LG Arena bound for Australia

Man the rigging, scrub the decks! LG has announced that its flagship mobile phone for 2009, the LG Arena, is setting sail and heading towards Australia.

LG promises the Arena will deliver "an exhilarating multimedia experience" featuring multimedia capabilities never before seen on a mobile handset. Information from LG lists DivX playback and on-board Dolby audio, but no specific information as to what these new technologies are. The multimedia experience will be enhanced by the Arena's 480x800-pixel resolution touchscreen display.

Most intriguing is the custom user interface in use on the Arena. LG will implement a system it calls 3D S-Class UI, which features a 3D cube home screen design, giving users four screens of shortcuts for quick access to applications and services. The cube is rotated by swiping finger gestures across the Arena's 3-inch touchscreen.

Alongside the touchscreen and multimedia, the Arena also features a 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and built-in GPS receiver, though no news yet if LG intends to pre-install navigation software on the handset.

The LG Arena will debut at Mobile World Congress this week, and the company promises more local information to Australia some time in March.