LG's V20 launched in Korea
Models promote LG Electronics’ new audio- and camera-focused handset, the V20. The 5.7-inch high-end smartphone will be available to Korean customers Thursday, with the firm expanding its sales abroad soon after. / Courtesy of LG Electronics
By Lee Min-hyung
LG Electronics’ multimedia-focused smartphone, the V20, has hit shelves in Korea, which the firm hopes will bring a major turnaround to its mobile division.
The Korean electronics company said Wednesday that the new 5.7-inch handset will be available to Korean customers beginning Thursday through the nation’s three mobile carriers ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus.
The company has yet to specify when the V20 will hit overseas markets. But the firm hopes to increase its market share in its key profitable markets ― such as Korea, the United States and Hong Kong ― where demands for large-screen handsets run higher than in other markets.
At its introduction last month, the company picked high-end audio and camera functionality as the phone’s key selling points.
“LG Electronics has put its core competency into the new handset to bring a whole new mobile experience to customers,” LG Electronics’ mobile chief Cho Juno said in a statement.
“We are going to offer various promotional events in a bid to introduce distinguishing multimedia functions of the V20.”
The new handset comes with a price tag of 899,800 won ($820.84) here. Customers can enjoy optimum sound experiences through a Bang & Olufsen (B&O) earphone that come bundled with the V20, said the company. LG Electronics added the device’s 32-bit Hi-Fi quad digital-to-analog converter (DAC) as another distinguishing feature, compared to its predecessor, the V10.
For Korean users, the company offers three colors ― titanium, silver and pink ― which comes with 64 GB internal storage capacity.
In particular, the successor to the V10 gained attention at its introduction last month, as it was the world’s first handset to run on Google’s latest Android 7.0 Nougat operating system (OS).
Under the partnership with the mobile carriers here, LG will hold a special “sound package” event until Oct. 31. The package offers a Blutooth headset, speaker and a battery pack for only 5,000 won, according to LG.
In recent years, the mobile division of LG has suffered setbacks over the poor sales of another flagship handset lineup, the G series. In particular, the firm failed to draw positive market responses for the G5 unveiled earlier this year.
Hana Financial Investment analyst Kim Rok-ho said, “The sluggish sales for the G5 has brought a negative impact on the firm’s profitability this year, but the company still holds some 15 percent of the handset market share in North America.”
Once the firm continues to maintain its profile there, chances are that its mobile unit can rebound with the potential success of the new models, said the analyst.