LG's first ICS-flavoured phone breaks cover?

A slinky slim handset known as the LG Optimus U1 has snuck out onto the internet, with an anonymous source 'revealing' that it will be LG's first Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) handset.

The snaps, sent anonymously to GSM Arena, feature an Ice Cream Sandwich logo superimposed on to the blank screen along with "LG U1", which seems a little forced and makes us question whether or not the photos are legit.

Still, assuming that they are for real, there isn't a great deal we can glean from the photos anyway.

Buttonless

It would seem that the LG Optimus U1 could be LG's answer to the slim-jim smartphones that are all the rage at the moment, rivalling the waist-sizes of the Motorola Razr, iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S2.

There are few buttons to be seen in the photos; it looks like the main function button on the front is a physical affair, while the back and home buttons (which, admittedly, we can't make out very well) are touch-buttons.

The camera offers a respectable 8MP sensor, if the photos are legit, with an LED flash just below.

Silent witness

What makes us most suspicious is that the images don't match anything in the leaked LG 2011 line up – aside from the function button being a bit similar to the LG Prada K2.

But the LG K, which did feature in the line-up, didn't come with a render; we suppose it could have become the LG Optimus LTE, but the product numbers don't match.

So we're still hanging out for a high-end LG handset with a super-high-res screen and it would be a bit of a coup for LG if it also happened to be the first non-Googly Ice Cream Sandwich handset on the shelves too.

But do these photos show that handset? We doubt it but until we hear otherwise from LG, we can't rule it out.

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Motorola Atrix 2 breaks cover

Pictures and some details have emerged about the Motorala Atrix 2, the successor to Moto's dual-core Android handset.

The new offering seems to improve on the Motorola Atrix's power, with the processor set to be either a 1.2 or 1.5Ghz TI OMAP, according to Boy Genius Reports, as well as an 8MP camera, 1080p video camera capture and Android 2.3.5.

Back in August, TechRadar exclusively revealed that the original Motorola Atrix was also being tested for Android 2.3.

Camera improvement

The images show an improvement in the camera. Not only is it now 8MP, up from 5MP and matching the Galaxy S2, it can shoot 1080p video - something the original Atrix couldn't manage at launch. It is also now placed horizontal on the chassis, rather than vertical on the first Motorola Atrix.

The front of the chassis looks similar, with the same virtual buttons situated on the bottom of the handset.

There's no Motorola Atrix 2 UK release date but BGR is expecting it to come to carriers in the next few months.

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