LG’s Optimus Vu series has always been a bit of an enigma, the original 4:3 aspect ratio smartphone was announced in February 2012, shipped one month later in Korea and reached the U.S. some six months later. Then LG released the next version the Optimus Vu 2 in September 2012 and besides a few changes to the specs, it was difficult to tell the difference between the two. It is now rumored that LG is preparing to launch the Vu 3 (sans the Optimus tag) and this one looks like quite a different beast.
While keeping the 4:3 aspect ratio of its predecessors the LG Vu 3 will use a 5.2 inch 1280 x 960 display up from the original 5 inch 1024 x 768 display. The processor will get an upgrade from a dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 to a quad core Snapdragon 800, currently the leading mobile processor. The LG Optimus Vu 2 featured 2GB of RAM and it is likely that the LG Vu 3 will offer the same amount.
The expected model numbers are F-300K, F-300L and F-300S but there is no information yet on how these will differ, but they probably signify different region variations. Also anticipated is a 13MP rear camera and it is assumed that the device will include a stylus like the previous Vu devices. There is no word on which version of Android will ship by default with the device.
On the connectivity side the handset is rumored to support LTE-A and it will be launched first in Korea which currently boasts two LTE-A networks. IFA 2013 is suggested as the possible launch event for the device. The IFA consumer electronics show runs from September 6 to 11 in Berlin.