14 DAY TRIAL // South Korean mobile phone maker LG Electronics has just launched its first Android-based mobile phone in the UK, the LG GW620, which is now available in the country as the LG InTouch Max. The handset, which surfaced for the first time during the last year, when it was known as the LG Etna, is now listed as available in the UK via Virgin Mobile, and should soon become available via T-mobile too.
Those UK mobile phone users who will go for the device will be able to enjoy Google's Android 1.5 operating system, a 3-inch full touchscreen display, a side-sliding QWERTY keypad, a 5.0-megapixel photo snapper with video recording capabilities, an ARM11 processor, 256 MB of RAM and 512 MB of internal memory, a microSD memory card slot with support for up to 32GB of additional storage space, FM Radio, media player, as well as Bluetooth 2.1, USB 2.0 and Wi-Fi capabilities.
The LG InTouch Max also comes with support for GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz and UMTS 900/2100 MHz frequencies, as well as with HSDPA 7.2Mbps connectivity, built-in GPS receiver, HTML browser, email, SMS, MMS and IM capabilities, and support for a variety of services powered by Google, including access to the Android Market for application download.
Virgin Mobile has the new Android phone listed on their website for free with an 18-month contract on a £22-per-month plan, which also includes unlimited mobile Internet, unlimited texts, and 600 voice minutes. However, the carrier says that LG InTouch Max is out of stock, meaning that it still remains to be seen when the device will actually be put on sale.
As for T-Mobile, the other carrier expected to launch the phone on the UK market, it says that February is the time frame when LG's Android handset will arrive. The phone vendor already announced InTouch Max as available via both carriers, yet it seems that something didn't go according to plan in the end. Stay tuned for more.