The LG Optimus Star has been pictured again, this time switched on and running a version of Android, but it isn’t Gingerbread.
First pictured by Engadget, more images of the device were then revealed by a member of Androidforums.com and published on Phandroid. It is running an LG skin with Android 2.2 Froyo, which means it might not hit with Android 2.3 Gingerbread as we originally hoped.
Of course the lack of Gingerbread now doesn’t actually mean the LG Star won’t have it when released. And even if the handset launches with Froyo, the Android 2.3 upgrade could follow afterwards, although it’s hard to predict how long that would take.
The LG Star should have a 4-inch display, an Nvidia Tegra 2 chip and 8-megapixel camera with LED flash. It will be capable of 1080p HD video recording, while the photos also show an HDMI port. It’s also suspected to have a capacitive 480×800-pixel display, although there have been conflicting reports.
The member of the forum who published the photos, Berryjuice, said the devices outclassed his Samsung Galaxy S.
So far LG has concentrated on Android devices at the lower end of the market, with devices like the Optimus One and Chicaimed at people who are just starting with Android. It currently lacks a high-end Android phone to compete with the Samsung Galaxy S or HTC Desire HD.
But next year could be a turning point if the Star and possible Optimus tablet live up to expectations. LG has seen HTC and Samsung run away with some very well-regarded, successful phones this year, and the company will be keen to show it’s still a force.
Image credit: Berryjuice, Androidforums.com