South Korean mobile phone maker LG Electronics announced today that an improved version of its LG Lotus was on its way towards the United States market. The new device has been upgraded with a digital TV (DTV) chip, yet it looks about the same as the original handset, except maybe for the external mobile TV antenna and the support for ATSC-M/H standards it now includes.

The new phone comes with a clamshell form factor, just as the predecessor, includes a QVGA internal display, shows a QWERTY keypad when flipped open, and also sports a 2-megapixel photo snapper, as well as a microSD memory card slot that enables users add more storage space into the equation. The original Lotus has been launched in the US back in 2008, and it seems that its successor is set to arrive during the next year, but not before making a pit stop at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, roughly a week from now.

According to the handset vendor, the DTV-enabled LG Lotus won't arrive alone at CES 2010, but together with a portable DVD player called LG DP570MH. The new devices, LG states, come with the LG2160A ATSC-M/H chip, which is also expected to be included in a series of products that will arrive on the market from makers like Dell, Kenwood and Hyundai Kia Motors.

CES 2010 is also the place where the company is expected to announce the launch of a new mobile phone that will become available in the US via wireless carrier Sprint. According to earlier speculations, the duo might unveil either the LG Lotus 2 or the LG Prada III, though there have been some suggesting that a Windows Mobile-powered WiMAX phone from LG is in the works as well. Further more, an Android-based LG device has been recently spotted in Sprint's system, and we might hear of an announcement regarding it in the end. Keep an eye on this space to learn more.