LG sees LTE and quad-core reviving phone health

LG's mobile division lead Jong-seok Park in commentary Tuesday was hopeful of much stronger smartphone performance in 2012. He saw LG shipping 35 million smartphones this year, a 50 percent hike over 2011. Much of the push outlined to the Korea Times would come from eight million LTE-ready smartphones like the Optimus Vu.

Along with 4G, quad-core phones like the Optimus 4X HD and the proliferation of HD screens and video in the line would be the key to regaining a "once-lost brand awareness," Park thought. The L-Style phones would purportedly help by reviving the fashion-oriented focus not seen for the past few years.

LG has been showing early signs of recovery, although its smartphone profits and share still pale next to both its fellow Android supporter Samsung and to Apple. Both companies shipped more smartphones in the fall than LG hopes to ship all this year. A 50 percent improvement would be enough to start catching up and fend off smaller but possibly faster-moving opponents.

Much of LG's slump, which some have argued started as far back as four years ago, has been attributed to its reluctance to adapt to what was quickly defining the market. In late 2008, when Samsung was relatively eager to adopt Android and Apple's effect on smartphones was just starting to be felt, LG was signing a pact with Microsoft for Windows Mobile and downplayed its membership in the Android platform's Open Handset Alliance. Windows Mobile's poor state let Apple, HTC, and Samsung get large head starts while LG struggled, and LG kept its Android phones mostly to budget models until 2011.

By Electronista Staff

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iPhone, Microsoft, Google, htc, Windows Mobile, Android, LG, Samsung, Optimus, mobile phones, Apple, L-Style