It appears that MetroPCS has laid claim to a world’s first in the smartphone arena by announcing the availability of the LG Connect 4G handset, which is the first commercially available voice over LTE (VoLTE) smartphone to become available to the public.

According to a report over on Slash Gear, the LG Connect 4G is available to purchase from MetroPCS as of right now at select stores, whilst MetroPCS have stated their will continue to roll out VoLTE services along with other devices over the coming weeks.

The LG Connect 4G is an Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone sporting a 4-inch NOVA touch screen along with a 5 megapixel rear facing camera with flash, 720p HD video, a VGA front facing camera, 1.2GHz dual core processor, 1GB RAM, 1.78GB internal storage, Bluetooth, WiFi, 4G LTE connectivity, and microSD expansion.

The LG Connect 4G measures 4.59 x 2.45 x 0.46-inches with a weight of 4.83 ounces, and sports a 1500mAh battery that is said to deliver up to 4.5-hours talk time and up to 250-hours standby time.

Price wise the LG Connect 4G can be purchase from MetroPCS as on off contract smartphone commanding a price tag of $249 after a 50-buck mail in rebate.

Any of our readers over in the good old US of A hoping to snap up the LG Connect 4G to gain that voice over LTE functionality?