LG to release full HD smartphone

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – LG Electronics Inc said Monday its new smartphone with a full high-definition screen will go on sale in South Korea this week before hitting shelves in Japan in April.

Models pose with LG Electronics’ new smartphone Optimus G Pro during a press conference in Seoul

The Optimus G Pro smartphone features a 5.5-inch screen that packs over 2 million pixels, or twice as many as smartphones with HD screens. The new Android-powered phone sports other upgrades including a camera that can shoot full HD videos and photographs.

The South Korean company, Sony Corp, HTC Corp and other phone manufacturers are trying to make high-resolution screens a key feature in their new smartphones this year.

Full HD screens are more common in televisions but smartphone makers began to embrace them this year amid cutthroat competition. One in every two smartphones is made by Samsung Electronics Co or Apple Inc, creating a hardscrabble fight among the second-tier of makers.