LG sells 10M LTE-enabeled smartphones worldwide

The LTE-equipped LG Optimus G Pro.

LG Electronics announced today it has sold more than 10 million LTE-capable smartphones worldwide as the company grapples with dwindling market share.

The milestone comes a little more than six months after the company announced it had surpassed 5 million sales of LTE-enabled phones.

"Aggressive pushing forward with 4G LTE technology allows LG [to] satisfy the needs of consumers and is a huge factor in our growing success in global LTE smartphone sales," LG CEO Jong-seok Park said in statement. "Having established ourselves as a major industry player, we will continue to expand our footprint in the global LTE market with a wider range of differentiated, high quality LTE smartphones."

LG said it hopes to double its LTE smartphone market presence in 2013 as LTE smartphone shipment growth is expected to triple. Market researcher Strategy Analytics said in December that its data indicated global LTE smartphone shipments would hit 275 million this year.

The company attributed its explosive growth in the segment to its expansion this past year into markets such as the United States, Japan, Germany, and South Korea. Recent rollouts of the LG Optimus G in more than 50 additional countries also contributed to the milestone.

As impressive as the sales figure is, LG continues to lose ground in the LTE market, according to Strategy Analytics. In the third quarter of 2012, LG's market share fell to 9 percent from 15 percent in the previous quarter. Samsung remained the market leader even though its share fell from 51 percent to 40 percent. Apple brought in 26.7 percent for second place.

The announcement comes on the heels of LG's overhaul of its Android product line at the Mobile World Congress last month in Barcelona, Spain. LG says it is targeting the spectrum of LTE customers with its G series for deep-pocketed early adopters, the F series with the mission of "4G LTE for everyone", the lower-end L series, and the Vu tablets.

Source : Cnet

MWC 2013: LG lifts the curtains on its 6.9cm wireless charger

LG Electronics today unveiled what it calls "the world’s smallest wireless charger" at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The WCP-300 is only 6.9cm in diameter, and despite its diminutive size, LG claims its charging range is 1.7 times wider than that of the company's previous generation wireless charger. The new model is compatible with a standard 5-pin MicroUSB charger.

The WCP-300 employs an electromagnetic induction technology and is Qi-certified by the Wireless Power Consortium. Electromagnetic induction produces a magnetic field which in turn generates an electric current to charge the batteries in devices placed on the charging pad. Certification ensures that the WCP-300 is compatible with all smartphones that support the Qi standard.

“Wireless charging is the holy grail of smartphone user convenience,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “With the WCP-300, LG was able to deliver both portability with top-class charging capabilities in a device no larger than a typical beverage coaster.”

Both the LG Spectrum 2 and Nexus 4 feature built-in support for wireless charging right out of the box, eliminating the need to purchase separate covers. LG believes that built-in support for wireless charging will be the most critical development in making wireless charging the industry standard going forward.

LG calls it the world's smallest wireless charger

In addition to the buzz at MWC 2013, there is a lot of noise around LG's February 27 event. We have received press invitations to an event LG is hosting on February 27. A representative from the company informed us that the event is indeed concerning LG’s smartphones. We're guessing this could possibly be the long-awaited launch of LG’s flagship handset—the Optimus G— in India. The smartphone was launched in the rest of the world last year, but we have yet to see the handset on Indian store shelves.

However, LG announced its Optimus L Series II earlier this month. It's possible this event could be for launching this smartphone in India, and not the Optimus G.

Of course, since we’re feeling especially speculative, we're also wondering if the company may actually launch the Nexus 4 here. This idea, however, is far into the Wild Mass Guessing territory, as the last Nexus device we saw being launched in India was Samsung’s Nexus S. But since we don't know anything else about the event or what it'll entail, we can't really say what will be launched or announced.

The Optimus G is loaded with a plethora of features that will surely entice anyone remotely interested in smartphone technology. It is equipped with a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 SoC and an LTE chip. The device also promises longer battery life, a thinner profile, a brighter display and a new touchscreen panel technology as a result of the vertically-integrated development process. This smartphone is almost the same as the LG Nexus 4, except for the LTE chip, the camera and some minor differences.

The Optimus L Series II will be following the same design philosophy of previous phones in the L series, but with some new design elements, including laser-cut contours, a radiant rear design and LED lighting on the home button.

LG lowers cost of LTE smartphones with Optimus F series

The Optimus F5 and Optimus F7 are both powered by dual-core processors and have big batteries

 

IDG News Service - LG Electronics has launched the Optimus F5 and Optimus F7 smartphones, which will bring LTE to a "mass audience."

Global LTE smartphone shipments are expected to triple this year, allowing the technology to take off on a grander scale and driving down device prices, according to market research company Strategy Analytics.

LG agrees: "The adoption of LTE is expected to explode in 2013," and with the two new devices the company wants to show that 4G techology "isn't just for heavy content users and techies anymore. It's for everyone," according to a statement.

