By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
LG Electronics has reinvigorated its move to narrow the gap with Europe’s leading mobile phone makers.
The company said Wednesday that it will launch its ambitious ``Viewty’’ phone in 14 European countries including Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom Thursday (KST) via major carriers.
``I am positive the phone will contribute a great deal to narrowing the gap with industry leaders in Europe’s fast-growing high-end handset market,’’ said Scott Ahn, CEO of LG Electronics’ mobile communications division.
Europe’s handset market is beset by fierce competition. According to Gartner, a market researcher, LG’s market share remained at only 6.8 percent of the 270.9 million phones sold in the second quarter of the year. Nokia led the market with 36.9 percent, while Motorola accounted for 14.6 percent, Samsung Electronics 13.4 percent and No. 4 Sony Ericsson, 9 percent.
Code-named LG-KU990, the sleek and stylish phone is equipped with unique camera functions including an image stabilizer and manual focus, and is capable of downloading up to 3.6 megabits of data per second. It also has a 5.1 megapixel picture quality and a built-in photo editing program, allowing users to touch up their photos on a 3-inch LCD touch screen.
``The proven success of our `Shine’ and `Chocolate’ phones ensures that the `Viewty’ phone will be attractive enough to win over European high-end buyers,’’ Ahn added.
Data from Strategy Analytics shows demand for camera phones will rise to 1.02 billion units by 2011 from 500 million in 2006, while sales of over 5-megapixel camera phones are likely to reach 202 million by then from 4.6 million last year.
But analysts say unless the company reaps greater profits from cheap phones, the possibility of coping with profit risks will not be eliminated.