LG nominated most promising vendor of the year 2005

LG has grown rapidly since it began its CDMA handset operations in 1996. In 2004, sales of GSM handsets trebled over the previous year to 18 million units and CDMA sales increased to 26 million units, making LG the world's top CDMA vendor and the fastest-growing mobile handset supplier. LG also overtook Siemens as the world's fourth most popular mobile phone brand in the first quarter of 2005.

According to IDC reports, LG clocked sales of 11 million units in the first quarter of 2005 to capture 6.4 per cent market share worldwide. The company has witnessed year-on-year growth of 26.9 per cent from 2004. Last year, LG sold three million 3G handsets to Hutchison 3G, the global 3G services leader, which has networks in eight Asian and European countries.

"We have won further recognition of our leadership in mobile convergence technology with this award. We are on course to become a world leader in next generation mobile technology and, by introducing new models, LG is consolidating its reputation as a technology innovator. LG is targeting sales of US$ 300 million in handsets in the Middle East and Africa region this year; globally we expect to register a 50 per cent growth to seize the third spot in handsets in two years," said K H Kim, President, LG Electronics, Middle East and Africa Operations.

The company unveiled six new features-rich mobile phones at CommunicAsia 2005. The hi-tech new phones include the DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) phone, a new slide phone, a five-mega pixel camera phone, a 3-D game phone, an MP3 music phone and a handset modeled on a sports car.

"2004 was an outstanding year for LG. Using a well-defined strategy, the company has very quickly managed to become a global handset vendor. This is the result of a strong customer focus and emphasis on design and product innovation. Frost and Sullivan believes that LG Electronics is well poised become one of the top three handset vendors in the world," said Manoj Menon, Partner, Frost and Sullivan.

LG's A7150 handset was named the 'most fashionable mobile phone' award at the Asian Mobile News Awards 2005. The A7150 is a sophisticated GSM/EDGE (Enhanced Data-Rates for GSM Evolution) handset that offers users advanced voice features and mobile data services via high-speed Internet connections. The handset is user friendly with one

LG has consistently won international design recognition such as the IF Design Award, the Reddot Design Award and the Ergonomic Design Award. LG's plasma TV and DMB notebook PC were also labeled 'cool gadgets' by IT World, operated by the international research and media marketing group, IDG. Both these products were launched in the Middle East in May 2005.