LG – the world’s third-largest mobile manufacturer – has become the latest major handset vendor to unveil an Android-powered smartphone. This morning the South Korean company introduced the LG-GW620 (pictured, left), which will be available in some European markets from the fourth quarter. Pricing details were not revealed. The device features a 3-inch touchscreen and slide-out QWERTY keypad. “This Android phone is just one of many smartphone models we plan to introduce worldwide in the years ahead,” commented Dr. Skott Ahn, president and CEO of the company’s mobile division. The move follows last week’s news that LG will introduce a minimum of 13 new smartphones over the next 16 months that support rival software platform, Windows Mobile.

Taiwanese vendor HTC currently offers four Android-powered smartphones, making it the market leader in this category. Samsung and Huawei are the only other vendors to have commercially launched Android phones to date, although Motorola made a high-profile announcement last week that will see its new Cliq device go on sale next quarter. All the major handset vendors – with the exception of Nokia – are expected to launch a wide range of Android-powered smartphones in the coming quarters.