LG's 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro is the first with a Snapdragon 600 quad-core CPU

LG finally showed off the XL 5.5-inch version of its upcoming Optimus G Pro at the end of a Facebook promo last week, and now it’s revealed a launch date in Korea, more specs and a window for its arrival in North America. Also of note? Its CPU is the just-announced quad-core Snapdragon 600 that’s supposed to be a milder upgrade (compared to the potentially 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800) to its predecessor, the powerful S4 Pro. New software tweaks include a dual record that uses both cameras simultaneously and VR Panorama that appears to be similar to Google’s Photo Sphere stitching.

Besides the extra screen space and updated internals, the larger version also sports a slightly larger battery than the Japanese version announced previously by NTT Docomo, with 3,140mAh compared to 3,000, but keeps the 2GB of RAM, 13MP rear camera, microSDXC slot and LTE. The phone will be released on local carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus on Wednesday for 968,000 won ($897), while a North American launch is mentioned for Q2 along with the Japanese release. We’ll find out more about this phone — and likely a few others — at MWC 2013 later this week, for now check out the press release after the break for more specs.

Gallery: LG Optimus G Pro 5.5-inch