During its CES press event, T-Mobile became the first carrier to confirm the future launch of the LG G Flex during the first quarter with no pricing information confirmed.
First released late last year in Korea with a $1000 pricetag, the G Flex features a 6-inch, 720p curved Plastic OLED display powered by a Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM with a 13-megapixel camera housed above the two rear control button layout from the G2 with a new curved battery design, though it does not feature a microSD slot.
The phone also features a self-healing coating that can repair hairline scratches on the rear of the phone to keep the phone looking new longer. LG has stated the scratches are repaired “within minutes.”
In related news, T-Mobile has also confirmed the purchase of Verizon’s former 700Mhz A-block spectrum for $3 billion worth of its 700 MHz radio spectrum licenses for $2.365 billion in cash, plus the trade of AWS (1700 MHz) and PCS (1900 MHz) spectrum licenses worth approximately $950 million in select markets, for a total worth of over $3 billion.
The 700Mhz A-block licenses were previously purchased by Verizon from the FCC in 2008 but have been unused since their purchase. The licenses cover 21 of the top 30 markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Detroit; T-Mobile already has A-block licenses for Boston.
The transaction will give T-Mobile spectrum licenses covering a total of 158 million people with, T-Mobile expecting to launch 700 MHz service and phones by the end of the year. The licenses cover the “A” block of the lower 700 MHz band and the frequency block is already used by phones with LTE band 12 support, which are typically found on AT&T.
