By Claire Reilly

With many of the major smartphone brands, including Sony and HTC, announcing product launches off the back of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, LG has announced pricing and availability for its new Optimus G smartphone, as well as a promotion worth $25,000 to spruik the device.

The Optimus G will go on sale in Telstra stores from 12 March, and will be available for $0 upfront on the $60 Every Day Connect plan. Pre-orders for what LG has billed as the next “Superphone” begin today.

To drive pre-orders through Telstra, LG is conducting a major marketing spend, offering consumers the chance to win “the ultimate Australian F1 Grand Prix experience valued at $25,000” according to a media release from the brand.

Consumers who preorder between today and Monday 4 March will be elible to for the promotion, which includes flights for 2 to Melbourne, accommodation, a hot-lap in an F1 car, grandstand passes and a pit lane walk as well as $1,000 spending money.

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Here’s Jonathan Banks, LG Electronics’ new head of Mobile Communications.

“Optimus G has generated a tremendous amount of positive interest and we want to make sure that customers anticipating the ‘Superphone’ will have the opportunity to get their hands on one as soon as possible.

“The LG Optimus G is a serious contender in the highly competitive post-paid market, and it is packed with class leading technologies. We believe this is simply the greatest Android handset to arrive in Australia to date.”

Full terms and conditions for the promotion can be found on LG's F1 consumer promotion webpage.

Current.com.au contacted LG for details on availability of the new device for other telcos and electrical retailers, as well as information on broader marketing plans for the new device. A spokesperson for the brand said this information would be made available in mid March. 

LG is hoping to drive sales of its new "Superphone" with a consumer promotion for F1 fans.