LG's Lollipop-powered flip phone goes global as the Wine Smart

Late last month, LG announced the Gentle, a flip phone running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. The manufacturer is known to launch several clamshell phones in its home market, with the handsets usually restricted to South Korea. That's changed with the Gentle, as LG is now stating that it will make the Gentle — which will be branded the LG Wine Smart — available in select markets around the world later this month, starting with France, Italy, Poland, Spain, Kazakhstan, Japan and the United Kingdom.

LG mentions that the Wine Smart is designed for a "generation of users who are more accustomed to the feel of flip phones." The phone features a 3.2-inch display with a resolution of 480 x 320, quad-core 1.1 GHz Snapdragon 210 CPU, 1GB RAM, 4GB internal memory, microSD slot, 3MP camera at the back, front VGA shooter and a 1,700mAh battery. The handset also offers LTE connectivity, although there isn't a mention of the specific bands supported. On the software front, the Wine Smart runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop out of the box.

Pricing wasn't announced, but the Gentle retails for the equivalent of $170 in South Korea, so it is likely LG will be targeting the sub-$200 segment with the Wine Smart in international markets. Would you be interested in getting one?