The LG G2 is coming. The Korean manufacturer has gone so far as to confirm the name of the handset and the event that it will be launched at.

Couple that with the plethora of leaks which have surrounded the handset, originally dubbed the Optimus G2, and there's very little left to actually find out about LG's next flagship smartphone.

Following on from the Optimus G and Optimus G Pro, the G2 will take its place at the top of LG's mobile lineup and it's hoped it will get a bigger global rollout than its rather Asia-orientated predecessors.

We've pulled together the most coherent news and rumours from around the web to bring you an overview of what you might be able to expect from the LG G2.

LG G2 release date and price

LG has been giddy over its G2 launch event, failing to contain its excitement and blurting out that it will be showing off the flagship handset on August 7 in New York.

Having spelled out the name of the handset and the launch date, we're still a little unclear on the LG G2 release date, although rumours point towards a late August/early September launch.

Pricing is equally as elusive at the moment, but taking a look a the specs below the G2 will probably be going head to head with the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4, Nokia Lumia 1020 and iPhone 5 - so expect to be shelling out a lot.

LG G2 display

The LG G2 is a flagship device which means it's going to be sporting a pretty big display with a juicy resolution to really show off.

Various leaks have pointed towards a 5-inch, full HD screen and apparently it's cued up to sport a super thin bezel, which should keep the dimensions somewhat under control.

However more recent reports have suggested that the screen may actually be slightly larger, with a couple of leaks pitching 5.2 inches as the display size.

Resolution is thought to be a pin-sharp 1920 x 1080, putting the G2 in line with other full HD handsets such as the Sony Xperia Z and Galaxy S4.

LG G2 processor

You can expect to find a pretty meaty processor packed inside the LG G2, with a 1.7GHz quad-core chip appearing as an early leader in the leaks.

A benchmark test claiming to be for the LG G2 shows that the handset could have a Snapdragon 800 processor - which was later confirmed by Qualcomm and LG as the chip of choice for the next generation G-series mobile.

Another report claims there will be a number of variants of the G2, with some packing 2GHz chips and others a more tame 1.5GHz option.

There's also been the suggestion that the G2 could even pack a punchy 2.3GHz quad-core processor, which would deliver some serious power - so in short the speed is still up in the air.

What seems to be staying consistent throughout all the chatter however is the RAM, which has been listed as 2GB pretty much everywhere.

LG G2 operating system

With Android 4.3 all but confirmed and featuring on the new Nexus 7 2 tablet, the LG G2 is really set up to roll off the production line with the latest version of Google's operating system, or so you may think.

Some reports have said that the G2 will launch with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, which is certainly not out of the question as manufacturers tend to be a bit behind Google and its software rollout cycle.

It's also been suggested than the G2 could launch with an even older version of the OS, Android 4.1.2, but this seems pretty unlikely.

• What's Jelly Bean? Read our Android Jelly Bean review

Other specs

Storage is another important aspect on today's smartphones and the LG G2 should sport a respectable 32GB of internal space - although some of that will be taken up by the Android OS. There's no word currently on any microSD slot.

Battery life is always a concern with the highly powered, large screened, full HD handsets and early reports pointing towards a 3000mAh power pack look to be a little optimistic.

More recently, images have popped up apparently confirming a 2540mAh battery for the G2, which is a touch smaller than the Galaxy S4 but bigger than the HTC One - with the added bonus of also being removable.

If the G2 is to go head to head with the Galaxy S4, Xperia Z and Lumia 1020 it will need to have a half decent camera, and a 13MP snapper should fit the bill.

A little design quirk which looks almost certain to be on the LG G2 are a couple of buttons on the rear of the device, just below the camera lens.

From various photo leaks these keys appear to be replacing the traditional volume rocker switch usually found on the side of smartphones.

There's even a video online claiming to show the LG G2 in all its glory - back buttons and all.

Source : techradar[dot]com

Mobile by Sainsbury's, the supermarket's Vodafone-partnered network, has launched today, hoping to entice you with some tasty pay as you go deals.

The handsets on offer aren't anything to write home about but the SIM deals do look pretty good. The Basic bundle gives you 8p per minute calls, 4p texts and 50p for 25MB of data per day.

Then there are three 30-day options - £10, £15, and £20 - all with varying minutes and data, but with unlimited texts across the board.

