LG remains bullish on handsets

By Kim Yoo-chul

LG’s Optimus G Pro

LG Electronics has reaffirmed its bullish stance about handset business with a company executive declaring to clinch another ``million seller’’ flagship smartphone by the end of this year.

On Monday, the Yeouido-based outfit released the Optimus G Pro smartphone that features a 5.5-inch screen packing over 2 million pixels or twice as many as smartphones with high-definition (HD) screens.

The mobile, powered by Google’s Android software, will go on sale in Korea this week before hitting shelves in Japan in April.

``We have no questions that the Optimus Pro will mark the biggest-ever sales curve than any other smartphones that have been selling in the South Korean market,’’ said Ma Chang-min, an executive at LG’s handset marketing division, in a news conference at its headquarters, downtown Seoul.

LG sold more than 1 million ``Optimus LTE’’ units since its launch in 2011. ``We have high expectations about the Optimus Pro as the device comes at a time when our handset business is getting back on a stable track,’’ said the executive.

Ma stressed that the Pro mobile is highly-competitive in terms of pricing considering the device’s commitment to full HD-level viewing quality. LG, with Sony, HTC and other phone makers are trying to make high-resolution screens a key feature in their new smartphones this year.

Full HD is more common in TVs; however, smartphone makers began to embrace them this year amid cutthroat competition. One in every two smartphones is made by Samsung Electronics or Apple, creating a hardscrabble fight among the second-tier of makers.

``The Pro is available at 968,000 won, here, without contracts and subsidies from carriers. Because the phone costs over 100,000 won than other smartphones using the full HD screen, we believe our latest smartphone will truly appeal,’’ he told reporters.

The device will be displayed in this week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) technology exhibition in Barcelona, Spain.

The executive hinted of releasing tablet PCs, though Ma declined to unveil further details about the plausible plan.

``We are in internal talks to roll out products that fit with changing market demand. But it’s too premature to unveil any updates for the time being,’’ said the executive.

Once the world’s No. 3 mobile phone maker, LG was the fifth-largest mobile phone maker by shipments in 2012 after Samsung, Nokia, Apple and ZTE, according to market research firm IDC.