LG has burst out of the gates ahead of its rivals to reveal the Optimus Vu smartphone a week before the Mobile World Congress (MWC) event in Barcelona.

The Optimus Vu made its debut in LG's native South Korea at a press event and it is now clear that this high end mobile with a large five inch display will be directly competing with the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Unlike Samsung's 5.3 inch beast, which looks like an oversized Galaxy S2, the Optimus Vu will have a unique 1024x768 resolution display which is squeezed into a 4:3 aspect ratio.

LG says that it has taken this decision in order to make the Optimus Vu more comfortable to use, with a particular emphasis on eBook reading and web browsing.

Another area in which the Optimus Vu will echo the Galaxy Note is its inclusion of a stylus in order to allow the user far more precise control over the display.

Other confirmed hardware features include 32GB of storage space, a dual core processor clocked at 1.5GHz and 4G connectivity in countries where it is available, which for the time being, does not include the UK.

A 2080mAh battery is squeezed into the Optimus Vu to help power the large screen and despite its highly capable hardware the device will measure just 8.5mm thick, which is in keeping with the current trend for slim smartphones.

LG's continued reliance on Android 2.3 was revealed as the Optimus Vu will hit shelves with this ageing edition of the platform intact. However, Android 4.0 is promised in an update as soon as possible after it is released.

Like the Galaxy Note, users will be able to make voice calls and perform all of the other functions you would associate with a modern smartphone. But it will also be a hybrid device which muddles the boundaries between mobiles and tablets.

It is as yet unclear as to whom the Galaxy Note and now the Optimus Vu are being sold, because no research has been published on the subject. It would be interesting to learn whether they are being bought by people who want a tablet experience blended with a smaller smartphone form factor in order to avoid carrying two devices around, or by those who already own both other device types and are looking for a third type of option.