LG Electronics announced today its financial results for the second quarter of 2008, unveiling an excellent period for its mobile division.

In Q2 2008, LG has shipped a total of 27.7 million handsets worldwide, surpassing Sony Ericsson (which only sold 24.4 handsets and registered considerable profit drops). The 27.7 million phones sold represent a record for LG and brought an income of $3.695 billion to the company.

North America bought 33% of all LG's handsets in the second quarter of 2008, while there were also good sales in the Middle East, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

LG's great results are massively helped by its touchscreen phones. The South Korean company has sold more than 7 million touch-enabled handsets since the first such device hit the market (LG Prada, released last year). The touchscreen handsets sold by LG have an average selling price of $530 (about 334 Euros), hence they have a big contribution to the company's overall profits.

The most popular touchscreen phone from LG is nevertheless the Viewty, which was sold until now in more than 2 million units. Other high-selling LG phones are Venus (more than 1.6 million units), Voyager (more than 1.3 million units) and the "old" Prada.

Talking about the touchscreen industry, Dr. Skott Ahn, President & CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, stated: "We were a true pioneer in touchscreen phones, applying for a total of 49 patents while developing the Prada Phone by LG. From the beginning, we have worked to create phones that are extremely easy to use despite their myriad features. This is why our touchscreen phones have been so well received around the world. As the market for touchscreen phones continues to grow we will also continue our research in this area to create even more innovative products."

LG says that, according to Strategy Analytics, in 2010 only, there will be about 125 million touchscreen phones sold worldwide. That's why the South Korean company will continue to develop this segment of its mobile products, making it highly competitive for the other major touchscreen players (like Apple with its iPhone 3G).