LG G4 Android Smartphone Leaks Online

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Technology giant LG spoiled its own surprise this weekend by temporarily making a promotional website for its upcoming G4 smartphone available.

The micro-site, which has since been taken offline, offered some new information about the smartphone, which will boast a camera with a variety of high-tech features, including image stabilization, an infrared color accuracy sensor, and the ability to shoot in fully manual mode.

The site was discovered by Evan Blass, a tech industry blogger with a history of leaking information about upcoming phones.

Blass posted the discovery on his Twitter page with the cheeky comment, "Say hello to the LG G4," along with a photo of the smartphone and a link to the promotional page.

The leak resulted in about a dozen photos of the device pouring out onto the Web, some of which show the G4 with a leather-clad rear section, which will come in at least six colors -- black, brown, gold, light blue, red, and yellow -- as well as three plastic-backed models in what looks like white, gold, and grey.

Other new information gleaned from the photos includes specifics for a 3,000 mAh battery, which is removable, an SD card slot for additional storage, and shots of the operating system in action.

Two of the photos draw special attention to the sophisticated f/1.8 camera and its software, outlining features such as different shooting modes and other manual controls. 

LG had previously released information about the smartphone, such as its 5.5-inch QHD screen employing an IPS Quantum display boasting 2560 x 1440 resolution.

The company had previously planned to make a splashy debut on April 28 -- it remains to be seen if LG will go ahead as planned in the wake of the leak.

Regardless of LG's plans, analyst opinions are already rushing in, with Lee Seung-woo, from IBK Investment & Securities, telling The Korea Times that despite the fact that the leather-backed G4 seemed to be an impressive product, robust sales of the Samsung Galaxy S6, among other competing models, did not provide favorable market conditions.

[Read about the history of smartphone operating systems.]

The analyst also predicted sales of the G4 would fail to match those of the company's G3 model, which has hit sales of 10 million since its introduction in May 2014.

The incident marks the second time in as many weeks that LG has been at the center of an inadvertent product outing. An LG press release was issued March 31 saying the company was in alignment with Apple to produce 8K display for its upcoming iMac desktop computers.

Similar to the G4 leak, LG removed the press release containing the Apple information, but not before eagle-eyed bloggers had disseminated the information across the Web.

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