LG Begins Aggressive Smartphone Offensive

LG Electronics, a latecomer in the smartphone market, is waging an aggressive offensive in the sector.

The company said Monday that it will integrate smartphones to be released at home and abroad and Android-based Tablet PCs under the brand “Optimus.” It will also release more than four kinds of Android smartphones in the second half of the year.

The popular and high-end editions of Android smartphones as well as Android Tablet PCs and Windows Phone 7 smartphones will be sold under the Optimus name.

LG will introduce this month in the domestic market Optimus Z, which uses a touch pad instead of a qwerty keyboard used by Optimus Q released last month.

In September, Optimus One with Google, a globally popular edition, will be released in Korea, the U.S., Europe and Asia. It has the latest Android 2.2 with tethering, a function which connects a cell phone with a laptop for the Internet, and its SD card can store applications.

Some 120 cell phone service providers around the world will release Optimus One.

Another high-end LG smartphone will be launched in Korea this year. The yet unnamed model will execute applications with a 1GHz high-speed processor while minimizing energy consumption. Its 3.8-inch display is larger than that of the iPhone4.

The model can also record high-definition video and provide content such as pictures, music and movies on TV and PC.

Following the Optimus Chic, LG will introduce this year a smartphone with the Windows Phone 7 operating system to target consumers who value design as well as functions.

LG’s offensive seems to reflect the company’s determination to compete against Apple and Samsung Electronics in the cell phone sector. With its late entry into the field, LG saw its share of the domestic market drop sharply from 33 percent in June last year to 21 percent this month.

LG’s share of the global market decreased from 10.9 percent in the third quarter last year to 9.3 percent in the first quarter this year.

sukim@donga.com