After months of leaks and rumours, the LG G3 has finally and officially been announced. Much like the rear controls introduced by the LG G2, the LG G3 offers a number of new and improved features. This includes a 5.5-inch display with 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution resulting in a super high pixel density of 538ppi. The design has been upgraded with a polished brushed metal casing that is both lightweight and fingerprint-proof. The full tech specs and features list for the LG G3 are listed below:

• 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor
• 2/3GB DDR3 RAM
• 16/32GB storage (eMMC ROM) + up to 128GB microSD
• 5.5-inch 2K display (IPS, 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, 538ppi)
• 13MP rear camera (OIS+, Laser Auto Focus) + 2.1MP front camera
• 146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9mm | 149g
• 3000 mAh battery (removable)
• Supports 4G / LTE / HSPA+ 21 Mbps (3G), Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth Smart Ready (Apt-X), NFC,
• SlimPort, A-GPS/Glonass, USB 2.0
• Features Smart Keyboard, Smart Notice, Knock Code , Guest Mode, 1W speaker + Boost AMP, Rear keys
• Android 4.4.2 KitKat

OnePlus has promised us a smartphone with some awesome hardware built in. These tech specs include a Snapdragon 800 processor which is the same as the current range of flagship smartphones now. Surprisingly, the OnePlus One smartphone has managed to outdo many of these smartphones with an AnTuTu Benchmark score of 35715, placing it above the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, LG G2 and Sony Xperia Z Ultra. Malaysia release dates and pricing have yet to be revealed but it could go from $400 (RM1312) and be available from Q2 of 2014.

Rumours about the impending LG G2 mini have turned out to be true as LG just announced the LG G2 mini which they say is the first compact smartphone that LG are coming out with. Based on the LG G2, the LG G2 mini will follow the standard mini version practice of cutting down the features while keeping the same look and feel as the original smartphone it is based on. That being said, the cut down isn't as bad as we thought it might be as you can see in the tech specs and features below:

• 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Quad-Core MSM8926 (LTE) / MSM8226 (3G)
• 4.7-inch display (IPS, 960 x 540)
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB storage + microSD
• 8MP Rear camera,  1.3MP front camera
• 129.6 x 66.0 x 9.8mm | 121g
• 2440mAh battery (removable)
• Android 4.4 KitKat
• Supports Cat. 4 & VoLTE, HSPA+ 21Mbps (3G), Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), A-GPS, NFC (4G LTE version only)
• Titan Black, Lunar White, Red, Gold (depending on region)
• Plug & Pop, Guest Mode, Clip Tray, Quick Window, etc.

Taking over from the LG G Pro, the LG G Pro 2 was officially announced recently, offering even more features and the latest tech specs. It is the first LG smartphone to have a 13MP OIS+  (Optical Image Stabilizer Plus) camera and adds a number of other features including 120 fps HD slow motion video recording, 4K Ultra HD video recording and other camera centric features. That's not all, as other features and tech specs for the LG G Pro 2 include:

• 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 800
• 3GB DDR3 RAM
• 16GB/32GB eMMC ROM + microSD slot
• 5.9-inch Full HD IPS (1920 x 1080, Slim Bezel)
• 13MP Rear camera (OIS+) + 2.1MP front camera
• Supports LTE / HSPA+, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), NFC, SlimPort
• 157.9 x 81.9 x 8.3mm | 172g
• 3200 mAh battery (removable)
• Android 4.4 KitKat
• Titan, White, Red colours
• Other features Knock Code, 1W Hi-Fi Sound, Content Lock

Well, it turns out the earlier rumours we reported on are true as LG themselves have confirmed that they are working on an LG G2 mini smartphone. This comes from a teaser image of the smaller version next to the LG G2 on LG's own Facebook page. The teaser doesn't confirm any Malaysia release dates but we expect it to come at the MWC Expo 2014 at the end of this month. So far, tech specs and features have yet to be confirmed but rumours indicate that the LG G2 mini could have a Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB RAM and a 4.7-inch screen. This would make it just a smaller version of the LG G2, and something we'd definitely look forward to more than the standard cut-down mini most other smartphone makers tend to come out with. No news on pricing, but we're hoping it doesn't go too high.

