LG to launch new 4G smartphone

LG Electronics Inc., the beleaguered world's No. 3 mobile-phone maker, said Monday that it will release a new smartphone that will run on a faster, fourth-generation (4G) network in South Korea later this month, hoping sales of the new handset will help rescue its loss-making mobile business. The company's Optimus LTE smartphone, named after the 4G wireless technology called long-term evolution (LTE), will compete against the Galaxy S2 LTE smartphone made by its hometown rival Samsung Electronics Co. LG's mobile communications division lost money in the past five quarters as the company failed to act quickly in the race to catch up with Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy smartphones. LG is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 26. South Korea's 4G smartphone market is expected to become crowded this month as the country's three largest mobile vendors and Taiwan-based HTC Corp. are set to launch LTE smartphone models through the leading mobile operator SK Telecom Co. and the smallest carrier LG Uplus Corp. The two mobile operators began offering the faster wireless service in Seoul and major cities to meet demand from data-hungry smartphone users, with nationwide coverage expected to start as early as next year. LG Electronics said that the new smartphone's high-definition screen quality will distinguish the product from rivals. The company said its "IPS True HD" display has a better resolution, clarity and power consumption than Samsung's counterpart. Mobile screen quality has been a heated point of competition among 4G smartphone makers, as users are expected to heavily download multimedia content and conduct video conferences on the faster network.