LG to take on rivals with expanded G series

LG Electronics is seeking to ascend in the global smartphone market with plans to roll out new models in its flagship G smartphone line in the near future.

The smartphone maker has been filing trademarks for the G4 to G9 since last year at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, according to industry sources Tuesday.

The trademark filings are in line with the tech giant’s announcement last year to boost its focus on high-end brands after dropping its previous Optimus smartphone brand.

“A series of follow-up models would indicate that the firm is betting big on the G brand,” a market watcher said.

Rumors about the G4 have already gone viral on the Web. They include claims that the next flagship model will feature significant hardware upgrades such as a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 4 gigabytes of RAM and a 5.7-inch ultrahigh-definition display.

Park Jong-seok, chief executive of LG’s mobile business, said at the G3’s launch in May that the company aimed to sell over 10 million units this year.

Market analysts had forecast that LG Electronics would likely see its flagship smartphone gain sales momentum.

“LG’s global sales of the G3 and its variant models, including the G3 Beat and the G3 Vista, will help the company increase its presence worldwide and improve its earnings,” said Kim Ji-san, an analyst from Kiwoom Securities.

LG is estimated to have grabbed a 5.1 percent share of the global smartphone market in the second quarter of this year, up from 4.3 percent in the first quarter, according to Korea Investment & Securities.

Samsung Electronics’ market share, meanwhile, dropped to 26.4 percent from 31.2 percent in the same period. Apple also suffered a 2.9 percentage point drop to 12.4 percent in the April-June period.

Sales of LG smartphones are expected to surpass a record high of 60 million units this year.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)