LG launches Galaxy Note's competitor in India for Rs 34,500

After first launching it in the Korean market, LG has now brought it's Phablet (smartphone+tablet) offering in India. The smartphone, LG Optimus Vu P895, has a five-inch screen and it will directly compete with Samsung's popular Galaxy Note (I and II) offerings. The device was first unveiled at the Mobile World Congress, 2012 event in Barcelona in February this year.

The mobile phone has a five-inch IPS capacitive touchscreen (768×1024 pixel resolution) display and runs on the Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, which should be upgradable to Android Jelly Bean. This device is powered by a 1.5 GHz Quad-core processor and has 1GB of RAM. The internal memory of the device is 32GB.

Also, similar to the S-Pen in Galaxy Note, the device will also have a Rubidium pen created especially for Vu, that the company claims would provide better writing without the pen slipping from the screen.

It comes with an 8 MP auto-focus rear camera with 8x digital zoom and LED flash that can record full HD videos (1080p) at 30 frames per second and a front facing 1.3 MP camera for video calling. On the connectivity front, the device comes with Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi and 3G and it also has a micro USB 2.0 port. Additionally, the device comes with A-GPS support and Near Field Communication (NFC). Having NFC also means that the device will support Android Beam.

The dimensions of the device are 139.6 mm x 90.4 mm x 8.5 mm and its weight is 168 grams. The device has a 2,080mAh battery that the company claims will provide up to 16 hours of talk time and 510 hours of standby time. The device is available in black and white colours and is priced at Rs 34,500.

In comparison, Samsung's original Galaxy Note offering (with a 5.3 inch screen) is priced at Rs 29,990 while the new Galaxy Note II (with a mammoth 5.55 inch screen) is available for a price of Rs 38,900. You can also get detailed specifications of both these devices here and here. Other competitors of the device can be HTC's One X (Rs 34,999) that sports a 4.7 inch screen and Samsung's Galaxy S III (Rs 34,900) with a 4.8 inch screen.

And while the smartphone is a decent offering, you should know that the company has already unveiled (as well as launched) its successor in the Korean market called Optimus Vu II.

(Edited by Prem Udayabhanu)