Rumours about a mini version of the LG G2 have been going about for some time. Initially known as the LG D620 the device was recently confirmed for Bluetooth  certification so we should see it soon despite no specific Malaysia release dates or pricing. Semi-confirmed tech specs for the LG G2 mini include a 540 x 960 pixel resolution display, an 8MP rear camera and that it will come running Android 4.4.2. While other tech specs have yet to appear, the available tech specs point towards a standard mini smartphone with cut-down features from the original LG G2. We're hoping that the camera for the LG G2 mini will at least have OIS (optical image stabilization) but this is rather doubtful. Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted.

Anodized (champagne) gold colour smartphones are not new, especially as there are versions for the Apple iPhone 5S and HTC One, but it appears that LG are also looking to do something similar as well. This time around a gold coloured version of the LG G2 will soon be available in Taiwan. Thankfully, the prices are still the same at 14900TWD (RM1628) for the standard 16GB version. Tech specs and features for the gold version remain the same though. No Malaysia release dates on when we'd get a gold LG G2 here in Malaysia but stay tuned and we'll keep you updated. In all likelihood, we'll probably see it with local sellers first before it comes officially from LG.

With 2014 already here, we look back at the year 2013 for all the awesome mobile phones to have come out in 2013 for Malaysia. There were quite a lot of them, so we picked based on innovation, performance, design and potential successfully delivered. In no specific order we list out the following mobile phones that rocked our world currently available with local Malaysia support as follows:

• HTC One - The First Good-looking Android Phone
• Sony Xperia Z - The First Stylish Water-proof smartphone
• Samsung Galaxy S4 series - A performance smartphone for every user
• Nokia Lumia 1020 - The Ultimate Cameraphone
• LG G2 - Best all-rounder performance with functional rear controls
• Sony Xperia Z1 - The most feature-filled smartphone
• Nokia Asha 500 series - Bringing hybrid smartphone capabilities to the masses
• Apple iPhone 5S - The world's first 64-bit smartphone with well-done fingerprint scanner
• Nokia Lumia 1520 - The Videographers phablet
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 - The Ultimate Phablet with 3GB RAM
• Motorola Moto X - Always on and always listening
• Vivo Xplay 3S - World's first 2K display smartphone
• BlackBerry Z10 - World's first BlackBerry smartphone with no QWERTY keyboard

The upcoming LG Odin octa-core chipset and processor rumoured to be used in the just as rumoured LG G3 has recently been benchmarked on AnTuTu. Scoring 27184, the reason for the lower performance (the LG G2 scored 35069) could be because the LG Odin was just clocked at 100MHz-1.0GHz. Considering that the Snapdragon 800 on the LG G2 is clocked at 2.26GHz we should be able to expect even better performance from the LG Odin. Then again, the higher clock speed does come at the price of a shorter battery life, so if the LG Odin could reach the same performance but offer better extended battery life, this would also be a good deal in our opinion. The benchmark also revealed that rather than run all 8 of the cores at the same time, the AnTuTu benchmark reveals that it is running the ARM big.LITTLE architecture where only one set of 4 cores are running at a time. Graphics performance was exceptionally high though, as it uses the PowerVR Series 6 GPU which is the same series used on the Apple iPhone 5S. Other tech specs and features include a 1080 x 1920 display resolution, 2GB of RAM, 4GB of storage and Android 4.2.2. The rather small 4GB of storage is to be expected though as this is probably still very much a prototype device. No news about Malaysia release dates or pricing for the LG G3 but with it just at prototype stage for now, it seems likely it could be in Q2 or Q3 of 2014.

Despite recent successes in the smartphone market like the LG G2 and the notable LG G Flex, LG is apparently shifting their focus from smartphones to more successful industries. Despite positive response for these latest of smartphones, LG will be shifting their focus to TVs and related industries as these are getting better overall response. This news comes courtesy of Korean media who say that this will result in less LG employees working on smartphones and more on HDTVs. While this doesn't mean that LG will stop production completely it does mean we're less likely to see cutting edge smartphones from LG in the near future. However, LG are likely to continue development on flexible screens as curved and bent OLED screens are just as likely to be used in the TV industry as they are in a smartphone. Rather than be a player in the smartphone field, LG are likely to become parts suppliers instead. Here's what one analyst had to say about it:

"With the premium market slowing down and Chinese companies charging forward in the sluggish mid-to low-priced market, there is not much choice for LG Electronics. For starters, it may be better off to improve its financial status by increasing its TV sales, and then invest properly in the smartphone business."