LG Stylus 2, first smartphone with DAB+ radio support coming to Australia

LG Electronics announced the world’s first smartphone sporting DAB+, the digital radio standard. The new LG Stylus 2 with DAB+ will be available in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom, confirmed LG.

The LG Stylus 2 featuring a DAB+ chipset and an exclusive app will allow customers to enjoy digital radio broadcasts out-of-the-box. For those who are not aware, the “DAB+ is the de facto standard for digital radio broadcasting.”

The digital broadcast can carry more advanced data and tout features like caching, which is similar to streaming. The DAB+ radio is an upgraded version of the regular DAB and delivers excellent audio quality. It is free and requires no carrier data.

“We are taking a proactive approach towards the fast-paced technological shift to digital broadcasting with DAB+ to deliver a new paradigm of experiences through the smartphone,” said Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company in a press statement.

The company is yet to reveal the LG Stylus 2 release date. The smartphone was launched at the Radiodays Europe 2016, the world’s largest radio conference which took place in Paris.

To incorporate the DAB+ technology in the new LG Stylus 2, the company teamed up with the International DMB Advancement Group (IDAG).

“We are proud to help introduce a game-changing smartphone with an innovative company like LG. The combination of broadcasting and the internet opens up a vast array of possibilities for the future,” said Gunnar Garfors, president of IDAG.

The smartphone features a 5.7-inch display screen with resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, a quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 16GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot for memory expansion up to 128GB.

With its 1 watt speaker and 3,000mAh removable battery, the LG Stylus 2 will be a perfect device to enjoy multi-media content, added Juno Cho.

In related news, LG's first modular smartphone, the LG G5 pre-order will start from March 18 on Best Buy.