Plus, you get Nectar points when you top up. Just like on Tesco Mobile but, you know, totally different.

More blips!

Now checkout some of our other blips:

• Ashton Kutcher, he of 'Jobs' movie fame, might be the new face of Lenovo
• Revealed: how Netflix lets you live the stream dream
• 3D printing already consigned to a museum

Source : techradar[dot]com

It's financial results season again, a chance for all the tech companies to insist that everything is fine and we're doing just as well as our competitors thank you very much and hope against hope that no one looks too closely at the actual results.

LG is busy crowing that it shipped a record number smartphones (12.1 million) between April and June 2013, but it's keeping its dip in profits compared to last year couched in fluffy language.

So while the company's net profit of US$139.04m is "down slightly from the same period last year" it also "improved significantly" from the previous quarter.

The previous quarter being January to March, the quarter in which nobody really buys anything.

Anyway...

The mobile division itself has done fairly well out of that 12.1 million smartphone record: operating profit was up compared to last year but down from the first three months of this year because of "weaker demand in the Korean market".

It's expecting that the LG G Pro and LG G2 will revive things, as well as pinning its hopes on mass-market phones like the L-Series and F-Series.

Over in LG's home entertainment division (TVs, Blu-ray players and their ilk) operating profits of $95.37m were up compared to the first quarter, which LG thinks is down to "stronger sales in developing markets" and "successful new models". Three cheers.

But the division's income is down compared to last year's figures because of weak demand and intense competition which in turn meant LG had to opt for lower than average selling prices.

It's hoping that investing in bigger screen TVs and Ultra HD and OLED sets will pull it out of the slump.

Don't worry though, there's still cash coming in from the Home Appliance and air conditioning sides of things, both sections reported record highs.

Source : techradar[dot]com

With just about everyone announcing their all-too-exciting financials right now, EE has come out to predict a bright future for 4G.

The network announced it has doubled the rate at which it signed up 4G customers in the second financial quarter compared to the first three months of the year, with some 687,000 people now on the high speed service.

According to the company, 56% of those buying or upgrading with EE are now opting for either 4G contracts or 4G-ready phones. While it's a positive sign, the 687,000 figure means that still only around 2.5% of its customers are on LTE.

EE now covers almost 60% of the country and the network is planning to push that up to 98% by the end of 2014, while aiming for a cool million customers on 4G by the same time.

Keep rolling, rolling, rolling

To coincide with these celebrations, EE also announced that it's rolling out its 4G LTE network to 10 new UK towns.

So if you happen to live in Altrincham, Bedford, Camberley, Crawley, Farnborough, Farnham, Maidstone, Rochdale, Tonbridge or Welwyn Garden City, 4G will be available in your area starting today. You lucky things.

But wait, there's more! EE continues to push out its double speed 4G, adding Belfast, Newcastle and Southampton to its ultrafast lineup.

Source : techradar[dot]com

The BlackBerry A10 has allegedly popped up in another photo leak, this time with both its front and back sides entering the spotlight.

Vietnamese Twitter user Vũ Thạnh (@nvthanh1994) snapped three photos of what he claims is the BlackBerry A10, code named "Aristo."

The BlackBerry Z10 successor is rumored to pack a 5-inch 720p Super AMOLED display, a 1.7GHz dual-core processor and discrete GPU. It's also said to have eight and 2-megapixel cameras, 16GB of storage, LTE, NFC, microSD, a 2,800 mAh battery and BlackBerry 10.2.

Wow, we actually have a lot on this device, don't we?

Those specs might not exactly make the BlackBerry A10 a Galaxy S4 or HTC One killer, but it should nevertheless prove the most powerful BB10 phone yet.

Home for the holidays

The BlackBerry A10 is expected to arrive in time for the holidays, possibly as early as November.

Today's leak seems to match the last one, which appeared earlier this month on BGR.

Shortly after that leak, a full A10 specs sheet for the expected BlackBerry hero leaked as well.

Yet another A10 leak, also from Vietnam, appeared around the same time, this one a video.

The exact form factor of the A10 has yet to completely take shape, as few have held it in their hands, but we're certainly liking the look of it. Expect to see more and more of the A10 as the summer comes to a close.

• Sprint may be late to the BlackBerry Q10 party, but the U.S. carrier could lead the charge when it comes to the A10.

Source : techradar[dot]com