LG announced the G3 Beat smartphone as the first flagship variant to attract mid-range consumers who cannot afford the pricey G3 smartphone.
LG, the maker of smartphones and other electronic gadgets, announced Thursday a new flagship variant called the G3 Beat. The latest addition to the company's G series comes as a replacement to the traditional "mini" version. The G3 Beat is a ripped down version of the G3 flagship smartphone with lowered specs and great value for the mid-range consumers.
Following the flagship release with different variants is a growing trend among the top manufacturers like Samsung. LG joined the game when it released the LG G2 Mini last year and now it continues the tradition in its own style. The Korean tech giant dropped the "mini" moniker from the new entry in the G series, clearly because the G3 Beat is not an ideal mini version of the G3.
"Smartphone manufacturers cannot ignore this growing segment of consumers who want the best balance of looks, features, performance and, of course, price," Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG, said in a press release, last Thursday. "The LG G3 Beat represents our commitment to the mid-tier smartphone market that demands mature technology, proven branding, great innovation and attractive price, all in a single device."
According to the released specs, the G3 Beat features a large 5-inch display with a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. It is powered by a Quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB internet storage. LG has also trimmed down the camera pixels from 13-megapixels in the G3 to 8-megapixels in the G3 Beat, along with a 1.3-megapixel shooter in the front. Based on all lowered specs, LG G3 Beat sports a 2,540mAh battery, which should be sufficient to keep the phone running like its elder sibling.
The G3 Beat hasn't fallen completely out of the radar as it borrows some of the high-line specs from the high-end G3. Design-wise, consumers will not be cheated as the G3 Beat is a replica of the G3 with its Floating Arc Design. The camera will be of great value in the G3 Beat, as it sports G3's laser auto focus, Touch & Shoot, Gesture Shot, among other features like the Smart Keyboard and QuickMemo+. The smartphone will support 4G LTE bandwidth and run Android 4.4.2 out of the box.
The pricing structure of the G3 Beat was not immediately available, but the phone-maker confirmed that the device will launch in its home market first followed by a global rollout. Given the specs one can expect the price of the G3 Beat to be in the affordable range.
