The LG X Cam (left) and X Screen smartphones (Image : LG Electronics Inc.)
SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s No. 2 tech firm LG Electronics Inc. said Monday it will showcase a new budget smartphone series at the Mobile World Congress that kicks off later this month, in a bid to revitalize the ailing handset business.
The X series will come in two models — the X Cam and X Screen — each boasting high-end features adopted on premium models. The tech fair will open Feb. 22 for a four-day run in Barcelona, Spain.
LG said the X Cam will come with two cameras on the front, and another on the back to provide specialized photo-related features. They boast resolutions of 13, 5 and 8 megapixels.’
The X Cam smartphone will be “as light as two eggs” even with the three cameras, weighing 118 grams. It is also designed to be held comfortably through a unique design, with the sides being as thin as 5.2 millimeters.
The X Screen will come with the “second-screen” feature, which was also adopted by the V10 smartphone introduced last year. It is slightly heavier than the X Cam at 120 grams, according to LG Electronics.
LG boasted what it calls an “Always ON” feature through the model, which came with a dual display, with the smaller one on top displaying core information, such as battery status on a 24-hour basis.
The feature is also expected to be adopted by LG’s upcoming flagship, the G5.
The X series will be available for sale in South Korea in March, and gradually expand to the European, Latin American and other Asian markets.
They both come with built-in batteries, running on the Android Marshmallow 6.0 operating system. Users can also insert micro secure digital memory cards to extend data capacities. Price details have not yet been revealed.
A day before the exhibition kicks off, LG Electronics will also showcase its much-awaited flagship smartphone, the G5, starting another round of its battle with Samsung Electronics Co. that plans to introduce the presumed Galaxy S7 hours later.
LG has been suffering from lackluster earnings at home and abroad as Samsung Electronics has weighed down its domestic sales while Chinese firms also have eaten into LG’s global market share.
The firm’s mobile business posted an operating loss of 43.8 billion won (US$36.2 million) in the fourth quarter last year, continuing to post weak returns amid heightened competition. The segment posted an operating loss of 77.6 billion won in the third quarter of 2015.
LG sold 59.7 million units of smartphones last year, rising slightly from the 59.1 million units posted in 2014.
(Yonhap)
