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LG has announced that its G Flex phone — one of two commercially available curved smartphones — will be available in Australia from February.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
The phone will be a Harvey Norman exclusive, and have an RRP of AU$999, although the Harvey Norman site is currently taking pre-orders for AU$988.
However, LG is recommending it for the Optus Network, saying in its press release that the G Flex has “no compatibility with 3G networks for voice calls or date [sic] using the 850Mhz frequency band (Telstra or Vodafone)”.
In Australia, Optus uses both the 900Mhz and 2100Mhz spectrum for its 3G network. Telstra uses 850Mhz for its NextG branded 3G network — it used to also use 2100Mhz, but stopped in 2012. Vodafone, meanwhile, mostly uses 850Mhz. However, Vodafone representatives clarified to CNET Australia that the telco does also use 2100Mhz. The 2100Mhz band is “mostly used in urban areas where there is a smaller distance between cell sites. It allows more people to operate on the same cell site, and can manage high traffic.”
Vodafone said that the 2100Mhz band is considered “complementary” to 850Mhz.
There are at least six different models of the G Flex, some of which do support 3G at 850Mhz, such as the F340K which is currently being brought into Australia via parallel importing.
In terms of LTE, all carriers in Australia operate at least some 4G services across the 1800Mhz band, so assuming the G Flex supports that LTE spectrum, coverage is assured.
We’ve asked LG to clarify which model is being officially brought into Australia and we’ll update when more information comes to hand.
