14 DAY TRIAL // Canadian carrier Bell is expected to introduce the LG Optimus Chic Android smartphone next week. Apparently, this will be Bell's first entry-level Android smartphone and it will be released on January 14th.
According to an internal support document leaked by All Things Mobile blog, the LG Optimus Chic is heading to Bell Canada, as the first Android device release of the year.
Customers who want to purchase the device will have to pay about $249.95 without a contract. This means that the smartphone will probably be offered for free for customers who choose to activate it with a 3-year contract.
Even though it has been tagged as an entry-level smartphone, the Optimus Chic specs are not so bad. The device is powered by a 600 MHz processor and runs on the Android 2.2 (Froyo) mobile platform, which is supposed to be upgradeable to 2.3.
It comes with a 3.2-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with 320 x 480 pixels resolution, multi-touch input method, accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, proximity sensor for auto turn-off and ambient-light sensor.
LG Optimus Chic packs a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, geo-tagging and video recording capabilities (VGA@30fps).
Other key features of the Optimus Chic include: HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g connectivity, DLNA function, 150 MB of internal memory, microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB, 2GB card included), Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP support, Stereo FM radio and GPS with A-GPS support.
The device is powered by a standard Li-Po 1250 mAh battery, which is rated by the manufacturer for up to 450 hours of standby time or up to 5 hours (5 hours 30 minutes for 3G) of talk time.
In addition, LG Optimus Chic comes bundled with unique features such as: ThinkFree Office, a preloaded application for editing and viewing Office documents, as well as Home Screen Dock, which provides access to Phone, Contacts, Messages and Browser.
