LG Electronics Announces New Symbian Handset

LG Electronics showcased at the Mobile World Congress its fourth S60 on Symbian device, dubbed KT770. The new handset features S60 5th Edition on Symbian OS 9.4 and comes with a slider form factor and a numeric keypad. According to the company, the new handset includes a 5-megapixel camera, along with a 2.8-inch touchscreen, WiFi and HSDPA connectivity, all in a design that measures only 111 x 51.5 x 15.8 mm.

The new LG KT770 places the company among the four biggest mobile phone makers in the world, from a total of five, to announce Symbian OS-powered devices at the Mobile World Congress. Other manufacturers with such handsets would be Sony Ericsson, which presented a device that is rather a concept, and Samsung, which announced plans to focus on multiple platforms. At the same time, LG also said that it considered shifting to Windows Mobile in the future. Even so, the S60 5th Edition has a considerable momentum.

As for LG's move towards the Windows Mobile, the company announced a strategic agreement with Microsoft to use its platform in future smartphones in the next few years. According to the phone maker, there would be around 50 Windows Mobile devices launched over the next three to four years. At the same time, the two companies also stated they planned on cooperating on the development and design of future handsets, as well as on applications and services. It’s uncertain at this moment whether LG will maintain its commitment to the Symbian Platform, yet the company might choose not to focus exclusively on Windows Mobile, but also try out Android and Symbian to keep its options open.

Previously, the mobile phone maker released on the market the KS20 (JoY), KT610 and the KT615, all Symbian-powered handsets, only that they were available on a limited scale, and registered rather low sales.