LG to produce limited volume of Rollable phones for internal use

LG Electronics has officially given up smartphones, but its very last project -- the first rollable smartphone -- will see the light of day, even though it will not be for sale.

The South Korean firm confirmed Monday that it is considering producing a limited volume of Rollable phones for internal use.

“Development of the Rollable was completed before the management’s decision to end the phone business,” said a company official. “The exact timing or volume of the phone’s release hasn’t been confirmed.”

About 100 to 200 phones may be released, the official added. They may be given out to a select group of executives and employees.

The Rollable project was aborted when the company decided in April this year to exit the smartphone business after it incurred losses of over 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) over the past five years.

It was set to become the firm’s most innovative and advanced phone. It would also have been the world’s first smartphone with a flexible and expandable display.

LG gave a sneak preview of the Rollable at the Consumer Electronics Show early this year before the smartphone pullout. According to the teaser, its 6.8-inch OLED screen can be stretched to 7.4 inches.

LG is set to end the production and sales of all smartphone products July 31. After-sales services for current LG phone users will be offered for four years and software upgrades will be available for three years.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)