Of late, LG's alleged 5.5-inch 1080p phablet has been making the headlines frequently. Now, reports suggest that the phablet will make way to shelves as early as next month after the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2013 event.

Korean publication ETNews reported that LG will announce a 5.5 inch 1080p flagship phone at the MWC in February and users may get to lay their hands soon on the device just after the launch. Usually, Apple iDevices are released just within weeks after the launch, so it may not come as surprise if LG starts releasing its devices soon after the launch.

Previous rumors suggested that LG may launch a variety of new devices, including smartphones, tablets, TV's et al at the International CES 2013 (or CES 2013); however, the company may decide to leave the debut of some of its devices for MWC as well.

The 5.5-inch Full HD display phablet is expected to pack in 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution and 403 pixels per inch (ppi). The pixels density is close to a 5-inch Full HD screen. HTC's Droid DNA is the first in the industry to have a 1080p display resolution, but it seems that LG will soon join the bandwagon to give some competition to the HTC offering.

ETNews also indicates (translated) that South Korean smartphone maker Pantech will also launch a phone using the same LG manufactured 5.5 inch 1080p panel. Pantech focuses more on the domestic market; however, with the company's popularity growing in Korea and with the increasing demand of smartphones globally the company may start expanding to other markets as well.

The year 2012 was very demanding for smartphone makers and it appears that 2013 will be more challenging for handset manufacturers who will look to develop 1080p smartphones.