LG's Android-based Optimus Z launches first in Korea
updated 10:55 am EDT, Thu July 29, 2010
Optimus Z becomes LG's flagship phone at home
LG today launched its promised Optimus Z early with a release in its home country of South Korea. The phone occupies the higher end of the spectrum with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 3.5-inch 800x480 screen and a five-megapixel camera. In a unique touch, it has a PC-to-phone link that can control phone, app and e-mail functions from a computer over either Bluetooth or USB.
As shipped to Korea, the phone is heavily tailored to local features and has T-DMB live TV tuning as well as local apps. About 100 are the most popular on the Android Market in the region; another 70 aren't available in the Market at all. Android 2.1 will ship on this early version of the phone rather than the promised 2.2, but an upgrade is due by the end of the year.
Both KT and SK Telecom are selling the Optimus Z today. The phone had originally been promised for the fall, and it's implied that an international version of the Optimus Z may be available at that point. LG's only comparable phone in North America today is the QWERTY-equipped Ally at Verizon.
