LG are playing catch up with a sharper screen, power than its rivals on new Optimus smartphone. But is it too little too late for the South Koreans?
The new potent 4G next gen 4.5″ Optimus, debuted earlier this month boasts a better screen than the newly unveiled iPhone 4S Retina display with 329 pixel density, dual core 1.5GHz processor – beating Apple’s 4S hands down and out smarting leader of the Android pack Samsung’s Galaxy S II 1.2Ghz dual core CPU.
The LG also has a larger 1,830 mAh battery and runs on Android Gingerbread 2.3 and comes with 20GB storage (Internal 4GB, Micro SD 16GB).
 Click to enlarge |
Optimus is the first mobile device in South Korea to offer 4G connectivity with the highest resolution IPS display, although no word when it is going international yet.
And LG is looking to become a major player in the 4G field – one of its core strengths – if comments by Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Mobile are anything to go by.
“Our goal is to be a leading player in LTE devices by continuously offering best-in-class products based on our LTE patents and know how.”
According to a recent report by Jefferies & Company, LG was listed as the global leader in LTE patents with ownership of 23 percent of approximately 1,400 LTE patents filed worldwide, valued at US$8 billion.
LG demonstrated the world’s first LTE technology in 2007 and developed the first LTE modem chipset in 2008.
But 4G and screen specs aside, is LG on to a winner?
Analysts appear to think not despite the major advancement to the Optimus:
“LG was slow to embrace the smartphone market, and they are still having a hard time correcting the mistake,” said Lim Han Eui, a telecommunications consultant at ROA Consulting in Seoul.
LG appear to be in killer mode next year among the increasingly fracticious battle between iOS and Android.
Recent stats from Canalys showed Android was leading the way achieving 48% marketshare in August across the globe, which is good for LG, but appears to have much rivalry from well established players HTC and Samsung.
However, recent figures show its market share among US consumers rose 0.4% to 21.3% in June last.
“Time is ripe for us to put that into action,” Ken Hong, an LG spokesman.
“The Year 2012 is going to be a significantly different scene from now.”
But its not just 4G that LG are hoping will save the day as it’s also looking to 3D on smartphone technology, after introducing the Optimus 3D in July.
However, despite the advancements the South Koreans are to slow on the smart uptake and may not be enough to endear Apple or Samsung users:
“LG’s strategy seems to be to make anything they can come up with, with the hope that something will become a hit,” Woo Chang Hee, analyst at LIG Investment & Securities Co, said. “They may be taking the right steps, but the pace isn’t fast enough.”
