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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (AP) – South Korean handset maker LG Electronics Inc. has upgraded its flagship smartphone model with a faster chip and a longer battery life, hoping to regain ground lost to more nimble rivals.

The Optimus LTE II smartphone, which costs 935,000 won ($804) without subsidies, will be released by all three mobile carriers in South Korea this week. Park Jong-seok, president of LG’s mobile business, said Thursday the new model is for South Korean users only but similar iterations would be released overseas.

LG, which is recuperating from massive losses in its mobile business since 2010, is betting on the introduction of a faster mobile network called LTE around the world to boost smartphone sales.

Mobile carriers in South Korea, Japan, North America and Europe have begun services on the latest wireless network, aiming to lure consumers seeking quicker downloads of videos and smooth web surfing on a phone.

With a 2-gigabyte memory capacity, the new Optimus phone can run multiple applications simultaneously at a faster rate, LG said. Most other high-end smartphones have a 1- or 1.5-gigabyte memory.

LG claimed the new phone’s battery life is about 40 percent longer than its predecessor, the Optimus LTE.

Once the world’s third-largest mobile phone maker, LG was overtaken by Apple Inc. last year. Sales of LG’s low-end phones were hit by Chinese competitors while its top-end lineup could not compete with the Galaxy series of smartphones by Samsung Electronics Co. or Apple’s iPhones.

IDC Group ranked LG as the world’s fifth-largest phone maker in the first quarter of this year as China’s ZTE Corp. climbed to No. 4 and Apple went up to the third place.

“We reduced the shipments of lowest end feature phones last year,” Park told reporters at a press conference. “We are not so focused on the unit shipments as much as the quality and sales of premium phones.”

LG plans to increase sales of its smartphones by 75 percent to 35 million units this year from 2011. Meanwhile, the company expects its overall mobile phone sales to drop to 80 million from 88.1 million.

LG said it is aiming for smartphones to make up 44 percent of its mobile phone sales in 2012, compared with 23 percent in 2011.

Shortages of mobile chips made by Qualcomm Inc., however, remain a potential roadblock in achieving its smartphone sales goal.

“It is one of the issues that are giving headaches,” Park said. “All industry is experiencing the shortages.”

The new Optimus phone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor. The U.S. chipmaker is the primary supplier of chips that give connections to the faster wireless network.

In the last two years, LG’s handset division lost a total of 943.6 billion won ($811 million). The division returned to the black in the last two quarters. It posted a 35.2 billion won profit in the first three months of this year.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Article source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/17/lg-upgrades-flagship-smartphone-to-revive-fortunes/

There’s a pretty good chance you either own a smartphone or, according to the stats, you’re going to own one really soon. A recent Nielsen report said that almost half of all mobile subscribers now have smartphones.

If you already have a smartphone, the reasons are pretty obvious why you’ll hold on to it. You can download apps to organize your work, play games, search Wikipedia, get directions and connect to the Internet whenever you want.

However, like anything else we buy, there’s a cost of ownership that we rarely think about when we make a purchase.

So, what’s the real cost of owning a smartphone?

What It Really Costs
According to the Wall Street Journal, the average data, texting and minute plan for a smartphone costs about $2,100 for a two-year contract. However, that’s not the real cost. The average tax on smartphones is about 15% and some can be as high as 20%. On top of the taxes, you need to factor in costs like overage charges and other fees. When all of these are added together, the average cost for owning a smartphone is $3,400 over two years.

There are a lot of comparisons out there between iPhone and Android phones, so if you’re trying to decide which one is cheaper overall, keep in mind that according to appleinsider.com, paid Android apps cost an average of 2.5 times more than paid iPhone apps. Techcrunch.com reports that 57% of Android apps are free, versus only 28% of iPhone apps. This does not mean that if you go with an Android phone your bill will definitely be more expensive, but you may want to keep it in mind when you decide which phone is best for you.

How to Save Money
There’s no real good way to get around owning a smartphone. If you want one, you’re probably going to buy it. Here are some tips to keep the monthly bill lower.

• Get Less Data – The average smartphone user only uses about 20% of their data a month. If you know you are not going to be a power-user, consider the lowest data plan.
• Sign Up for Fewer Minutes – A 2009 report by Consumer Reports said that 1/3 of smartphone users used less than half of their allotted minutes each month.
• Watch App Purchases – This is an obvious one, but can be so hard to keep in check. Compare your app purchases month to month to see how much you’re really spending.

