LG releases details on the Optimus 4X HD, its first quad-core phone

LG today leaked specs of the Optimus 4X HD, one of the first smart phones powered by a quad-core processor. Quad-core-processors are significantly faster than the dual-core chips powering today's fastest phones and promise to give the phones that have them a "PC-like" performance with greater battery efficiency.

The 1.5-GHz Tegra 3 processor in the Optimus 4X will have a "fifth battery-saver core" to handle less-demanding tasks such as active standby and music playback. When running at full speed, the 12-core graphics processing unit (GPU) in Tegra 3 delivers a visually rich experience and console-quality game playability.

The phone, which is 8.9 mm thick and features a "prism-edged" design, will have a 4.7-inch (1280 x 720) True HD IPS display, an 8-megapixel camera with a backside illumination sensor camera with LED flash, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for self portraits and video chats, and 16GB of internal memory. No carriers or availability dates have been announced, though LG says the phone will launch with the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS.

LG says it will reveal more details about the phone on February 27 at the 2012 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. Yesterday, the company announced the Optimus 3D Max, its second 3D phone.

—Mike Gikas