LG says more than 150,000 LTE smartphones activated

LG Electronics Inc., the world's third-biggest handset maker, said Tuesday that more than 150,000 units of long-term evolution (LTE) smartphones were activated in South Korea in little over one month.

The Optimus LTE smartphone, which was released via SK Telecom Co. and LG Uplus Corp. last month, became the fastest selling LG smartphone, a company spokesman said.

As LG struggles to turn around its mobile communications business, the company has been pinning high hopes on the introduction of high-speed, fourth-generation (4G) wireless networks around the world.

While its crosstown rival Samsung Electronics Co. became the world's top smartphone maker in the third quarter, LG's mobile business has stayed in the red for six straight quarters through September.

LG hopes the Optimus LTE smartphone, the high-end handset that delivers wireless data at a faster speed than third-generation handsets, will help shore up its mobile bottom line.

The Optimus LTE features a vivid screen quality supplied by affiliate LG Display Co. and a 1.5-gigahertz dual-core processor. It is scheduled to be released in Canada later this month. (Yonhap)