A summer of smartphone launches | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Nokia, Google and LG are all gearing up to unveil new premium handsets in the coming weeks, here's what to expect:

Nokia

The Finnish phonemaker has somehow managed to let almost everything about its latest phone leak prior to its official launch. With mere days to go before its July 11 launch, the only thing that remains unclear about the next Windows Phone 8 handset is its name.

It could be called the Lumia 909 or the Lumia 1020. The handset will feature a 41-megapixel image sensor for professional-quality photographs even in low-light conditions. This sensor, along with its camera app, will also mean 'lossless' digital zoom, i.e., being able to blow up pictures without losing resolution or detail.

It will also come with 32GB of internal storage (but no SD slot for further expansion) and a 4.5-inch OLED display.

Google

The company this weekend sent out 50 invites to a Motorola press even on July 10 and 11 which could very well see the Moto X handset unveiled for the first time. Unlike Nokia, Google has managed to keep most details about this phone a well-guarded secret.

What is known for sure is that it will use sensors in an intelligent, contextually aware way so that the handset can do things automatically that other phones can't.

One such thing is launch the camera app when the user brings the phone up to his or her face, or automatically activate the hands-free mode when it senses it is in a car. The phone can also be customized but Google hasn't elaborated on this detail, or confirmed whether the customization extends to the device's chipset and RAM or if personalization is confined to background wallpapers, and the shape, color and texture of its shell. And, Google being Google, there is every chance that the event will have absolutely nothing to do with phones. We'll have to wait and see.

Unlike Google, LG has been very clear that on Aug. 7 it will be debuting its next flagship handset, the LG G2. It will feature extra control buttons on its rear casing, will boast a 5.2-inch full HD display, a whopping 13-megapixel camera, 3GB of RAM and the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.