Dubai: LG is back in the brutal smartphone race with its flagship model — G2 — and aims to increase its market share to more than five-fold in the Gulf.
“Globally, G2 is launching in September and there might be a supply issue initially. We are trying our best to be at all the major retailers today [Thursday],” Stan Lee, mobile division head of LG Electronics Gulf, told Gulf News on the sidelines of the press conference after the launch.
He said the product is ready and our plan is ready, and we are implementing it from today [Thursday] to climb the market ladder.
“We expect to be the top three smartphone manufacturer in the Gulf,” Lee said.
According to a research firm International Data Corporation, LG has a market share of two per cent in the UAE and 2.7 per cent in the smartphone sector in the Middle East.
“Our aim is to cross 10 per cent this year and with G2, we are sure of it. LG will be focusing more on the premium smartphone side than on the non-smart phones,” Lee said.
LG has formed a partnership with du initially and if there is a chance then “we will work with etisalat also,” he said.
According to Daniel Gleeson, mobile analyst at IHS Electronics & Media, LG has managed to turn around its smartphone fortunes as it has been able to leverage the conglomerates technological strengths to great effect.
In particular, he said LG produces its own displays which are one of the most common sources of shortages and delays in the smartphone market. LG has also been boosted from a strong shift in its home market to 4G which has provided a temporary uplift in high end sales.
“The G2 looks like an excellent handset. Hardware design has traditionally been a weak point for LG handsets, but the G2 is a much more attractive device. The button placement on the rear of the phone shows the company is prepared to take design risks which bode well for the future,” Gleeson said.
However, he said the LG brand, however, lags behind Samsung and LG will need to put major marketing spend behind the G2 if it is to challenge the Galaxy S4 effectively.
If LG wants to make a major assault on Samsung’s dominance of the smartphone market, IHS believes that it needs to throw its full weight behind not just the G2, but more importantly the Nexus 5 which is rumoured will be released in late 2013 or early 2014. LG needs to translate Google’s seal of approval into significant sales and more importantly into building the LG brand.
LG’s G2 is the first smartphone to be powered by Snapdragon’s 800 processor and it is priced at Dh2,399.
