Boost Mobile has announced the forthcoming launch of the LG Venice for $219.99 with the launch set for October 10th. The phone features Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, a 4.3-inch display, 1GHz processor, and the latest user interface from LG in UI 3.0. U.S. Cellular also sells the LG Venice as the Splendor, which was recently launched earlier this month. Additional features of the Venice include a 5.0 megapixel main camera with 720p HD video capture and a VGA front-facing camera, LG’s QuickMemo app, Wi-Fi, GPS, and stereo Bluetooth along with a Corning Gorilla Glass front over the display.
With Boost Mobile and U.S. Cellular both selling variants of the midrange LG L series phones that value aesthetics and performance, prepaid and regional carriers may be willing to take more chances on LG’s newer offerings, provided they meet more stringent cost targets typically found on prepaid and regional carriers. The fact that the phone also runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich also represents the rapidly declining costs of developing handsets with the operating system, although the availability rate of the software version still trails iOS 6 and the majority of Android development is still focused on Gingerbread, despite repeated calls for developers to target Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean.