LG G Flex curvy phone on pre-order for mind-bending £690

LG's bendy new G Flex smart phone has gone on pre-order here in the UK -- but you'll have to bend over backwards to get one. Mobile retailer Expansys has put the curvaceous new blower up for sale for a staggering £690.

It's no less mind-bending on contract. Carphone Warehouse has it on deals from £52 per month, and that doesn't even get you a free phone -- it's another £79 upfront, or £49 upfront if you pay £57 per month.

Why so wallet-slashingly expensive? There's the face-hugging arched design, of course, requiring the very latest in curved OLED screen technology, built on plastic substrates rather than the usual glass. You'll be envy of your mates, with their pedestrian flat phones.

The 6-inch screen offers 1,280x720 pixels for a density of 245 pixels per inch -- far less than the Samsung Galaxy S4's 440ppi Full HD display. Perhaps all that contortion limits the number of pixels that can be crammed in, but not even hitting retina density (somewhere around 300ppi, where you can no longer make out individual pixels) is disappointing for a phone this costly.

We can unscratch it, we have the technology

Not content with one bit of mobile innovation though, LG also includes a special scratch-healing coating, and can withstand someone standing on it. (Amusingly, LG originally sent out a press release hailing the G Flex's amazing "Wolverine-like" powers, before someone hurriedly retracted it in case Marvel's lawyers went thermonuclear.) We very much look forward to testing that to destruction.

Inside it's not quite as eye-catching. There's a hefty 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM -- terrific specs right now, but quite likely to be superseded by phones coming out this spring, such as the Samsung Galaxy S5. It runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean too, which isn't even close to the latest version of Google's software. Its vast 3,500mAh battery is at least impressive.

If you want to check out the G Flex yourself, get down to an EE store in your nearest big city -- they have limited samples for customers to try out. All the participating shops are listed here.

Otherwise, you're stuck watching our hands-on video. Take it away, Lynn:

Are you flexing your credit card in preparation for the G Flex? Or have you got your eye on another top-notch blower this year? Flex your commenting muscles below, or over on our scratch-resistant Facebook page.