LG has just announced an Android smartphone that’ll cost less than $100 when it goes on sale later this year. It’s called the L1 II and it has a 3 inch 320 x 240 pixel display, 1 GHz Qualcomm MSM7225A (Snapdragon S1), 512 MB of RAM, 2 megapixel camera, and there’s even 3G connectivity. What version of Android does it run? Get this: 4.1 Jelly Bean!
All this sounds impressive, the never end march of technology, but I’ve actually seen this device before. Go to just about any electronics store in Europe or Asia and you’ll find the Galaxy Y, Galaxy Pocket, Galaxy Pocket Plus, and Galaxy Young. they’re all roughly the same phone, with the Young being the most advanced, and they can be purchased for anywhere from $80 to $120, depending on whether or not there’s a sale running. That being said, I applaud LG, who is now the third largest smartphone maker, for entering this space. The bulk of smartphones that will be purchased within the next five years will look a lot like the L1 II and the Galaxy Pocket.