Smart Alternatives
The days of having to sign up for a contract are over. There are good smartphones available through places like Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile that still run Google’s Android and have cheaper data and texting options.

You’ll pay more upfront for the phone if you choose a pre-paid carrier, but it could literally save you thousands of dollars over the course of two years. The best part, besides a cheaper bill, is that if you don’t like the carrier you can always quit with no cancellation fee.

The Bottom Line
There are lots of choices out there and all the information can be overwhelming. If you think a little outside the box and actually figure out how many minutes, data and texting you’re actually going to use, then you might be able to save some real money. Or, you can sign up for a pre-paid carrier and kiss those costly contracts goodbye.

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Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/real-cost-owning-smartphone-191002962.html

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The similarities are quite stark. Not only does China Unicom have the second largest mobile subscriber base in China but is also the first to launch the iPhone in the country, much like ATT in the U.S. And now, following in ATT’s footsteps, China Unicom will become the first to roll out the faster HSPA+ 3G network in the country later this week. ^[1]

In a message to existing 3G subscribers, China Unicom announced that all phones and tablets that currently run on its network and are HSPA+ compatible will be able to access higher speeds on their devices, starting May 17th. HSPA+ is the same technology that, although not technically right, ATT touts as 4G and markets effectively as a ploy to maintain its iPhone lead over rivals in the U.S. It looks like China Unicom is using the same playbook to not only promote 3G but also retain a competitive edge over rival China Telecom, to whom it recently lost its iPhone exclusivity in March. As the 3G battle heats up, it needs to fend off behemoth China Mobile as well, which is also likely to get the iPhone soon.

See our complete analysis of China Unicom here

iPhone Helps Unicom To Profit From An Equitable 3G Mix

With close to 670 million subscribers, China Mobile is the largest wireless carrier in the world and has twice as many subscribers as China Unicom. But when it comes to 3G, the difference is not nearly as wide. As of March 2012, China Mobile had around 60 million 3G subscribers, only about 22% ahead of 49 million that subscribe to China Unicom’s 3G network. Low 3G penetration of about 15% in China is giving smaller wireless carriers such as China Unicom ample opportunity to compete on an even ground with the otherwise dominant China Mobile.

Moreover, the fact that China Mobile runs its 3G network on a proprietary homegrown TD-SCDMA standard has proved to be a big deterrent in securing smartphones that are compatible with its network. Even the iPhone, which has already been launched on the other two carriers in China, hasn’t made its way to China Mobile yet.

Taking advantage of this, China Unicom has been closing the 3G gap with China Mobile by adding at least an equal number of 3G subscribers every month. In February, it added more than 2.8 million 3G subscribers compared to China Mobile’s 2.65 million. In March, however, both added almost the same number of 3G subscribers. The iPhone 4S’ addition in January this year is definitely providing a boost to China Unicom’s 3G ambitions, and the carrier is looking to make the most of it before the popular smartphone arrives on China Mobile’s network. (see Qualcomm Paves the Way for an Apple-China Mobile iPhone Deal)

So, what happens when the iPhone arrives on China Mobile eventually? The next-generation iPhone will, in all likelihood, have LTE capabilities and currently, China Mobile is the only carrier ‘testing’ out its TD-LTE network in China. However, it is unlikely that the 4G network will be up and running in a meaningful number of cities across China any time soon. This gives China Unicom enough time to market its faster HSPA+ network as 4G and drive the sales of its iPhones and in turn promote 3G.

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The reason why carriers such as China Unicom are increasingly trying to promote 3G is because most of the growth being seen is on the data side rather than on the voice side, which has reached near-saturation. Adding 3G subscribers will help China Unicom increase its ARPU levels as 3G smartphone users consume huge amounts of data as well. Higher speeds from the use of its HSPA+ network will also see users increasingly use data-intensive applications on their phones, driving data ARPUs further. Margins will be impacted by the sale of subsidized 3G phones such as the iPhone but the carriers are betting on making their money back over the term of the contractual period.

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Notes:

1. China Unicom to Rollout HSPA+ 3G For Phones Next Week, TechInAsia, May 9th, 2012 [?]

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Article source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/05/17/china-unicom-speeds-ahead-in-smartphone-race-with-hpsa-rollout/

Responding to extraordinary demand, Facebook said Wednesday that it would sell more stock in the company’s initial public offering. But ahead of the IPO, a debate emerged between two of the nation’s largest automakers: Does it pay to advertise on the social network?

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/lg-unveils-smartphone-revive-business-061716276--finance.html