This past summer, we gave you a sneak preview at LG’s upcoming smartphone lineup. One of the models featured was the LG Univa, a low-end handset designed to take the place of the Optimus One in LG’s lineup. Later on, we saw the phone show up in the flesh, and shortly thereafter learned of plans to release it as the Optimus Hub. Now it looks like that same hardware could be back, sporting a few small changes, and finally embracing its namesake as the Optimus 2.

LG quietly added the Optimus 2, model AS680, to its site. That number appears in FCC paperwork, showing that LG applied for the handset’s certification back in August. From the specs that LG’s made available, the Optimus 2 sounds nearly the same as the Hub/Univa, but there are a few small differences. The Optimus 2 gets the four-button layout popular in the States, and features a 3.2-megapixel camera, instead of the Hub’s five-megapixel shooter. Also, this model is clearly designed with US operation in mind, featuring a CDMA/EVDO radio instead of the Hub’s GSM/HSPA.

Other than that, though, the Optimus 2 shares many specs with the Hub. That means an 800 MHz processor that just sounds underpowered in this day and age, but at least represents a step-up from the original Optimus One. The 3.2-inch display (a downgrade from the Hub’s 3.5-inch) is also a low-end component, with only an HVGA resolution.

Presumably, if LG is making the Optimus 2 public at this point in time, it intends to show the handset at next week’s CES. If we’re lucky, pricing and release details will follow.

We’re also curious about the decision that led to naming the phone. After all, we’d expect to see the Optimus Two instead of the Optimus 2, considering that the original was the Optimus One, not the Optimus 1.

Source: LG, FCC

Via: Droid Dog