A brutal battle has broken out between two Korean TV giants, with LG, set to take on Samsung with a new borderless, wafer thin LED TV range, that not only looks smart but is packed with new TV technology which LG claims is superior to what Samsung is offering.
According to executives at LG Australia, the Korean Company who are set to roll out a multimillion dollar marketing campaign over the next few weeks, believe that the launch of the new TV will help them reposition the Company as being a leader in TV design and technology.
While Companies Marketing Director David Brand is refusing to talk about the Company or the new TV range his TV Display product manager Warren Kim, believes that consumers will embrace the new look TV’s despite the disaster of last year’s Scarlett TV launch which not only cost the Company millions but failed to deliver any market share gain for the Company in Australia.
Currently LG is struggling to hold onto third place behind market leader Samsung and Sony who last week slashed the cost of their 40″ Bravia LCD TV to $1,899 at Harvey Norman, in an effort to build market share and only days ahead of the new LG borderless range.
A week later the same Sony Bravia TV is being marketed for $2,499 in Harvey Norman catalogues.
According to Warren Kim the time is right for LG to start taking TV market share back from Samsung. He said “We now have the right product, it is LED TV technology and the range looks better than what our competitors are offering. When consumers walk into stores they will see the difference. We have special in store stands and our marketing will appeal to both the emotive person and the person looking for both great looks and great technology”.
“Design is a key element of the product and we have a big advantage with the new TV’s when you actually compare other LED TV offerings and the new LG borderless range. Our new Freedom creative campaign creates a whole new environment for LG in the Australian market” he added.
“We believe that we can take market share away from Samsung. We are in all of the major retail stores with the new range and we have a strong marketing campaign” he said
When asked whether the disastrous Scarlet TV campaign which saw LG spend millions promoting a red backed TV with a hole in the base had affected TV sales in Australia Warren Kim said “Scarlet was not a success but I doubt whether it is going to impact our borderless campaign or sales of the new TV”.
LG first revealed the new borderless models to a lot of ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaahs’ at IFA 2009 in Germany, they have a uniform, seamless surface from edge to edge, with no visible frame.
By using a special sheet of laminate film LG was able to eliminate the gap between the screen and the bezel and also reduce screen glare. The new SL90 model being launched in Australia is also extremely thin at just 2.9cm.
Inside the new LG SL 90, LED backlight TV, is equally impressive with a 3,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and 178 degree viewing angle and 500 cd/m2 brightness. Both models are 100Hz while the SL80 is 200Hz
To get around the problem of where to place the speakers for the TV’s borderless design LG has refined its ‘Invisible Speaker’ technology to hide two new slim 1-way speakers on the bottom of the new borderless TV screen.
LG claims this, along with SRS TruSurround, delivers superior sound quality without the need for unsightly speaker grills that would ruin the TV’s aesthetic.
The new SL 90 model also has Bluetooth which allows users to view and listen to music, movies and photos from a mobile phone without any cables. It also means you can connect wireless headphones for private listening.
