LG Electronics World’s No. 3 Smartphone Maker
A recent Reuters report states that LG Electronics Inc of Korea has
emerged as the world’s No.3 Smartphone maker in the US$ 223 billion
market, spurred on by record sales of high-end models of the LG Optimus
series.
LG’s Smartphone market share rose to 3.2% in the fourth quarter with
sales soaring to unprecedented heights to become No.3 in the Smartphone
market ahead of rivals HTC Corp, Sony and Blackberry.
The boosts in sales of LG Smartphones have pushed LG Electronics
shares up by 54% to recover from their 2012 low in July. The shares
ended trading at 2% up on Thursday at 86,600 won, which is the highest
price traded for more than a year.
LG’s high-end models of the Optimus series have made huge inroads to
capture world markets because of their powerful and innovative hardware
and software features and an exceptionally fast 4G connection. LG is
optimistic that the trend in booming sales will also help to increase
sales of their lower-end segment as well.
LG has already announced that software upgrades for its flagship
Optimus G Pro model will allow users to access features that Samsung
touted as major selling points of its upcoming Galaxy S4. The move is
the latest attempt to boost appeal to upmarket consumers before rival
products hit the market.
The features that LG will be introducing include Motion Detecting
Technology that stops and starts videos depending on whether someone is
looking at the screen and snapping pictures.
The five-inch Optimus Pro was launched in South Korea in late
February and in Japan earlier this month. It is LG’s fastest selling
smartphone with record sales hitting 500,000 units in the first 40 days
of the launch. Analysts predict that LG’s smartphone shipments will rise
by 16% to a record 10 million units after 8.6 million phones have
already been sold in the fourth quarter. This is believed to be a strong
performance, judging by the overall market dropping by 6% from the
strong year-end holiday quarter.
LG’s first quarter results are expected to be out on 24th April. A
spokesperson for Abans, the agents for LG mobile phones in Sri Lanka,
said that his company was proud and happy to learn that LG had emerged
amongst the top three smartphone makers in the world, close behind
mobile phone giants such as Apple. LG Optimus series was very popular
and fast selling in Sri Lanka because consumers today were looking for
genuine phones packed with high end features and a reliable
after-sales-service and availability of spare parts which Abans were
able to offer their customers, he added. |