LG recently announced the LG G3 Cat.6 smartphone, which opens the doors for US users to get their hands on a premium device powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 805 processor. We missed it the first time, when the 805 processor was included in the Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A made solely for the Korean market, placing it largely out of reach for US buyers. That could all change with the G3 Cat.6.
Super SoC
The Snapdragon 805 system on a chip (SoC) is rightly sought after by Android device users. It’s capable of supporting 4K display resolutions, including capture and playback features and the added ability to pipe video out to a 4K HDTV. Even more enticing, the processor enables a device to tap into some amazing Internet speeds, topping out at 300 Mbp/s. The Snapdragon 801 processor found in the existing LG G3 is capable of half of that, at 150 Mbp/s. It should be noted that few networks offer support for such speeds internationally, and it is virtually nonexistent in the United States. Even so, the marriage of the Snapdragon 805 processor and the proven LG G3 phone technology will whet the appetite of more than a few gadget lovers.
What about the US?
So the big question is “when?” Unfortunately, the Cat.6 is also heading to Korea. According to NDTV Gadgets, “The smartphone has been listed on the LG Bestmall website, the company’s shopping portal for South Korea.” Yet all is not lost. A separate report from Droid Life references a reassuring statement from LG Greece, which claims that a device for markets outside of Korea is currently in the works, though it may not be released for three to four months.
That is great news for customers here in the US. Now there is an identifiable urgency and need to build stronger network infrastructures to support devices capable of faster network speeds such as LTE-A. This will also create more homes for 4K display tech.
What do you look for in a smart device processor? Are you holding out for LTE-A and 4K supported devices?
Image courtesy of Flickr
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