LG's upcoming dual-core, Android-powered Optimus 2X is launching in Australia shortly, exclusive to Harvey Norman for $649 outright and not through the usual means of retailing it from a telco. It will then be available via open distribution as an unlocked handset "in the near future".

LG is pushing this phone and as they should, it is shaping up to be some serious competition for not only other Android-based devices, but Apple's unstoppable iPhone. The LG Optimus 2X packs some serious specs in the form of a 1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 4-inch capactive touchscreen display, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p full HD video recording, HDMI-out, DLNA and 8GB of internal memory.

It will initially sport Android 2.2 (Froyo) but LG has promised an "upgrade path" to the latest version of Android (2.3 Gingerbread) which will be "advised at a later date".