LG didn't say what the phones will cost, but the specifications provided by the vendor hint at a lower price tag. The Optimus F5 has a 4.3-inch screen, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a 2,150 mAh battery. The Optimus F7 has a bigger 4.7-inch HD screen, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and a 2,540 mAh battery. Both phones will use Android Jelly Bean.

The worldwide rollout of the Optimus F5 will start during the second quarter in Europe, followed by the Optimus F7 in selected markets. Details on timing and pricing will be announced at a later date, according to LG. The phones will be displayed at Mobile World Congress, which starts Monday.

The Optimus F family follows in the footsteps of the Galaxy Express, which was launched by Samsung Electronics in January. It is powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and has a 4.5-inch screen.

LTE smartphone shipments will grow from 90.9 million units in 2012 to 275 million in 2013, according to Strategy Analytics.

By the end of 2013, there will be numerous midrange models available for under $200 wholesale, according to Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics. However, LTE won't start to spread to the low-priced devices until 2014 or 2015, he said.

Optimus F5 Key Specifications:

• - Operating System: Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2
• - Processor: 1.2 GHz Dual-Core
• - Display: 4.3-inch IPS (256 ppi)
• - Size: 126.0 x 64.5 x 9.3mm
• - Memory: 8 GB / 1 GB RAM / microSD (up to 32GB)
• - Camera: 5.0 MP AF / 1.3 MP
• - Battery: 2,150mAh

Optimus F7 Key Specifications:

• - Operating System: Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2
• - Processor: 1.5 GHz Dual-Core
• - Display: 4.7-inch True HD IPS (312 ppi)
• - Size: 131.7 x 68.2 x 9.6mm
• - Memory: 8 GB / 2 GB RAM /microSD (up to 32GB)
• - Camera: 8.0 MP AF / 1.3 MP
• - Battery: 2,540mAh

LG Tab-Book: Windows 8 Hybrid Launched with Intel Core i5 Processor

LG Electronics has revealed its new device Tab-Book. The company will be displaying its own version of a tablet-notebook hybrid device at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2013 in Barcelona. The Tab-Book is said to come with Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology to give a high speed internet experience. The Tab-Book come with a hidden slide-out physical keyboard. A mere press of the Auto-sliding button, brings out the keyboard from behind the screen, for quick typing.

Geun Kwon, Senior Vice President and Head of the LG Home Entertainment Company's IT Business Unit said " The Tab-Book is going to appeal to consumers who want the convenience of a tablet but also the productivity of a notebook and don't want to carry two devices all the time"

According to LG, the Tab-Book is going to be far more functional than any conventional tablet.

The tablet will run on Windows 8 and will be powered by an Intel Core i5 processor. The Tab-Book will feature a 5-point multi-touch screen. The Tab-Book has a In-Plane Switching (IPS) display which enables a wide 178-degree viewing angle.

LG Tab-Book will be launched in Korea this week. The company is expected to announce additional market availability shortly.

LG Optimus G Pro recap and countdown

We all remember back in 2012 when the original LG Optimus G was released and this was a fantastic smartphone, so now it is time for the new LG Optimus G Pro recap and countdown. This new handset is set to launch in April this year and at the moment not too much has been said about it, so here is what we know so far.

Phones Review has already reported that the Optimus G Pro could possibly be revealed on March 15th with an April release. The International version should be announced at MWC 2013 and we cannot wait, NTT DoCoMo already unveiled the Japanese version.

What is the difference between the LG Optimus G and the Pro then? This is simple really, the Optimus G had a 4.7-inch display and the Pro version will come with a larger 5.5-inch screen, at the moment the only difference we can see is the display size.

The Optimus G Pro key features include a 5.5-inch IPS-LCD Full HD display, 1920 x1080 pixels, quad-core 1.7 GHz Snapdragon processor and 2GB of RAM. It will also come with 32GB built-in memory and can be upgraded to 64GB thanks to the microSD card slot, other features will include a 13-megapixel camera, 2MP on the front, 4G LTE, Three’s Ultrafast DC-HSDPA network will be included as well as 3140 mAh battery. The operating system will be none other than the Jelly Bean flavour.

We LG Optimus G Pro will go on sale around April in Japan and probably the same time or near about for the international version. Let the countdown begin, will you be buying the LG Optimus G Pro when it releases worldwide?

LG unveils Optimus G Pro with '2.5D' display

LG has revealed the design of its new Optimus G Pro smartphone, including a curved glass display that gives a "2.5D" view.

Officially unveiled on LG's Facebook page, the new Android handset features a quad-core processor, which Engadget believes will be the Snapdragon S4 Pro.

© LG

LG Optimus G Pro with '2.5D' display

The 5.5-inch full 1080p HD screen uses curved glass that LG says will produce a "2.5D" viewing effect.

On the rear is LG's familiar 'digital cube' pattern, and the firm has fitted narrow left and right bezels to minimise the thickness of the device.

The LG Optimus G Pro is expected to launch at the end of February in Japan and South Korea.

More information on the phone is expected to come at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show later in the month.