By Kang Seung-woo
LG Electronics’ G6 smartphone is becoming a big hit in the local market as pre-orders have surpassed 40,000 in just four days, the tech giant said Monday.
The Seoul-based firm believes that its enhanced marketing strategies have brought about the stronger-than-expected demand from customers.
The G6, unveiled Feb. 26 to revive LG’s moribund mobile communications division, has been available for pre-order in Korea since last Thursday and customers can do so via the nation’s three mobile carriers until this Thursday before it hits shelves Friday.
The handset with 64 gigabytes of internal storage and three color options will be on sale for 899,800 won ($778) here.
LG has offered opportunities for customers to test its latest device ahead of its official release, running tryout zones at 3,000 retail shops across the nation since Feb. 27.
In addition, those who pre-order the smartphone will receive special benefits of up to 450,000 won in the form of a one-year screen replacement warranty and an original phone case. Additionally, they can also purchase one out of three accessories - the LG TonePlus Bluetooth headset, Raleigh keyboard 2 or a Nescafe coffee machine - at 5,000 won.
LG said that the strong pre-orders are thanks to its timely release compared to its rival products.
For the first time, LG released its premium smartphone earlier than Samsung Electronics as the latter’s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, is scheduled to make its debut March 29. Apple is also expected to release its iPhone 8 in September.
“We plan to take an advantageous position first in the premium smartphone market, given that there is traditionally higher demand for devices in the spring season,” an LG official said.
The G6 has received rave reviews globally, winning 31 awards from global technology magazines at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) last week.
The company says that the G6 offers an expansive screen and an immersive viewing experience with its 18:9 screen aspect ratio and 5.7-inch display in comparison with conventional 16:9 display.
Due to consecutive setbacks of two previous smartphones - the G4 and G5 - LG’s mobile communications division has posted operating losses since the second quarter of 2015. In the fourth quarter of last year, its smartphone business division reported an operating loss of 467 billion won on sales of 2.9 trillion won.