It seems that a number of major mobile manufacturers are getting all of their more affordable smartphone announcements out of the way, ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), in order to clear the board for the next range-topping models.
The LG Optimus 2 is one such modest mobile which has made an appearance for the first time this week, giving users on a budget yet another competitive Android 2.3 handset to consider.
It features a 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen display and a 3.2 megapixel camera, both of which seem relatively tame by contemporary standards, but should be suitable for anyone who wants to save some cash on their next mobile purchase.
You can see where certain savings have been made when you look at the onboard storage, which only amounts to 179MB. Thankfully, the retail version of the Optimus 2 should come bundled with a 2GB microSD memory card and you may even have a higher capacity unit lying around at home, which you can add.
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS connectivity are all features of the Optimus 2 and so it should be more than capable of getting you online at speed and providing you with location-based services when you are out and about.
The Optimus 2 only has an 800MHz processor, but this is again something that should not necessarily hold it back.
The one risk LG is taking by releasing this handset is that it could become confused with the LG Optimus 2X, which was launched in the first half of 2011 and was one of the only mobiles at the time to feature a dual core 1GHz Tegra 2 processor.
In the intervening months, the Optimus 2X has dropped in price significantly and although it is not quite down to the same level as the Optimus 2 might occupy, it shows just how much mobile you can get for your money at the moment.
The LG Optimus 2 joins the Samsung Galaxy M Style and Galaxy Ace Plus in being one of the growing number of cut price Android handsets that will be hitting the market over the next few weeks. Although the specifications differ between each device, it seems that the one constant is the inclusion of Android 2.3.
This week Google announced that Android 2.3 was now the most widely installed edition of its mobile operating system, finding a home on 55 per cent of compatible handsets and tablet computers.
Although Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is now available on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and will be available as an update for a number of existing smartphones, the rollout has been slow so far and Android 2.3 is still ruling the roost.
About 30 per cent of people are still using Android 2.2 Froyo, while only 0.6 per cent are running Android 1.5 Cupcake, presumably on some of the first generation handsets created to use the software following its launch.
As Google looks to consolidate the Android ecosystem with Ice Cream Sandwich, this fragmentation will hopefully decrease.