Preliminary hardware specifications and a leaked image of the LG Optimus 3D 2 smartphone have made their way onto the Web ahead of Mobile World Congress 2012, courtesy of folks over at ETNews.

LG launched the original Optimus 3D on June 7, 2011 in the United Kingdom on Clove and again on September 4, 2011 in the United States on AT&T as the LG Thrill 4G. The original device features a 4.3-inch (480 x 800) 3D LCD display at ~217ppi pixel density with Corning Gorilla Glass, a 1GHz dual-core Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 Cortex-A9 SoC, 512MB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR, a 3.5G HSPA+ radio, dual 5MP 3D cameras and Google Andoid 2.2. Froyo (updatable to Android 2.3 Gingerbread).


Image Source: ET News

According to the report, it is widely speculated that the LG Optimus 3D 2 will feature a 4.3-inch HD AH-IPS display panel with ~326ppi pixel density, which should provide more vivid colors and better viewing angles without compromising on battery peformance. In addition, the second-generation smartphone will boast a 1.2GHz dual-core Texas Instruments Cortex-A9 SoC, Bluetooth 3.0, a 3.5G HSPA+ radio, dual 5MP 3D cameras with new 2D-to-3D conversion capabilities, a Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip and Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (eventually updatable to Android 4.1).


Image Source: PocketNow

While not a revolutionary advancement over its predecessor, the LG Optimus 3D 2 does manage to slightly improve processing performance and is almost 20 grams lighter than its predecessor with a thickness profile of just 9.8mm. Last year, LG was criticized heavily for using a bulky frame in the original Optimus 3D despite its hardware configuration. While the frame issue is now fixed with a more aesthetically pleasing device, we can't help but criticize the company's unoriginal naming choice for the second-gen iteration. Optimus 3D 2, really? We believe certain main character in the Transformers (Hasbro) series would not be pleased.