14 DAY TRIAL // It is now official, LG has won the GSM Association's 3G for All campaign which aims to provide affordable 3G mobile phones that are accessible to a wider user base.
The twelve operators will enable LG to achieve major economies of scale in manufacturing, logistics and marketing. The winning handset, LG KU250, will be available at a price of approximately 30 percent less than other entry level 3G mobile phones that are currently available on the market.
The handset is only 15 mm thick and was chosen from 19 handsets submitted by eight vendors. It contains a chip that was supplied by Qualcomm and comes with video call support, high-speed Internet access, multi-tasking and several multimedia features.
"The 3G for All campaign has had a great response from both handset and chipset vendors demonstrating their commitment to work with operators to drive usage of 3G services," said Craig Ehrlich, chairman of the GSMA, the global trade association for mobile operators, and a board member of Hutchison Mobile Communications, which is sponsoring the project. "A highly-capable device that is as attractive and cost-effective as the leading 2G multimedia handsets, the LG-KU250 has clear mass-market appeal and will help fuel interest in third-generation services across the world."
Each of the proposals received scores on eight criteria: functionality, usability, logistics, market acceptance, target price, service and support, strategic commitment and form factor. The twelve operators also highly recommended a 3G handset submitted by Nokia that was build on the Nokia 6151 platform.
The handset was unveiled at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona and will be available to all 3GSM mobile operators starting from the second quarter of the year.