Aug 07, 2013 01:03 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

LG is getting back in the smartphone arena to compete with Apple and Samsung with the unveiling of its G2 model, CNET reported.

The new smartphone was revealed Wednesday and its hardware specs are impressive. It features a 5.2-inch full HD screen and runs on a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, the first global phone to use the high-end chip. It is LTE advanced capable for areas like South Korea, as the U.S. does not yet have the faster network.

The most obvious difference is the location of the power and volume buttons being on the back of the phone instead of on the side. LG said its device was designed that way because studies showed side buttons were harder to access with larger phones.

"The most innovative aspect of the G2 is the design, with the rear key being the feature everyone has been talking about since the news became public," Jong-seok Park, CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications, said during the company's launch event. "It is certainly different. However, the sole purpose of this design shift was not just to be different. It was born from one of our key findings in human research."

It also comes with various features for easy access. Holding down the volume up button will activate an application called "QuickMemo" for jotting down a note. Holding the volume down button accesses the camera, while the power button no longer is necessary to turn on the screen. G2 users can simply tap the screen twice to turn the display on.

LG has had trouble keeping up with its South Korean counterpart Samsung, but has made some promising strides recently. According to data released Wednesday by the International Data Corp., LG shipped 12 million smartphones during the second quarter.

LG took after Samsung's S4 in designing the phone to cater to people's every day needs. For example, users can answer calls by raising the phone to their ear, information can be embedded into text messages and "guest mode" protects a user's private information when someone else uses the device.

The phone also has a 13-megapixel camera with anti-shake features and eight times zoom. Stock with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, the G2 also has a long lasting battery life, estimated to be just more than a day on a single charge.

"There have been a lot of innovations in the spec battle...however, that doesn't make our life better," Ramchan Woo, LG's head of LTE product planning, said during a small meeting with reporters. "The fundamental quality is the most important [feature] for the smartphone."

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