LG Optimus L3 II, L5 II, L7 II leak out ahead of announcement

LG's trio of second generation Optimus L-
series smartphones has made an
appearance before their official
announcement. The LG Optimus L3 II, L5
II, and L7 II have received expected
hardware upgrades over their
predecessors, while keeping the same
design language which lead to over 10
million units sold.
The entry-level LG Optimus L3 II from
the image above will feature a beefier
1GHz CPU and improved IPS display
panel, compared to what its predecessor
had to offer, while keeping the same size
and resolution. The camera will be a 5MP
unit - up from 3.2MP for the older
model.
The LG Optimus L5 II on the other hand,
will pack a 1GHz Cortex-A9 CPU and
PowerVR SGX531 GPU - a serious update
over the 800MHz Cortex-A5 silicon of the
first generation. The display is tipped to
be a 4" WVGA unit, while the OS on tap
will be Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.
Finally, we have the LG Optimus L7 II,
which is scheduled to add an extra CPU
core compared to the original . Reports
point at a Qualcomm Snapdragon
MSM8225 1GHz dual-core unit, Adreno
203 GPU, and 768MB of RAM. A 4.3"
WVGA display, 8MP camera, 2,460mAh
battery, and Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean are
also expected at launch.
Dual-SIM versions of the LG Optimus L5
II and L7 II are also expected, given the
L-series' popularity in developing
markets.
We are all but certain that the new LG
Optimus L-series trio will break cover
during MWC in Barcelona later this
month. We will be out there in full force,
so we will tell you all about the new
devices.

Sprint offers buy one - get one free deal on LG Optimus G

Sprint is offering a second LG Optimus G
unit for free to everyone that purchases it
for $199.99. Of course, both the
smartphones would require two year
contracts.
The offer from Sprint is quite attractive,
considering the fact that the quad-core
powerhouse is still one of the most
powerful smartphones in the market.
For more information on the Sprint's LG
Optimus G BOGO promotion and services
offered, check out the carrier's official
website.

Vodafone suggests its iPhone 4S users do not update to iOS 6.1

Apple had recently released the latest
update for its iOS platform, improving LTE
support and fixing a few bugs.
Unfortunately, iOS 6.1 seems to be
having issues with connecting to the
internet, sending and receiving texts and
also occasionally with making and
receiving calls on the iPhone 4S.
That's why Vodafone has advised its
Apple iPhone 4S customers to refrain
from updating to the latest version, until
Apple fixes the 3G performance issues.
Similarly, one of our readers from India
claims to have got a confirmation from
Apple itself on the bug issues.
The good news is you won't be missing
much if you skip the update for now,
except for the new Siri functionality.

Alleged Galaxy S IV camera samples surface on Google+

The Samsung Galaxy S IV remain as
elusive as ever, but this time we get a
glimpse of some camera samples, which
were accidentally uploaded on Google+.
One of the photos shows a Samsung
branded desk calendar, so chances are,
these are coming straight from Samsung's
HQ (or more probably some regional
Samsung office, which has lower security
standards).
Unfortunately, the resolution of the
photos is not the full one (biggest size is
6MP) and the EXIF information doesn't
tell us much about the camera mounted
on the Samsung's next flagship.
The only technical details we get is that
the camera on both Galaxy S IV models
uses a relatively bright aperture of f/2.2
(it's f/2.6 on the S III) and that the focal
length is 4.2 mm (it's 3.7mm on the S
III). Unfortunately, on its own the focal
length measurement is not comparable
between different camera modules.
Another thing that the EXIF info tells us is
the model name of the South Korean
version (SHV-E300S) and the model
name for the AT&T version (SGH-I337) .
Of course, the EXIF info can be easily
tampered with, so take these findings
with a pinch of salt for now.
In a streak of related news,
AndroidGreed.com reported that the
Galaxy S IV model name for Sprint will be
SPH-D806 , while the one for Verizon
should be called SCH-V727 . According to
their insider source, the smartphone will
launch in the US in early June.
The international version on the other
hand is supposed to be named GT-i9500

LG Optimus G Pro image and specs revealed

G Optimus G is still one of the most
powerful smartphones on the market, but
the rumors of its successor are already at
full swing. The image and the
specifications of the international version
of the LG Optimus G Pro have been
leaked and the smartphone is rumored to
be launched at the upcoming Mobile
World Congress.
The upgraded version of Optimus G is
rumored to come out with a 5.5" full HD
IPS-LCD display and will be powered by a
1.7 GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor
with 2 GB RAM, 13-megapixel rear
camera, 2-megapixel front camera,
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and LTE radio built
in.
LG Optimus G Pro will also feature 32 GB
internal memory and will support
microSD cards up to 64 GB. The device
will be powered by a huge 3,140mAh
battery, which sounds quite impressive.
LG will be aiming to attract a larger
consumer base with its powerful Optimus
G Pro in a market, which will be occupied
by the likes of Samsung Galaxy S IV , HTC
M7 and Sony Xperia Z.

LG Optimus 4X HD, L7, and L9 to get Jelly Bean within months

We recently heard that the LG Optimus
4X HD is getting the Jelly Bean update in
Q1 2013, but now the same source from
Android.caotic.it has spotted LG Hong
Kong publicly announcing that Jelly Bean
for the 4X HD, L7, and L9 is coming in the
first half of 2013.
Pardon our Chinese, but the translation
goes roughly along these lines:
[Jelly Bean upgrade]
We are happy to announce that the
following LG Optimus phones will get an
upgrade of the operating system to Jelly
Bean during the first half of this year! We
will keep you informed!
1. P880 Optimus 4X
2. P705 Optimus L7
3. P765 Optimus L9
Unfortunately, the people behind the
Facebook page had no information on
other smartphones.
LG has a tendency of being a bit late with
these schedules, so we'd guess this
should better be taken as "this year"
rather than anything else.

ASUS to hold its MWC 2013 press conference on February 25

We just got invited to join ASUS for its
press conference at the Mobile World
Congress that will take place on February
25.
ASUS joins the growing list of companies
that are going to host a press conference
and unveil their latest products at the
industry’s largest event. The invite is
entitled “In search of incredible” and has
illustrated a large number 8 or, depending
on how you look at it, the symbol for
infinity.
Is the company hinting we can expect a
new addition to the Infinity line of
Android tablets or a Windows 8 slate?
We’re not sure yet, but chances are we
will also see the long-rumored 7″
Fonepad make its debut at the event.
Whatever the case, be sure to come back
come February 25 (Monday) as we’ll fill
you in with everything ASUS has to
announce at the MWC.