricing. LG said it was not discussing launch partners at this time.
The LG Optimus G is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and comes with an assortment of 'premium device' trimmings, including a 4.7-inch WXGA HD display (1280 x 768 pixels), an 8MP camera, 2GB of DDR RAM and a black glass 'unibody' finish.
Other product highlights include Android 4.1 Jellybean, 32GB of inbuilt flash memory, a powerful 2,100mAh battery, an NFC chip and the aforementioned LTE compatibility. The phone measures 131.9x68.9x8.45mm and weighs in at 145g.
One of Optimus G's biggest claims to fame is its 'UX' user interface -- a business-friendly UI that has been specifically optimised for 'cross-tasking' with demanding applications.
Some examples of cross-tasking cited by LG include a dual screen mode, live video zooming, a QuickMemo tool and the ability to project content wirelessly to an external display while using a different application on the phone.
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