A wave of positive reviews overseas for LG Electronics’ newest smartphone, the G2, is fanning the company’s hopes for better luck in the market this year.

CNET called it a “speed demon,” noting that the “menus flew by with almost blinding swiftness.”

Trusted Reviews claimed it was not just LG’s best phone so far, but is “shaping up to be one of the best phones ever made.” 

Ubergizmo raved about the decision to install power control buttons on the back of the device, saying they have become “believers in the rear-button layout.” It predicted that LG was “on to something” with its latest phone.

In an online survey conducted by Phone Arena, almost 40 percent of the 3,197 respondents chose the G2 over HTC’s One and Samsung’s Galaxy S4.

The G2 was introduced in New York last week amid much fanfare. LG had built up wide anticipation with promises that the new gadget would be the best in its smartphone lineup so far.

The G2 comes with a 5.2-inch full HD screen, trimmed around the sides with a tiny 2.65-mm bezel. It runs on Qualcomm’s 800 Snapdragon processor and LG Chem’s 3000-mAH batteries.

More noticeable was the innovative software and interface, including the “rear key,” a first for any smartphone in the market.

Other features include the screen coming to life with just a quick tap, and call answering by simply putting the phone to the ear. The phone also carries a 13-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization for blur-free photos.

More than 100 carriers around the world including Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile will start carrying the device over the next couple of months. LG is the world’s third-largest smartphone maker following Samsung and Apple.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)