LG announced an Optimus LTE phone that runs Android 2.3 on a dual-core, 1.5GHz processor, sports a 4.5-inch “True HD” IPS display with an unprecedented resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, and an LTE modem. Meanwhile, T-Mobile posted — and then hid — a web page showing two LG-manufactured MyTouch-branded phones said to be “coming soon.”

Oct. 4 was supposed to be iPhone 5 day, but instead it turned out to be a somewhat less impressive iPhone 4S day day. Meanwhile, it seems, every day is Android day somewhere in the world. In South Korea, for example, Oct. 4 was LG Optimus LTE day, in honor of LG's most feature-rich Android smartphones to date.

LG Optimus LTE

Like the LG Optimus Q2 announced late last month, the Optimus LTE is aimed at South Korea, and runs Android 2.3 on a dual-core processor. In this case, however, the unnamed system on chip (SoC) is clocked at 1.5GHz instead of 1.2GHz, says LG Electronics.

Like the Q2, the LTE model offers an IPS (in-plane switching) display for crisper views, but whereas the QWERTY slider Optimus Q2 has a four-inch 800 x 480 display, the new Optimus LTE moves up to a 4.5-inch "True HD" IPS display with a remarkable 1280 x 720-pixel resolution.

By comparison, the current state-of-the-art in Android smartphones is quarter-HD (qHD) resolution with 960 x 540 pixels. The "True HD IPS" display offers "advanced brightness and clarity and shows colors in their most natural tones," says LG.

The rationale for all this screen size and pixel power is to provide a video platform for the phone's 4G LTE modem that will meet the demanding requirements of smartphone-savvy Koreans. Although the Optimus LTE announcement says the phone was "launched" in Korea Oct. 4, there was no word on availability or carrier support. HSPA+ networks are also said to be supported.

The Optimus LTE is fitted with 1GB of RAM, as well as 4GB of internal storage, and a 16GB microSD card is supplied for the 32GB-ready slot, says LG. In addition, the camera offers a high-end, eight-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, as well as a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera, says the company.

Other features are said to include an HDMI port, DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) support, as well as Wi-Fi Direct. The 10.4mm (0.41-inch) thick device weighs 135 grams (4.76 ounces) and runs on an 1830mAh battery, according to LG.

No more details were supplied, but we imagine such a high-end phone must have a few other ports and features, as well.

LG cites a recent report by Jefferies & Company, listing the company as the global leader in LTE patents, owning 23 percent of approximately 1,400 LTE patents filed worldwide. LG demonstrated the world's first LTE technology in 2007, and developed the world's first LTE modem chipset in 2008, says the company.

Stated Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, "LG Optimus LTE is the first smartphone in Korea to offer vivid and clear HD content on a 4G network."

LG-built MyTouch phones heading for T-Mobile?

The sharp-eyed folks at TmoNews, which bills itself as the "unofficial T-Mobile blog," screen-saved a "coming soon" web page on T-Mobile's site that has since been dismantled. The page purports to show new MyTouch-branded Android phones built by LG: the MyTouch and MyTouch Q.

T-Mobile MyTouch Q (top) and MyTouch phones
Source: TmoNews

The MyTouch offers a 1GHz processor, and a five-megapixel camera, according to the "coming soon" page, and a front-facing camera is also said to be visible in the picture. The phone is said to offer 4G speeds capable of 42Mbps, although an earlier leaked roadmap that TmoNews ran the previous evening mentioned only 3G, which made the publication wonder whether the specs were to be trusted.

LG MyTouch Q? Mystery phone from T-Mobile web page
Source: TmoNews

Although neither the screenshot or the story makes it clear, one picture shows a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, which we assume belongs to the Q model.

In June, T-Mobile unveiled its latest MyTouch phone, the HTC-manufactured, 3.7-inch, MyTouch 4G Slide. Equipped with a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, the phone offers a fancy-pants eight-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, "zero" shutter lag, a backside illuminated sensor, and a wide aperture f/2.2 lens.

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