LG would rather give up than fight
LG expected the Wing to differentiate the Samsung fare maker
LG’s involvement in the mobile phone industry began before the smartphone came along. The company started with a line of flip phones and in 2005 launched the VX-9800 clamshell. You actually owned this phone, which featured an external and an internal display. When the cover was opened, the phone had a QWERTY keyboard. When closed, the device looked like a camera. The following year, she launched a hybrid MP3 player called LG Chocolate.
In December 2006, a month before the launch of the iPhone, LG announced the first touch-screen phone, the LG Prada. In November 2007, the LG Voyager was launched. Yours really had this device that featured a resistive touch screen that was difficult to navigate. It was the first feature phone to replace the WAP browser with HTML and included live television, two screens and a QWERTY keyboard. For Verizon customers who wanted an iPhone, this was the device they bought, although it was not a smartphone. Remember, at the time, the iPhone was an AT&T exclusive.
The LG Optimus series was a line of smartphones created by LG that ran on both Windows Mobile and Android. Over time, the Optimus G series was replaced by the new LG G2 and this model continued to be LG’s flagship phone through the LG G8XThinQ. The latter offered a second attachable screen as an accessory. While LG continued to struggle to outperform its fellow South Korean manufacturer Samsung, it was trying to find something different to get consumers’ attention. An example of this was last year’s LG Wing, which came out of the box with a 6.8-inch screen that rotates 90 degrees to reveal a secondary 3.9-inch screen.
The end of LG’s mobile phone business means that the company’s roll-up phone will be scratched. The company said in a statement that LG Rollable is no longer part of its product strategy. Last month, rumors about the device were still spreading and a phone with LG’s model number LM-R910N had received certification for the use of Bluetooth 5.2. The device was supposed to (ahem) be launched with a 7.4 inch screen and a smaller screen on the back. The introduction of the phone has been delayed due to problems with the scrolling mechanism and questions about the durability of the device.
While LG expects to completely close its mobile business by July 31, stocks of some phones may remain available after that date. The big question is who will get 10% of the LG smartphone market in North America. On the continent, LG is third, behind Samsung and Apple. Considering that LG users are familiar with Android, we would not be surprised to see Samsung gain a large share of LG’s market share in the region. LG’s global share of the smartphone market is only 2%. It delivered 23 million devices last year, compared to the 256 million sold by Samsung.
LG tried to sell its smartphone business to Vingroupo, based in Vietnam, but the two did not reach an agreement on the terms of the agreement.