South Korean mobile phone maker LG Electronics is reportedly planning to make more Android-based devices available on the market during the ongoing year. To be more precise, the company has plans for a number of 20 such handsets before the end of 2010, a move that would enable the handset vendor to be more competitive on the smartphone market, it seems.
The announcement, reported on by the guys over at
Korea Times, seems rather surprising. LG previously unveiled plans to play its cards on Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system, and committing to
Android can be seen as a major shift in strategy from the handset vendor. However, LG is not new to the Android segment, as it already released phones powered by it on the market.
LG is said to have rather rough times with its mobile communication unit, which registered profit rates of 0.9 percent in the first three months of 2010, a major drop from 6.7 percent a year ago. The mobile business represents around 45 percent of LG Electronics’ annual sales, and the smartphone segment is where the company needs to make its major move, it seems.
“The smartphone sector is a significant business that
LG should not lose as such devices could create new mobile eco-systems, giving more room for handset makers to seek future revenue sources. LG needs consistency towards that segment,’’ an industry watcher commented recently, the aforementioned Korea Times article reports.
The company's chief financial officer said that LG needed some time before making a turnaround in its smartphone department. However, the second quarter of the ongoing year is expected to prove rather disappointing for the mobile division at LG. The handset vendor's smartphones are already available for purchase in markets around the world, including the United States. It seems that the company is also in talks with carriers in the Middle East region for the launch of its upcoming Android devices.
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