LG Chocolate 3, announced for the US market exactly one month ago, together with LG Dare and LG Decoy, will be on sale starting July 13 (hence in two days - next Sunday). This piece of info is as official as it gets, since it has appeared today in a press release issued by Verizon Wireless, the only carrier to offer the new LG in the States.

The new Chocolate is unique for its series, as it comes in a clamshell form factor (the previously released Chocolate handsets were sliders), and since it's the latest sweet-named LG, it brings the most advanced features of all the Chocolate phones.

Users will get 1GB of built-in memory, an internal 2.2 inch TFT display (260K colors and 320 x 240 pixels), an external 1.76 inch screen with the same number of colors but only 176 x 220 pixels, a Flash UI, Music and Video players with dedicated external keys, a 3.5 mm headset jack, a 2.0 Megapixel camera with video recording, FM radio and FM transmitter, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, email, Web browser, Verizon-specific services (like VZ Navigator, V CAST Music with Rhapsody, V CAST Video and ESPN MVP), multimedia messaging, USB and so on. LG Chocolate 3 packs an 800 mAh battery that, theoretically, should keep it functional for up to 4.5 hours in talk-time mode and up to 350 hours in stand-by mode.

Talking about the new clamshell, Mr. Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of product strategy and marketing for LG Mobile Phones, said: "We are proud of the success and popularity of the Chocolate series of handsets, and are excited about the upgrades made with this new edition. The LG Chocolate 3 helps Verizon Wireless customers minimize the number of electronic devices they need to carry at one time, allowing for a large capacity of music storage and connection to a car stereo without any wires."

Those who sign a new Verizon contract agreement for two years can get the new LG for only $129.99 (after a $50 mail-in rebate). The handset will be available in two color versions (black and light blue) from all the Verizon Wireless Communications Stores across the US, as well as online, via Verizon's official website.