(Credit:
Dan Graziano/CNET)
Will the
LG G2's splashy launch mark its first step toward
Galaxy S4-like world domination?
LG certainly hopes so and has banked heavily on its latest super
smartphone to finally give the company a global blockbuster it is so
desperately seeking. The Korean electronics giant has been steadily
building up the hype for the device, releasing videos, promoting the
event through digital ads (including on this site), and making it known
that its next flagship smartphone is just around the corner.
The event today -- which thankfully omitted the overly dramatic
theatrics of Samsung's GS4 debut, but did feature a curious spotlight on
a single Vienna Boys' choir singer at the end -- was designed to convey
the impression that the G2 belongs among the big boys in the smartphone
industry. The company positioned it as the ideal phone designed for the
user.
"Technology without empathy can no longer be considered
innovation," LG mobile CEO Jong-Seok Park said during the event on
Wednesday. "Innovation for the sake of innovation is old school."
LG, which has long lived in the shadow of larger rival Samsung
Electronics, desperately wants its G2 to be uttered in the same breath
as the GS4 or Apple's
iPhone 5.
The company has a reputation for building affordable and solid -- if
unspectacular -- smartphones, but wants more. It's not enough that LG is
the brand customers go to because it offers a nice value; it wants to
be the brand customers aspire to own.
Such is the dilemma for every smartphone vendor not named Apple or
Samsung. While the two leaders benefit from a certain level of built-in
hype, the other players continue to clamor for the constantly shifting
attention of the consumer.
For many, the quest for smartphone
relevancy has resulted in continued losses, but it's here that LG
differs. In the second quarter, the company saw a 34.5 percent increase
in revenue as it swung back into profitability. LG
shipped a record 12 million smartphones in the period.
LG also saw its
second-quarter market share rise to 5.1 percent, from 3.7 percent a year ago -- good enough to rank it as No. 3 in the world, according to IDC.
LG is looking for a fresh start with the G2. The company said in July that it
was dropping the Optimus name, instead relying on the simpler G2 as the follow-up to its flagship
Optimus G
from last year. (The Optimus name remains as its brand for mass-market
smartphones.) Whereas the Optimus G was an exclusive smartphone at
AT&T, the G2 will get broader support from multiple carriers.
LG is the latest to hop aboard the trend of offering a single flagship
device across multiple carrier partners, a strategy that has been
successfully employed by Samsung, Apple, and HTC.
Broad distribution, of course, won't guarantee sales. If you're not
Apple or Samsung, you need to try harder to get noticed. The
HTC One stood out for its all-metal construction and sexy design, while Nokia's
Lumia 1020 is known for its massive 41MP camera. Even then, there's no guarantee for success.
With the G2, LG crammed in an impressive amount of high-end
specifications, including a Qualcomm 2.26GHz quad-core processor, 13MP
optical image stabilization camera, a 3,000mAh battery supposedly able
to last 1.2 days, and a large 5.2-inch high-definition IPS display.
The G2, however, uses a cheaper-feeling plastic construction at a time when most of its competitors have moved to metal.
Aside from improved specs, the marked difference is LG's
decision to place the power and volume buttons on the back of the
device, just under the center rear camera. It's a controversial choice
that LG said came about from researching how people hold their phones.
Still, it's unclear whether consumers will embrace this subtle, but
radical, shift.
"It's different, which is saying something, when so many devices, especially the ones running
Android, all seem to look the same," said Ovum analyst Jan Dawson. "But it's risky in a flagship."
LG needed to do something to stand out. The company's dilemma continues
to be its reputation as a serviceable -- but unsexy -- brand.
"The huge difference between Samsung and LG in the U.S. is that when you
talk to normal people about Samsung, they'll mention the Galaxy brand,
but when you talk to them about LG they'll talk about TVs and
refrigerators," Dawson said.
The company hit its high point a few years ago in the mobile
business by supplying slick basic phones -- noteworthy for phone brands
such as the "Chocolate" -- but was slow to jump on to the Android
bandwagon when it took off.
The G2's rear buttons.
(Credit:
Sarah Tew/CNET)
Samsung had been similarly slow, but made up for it with a slew of
products and the might of its massive marketing engine. LG doesn't have
the luxury of throwing truckloads of marketing dollars to promote a
device and has had to get by on the strength of its phones and more
subtle promotional efforts.
LG at least sounds like it is taking
its flagship aspirations seriously. The company is mimicking the
strategy of other vendors and focusing all of its resources behind the
G2.
"This is it for us for 2013," LG representative Ken Hong told CNET.
Hong declined to talk about how much it would spend on the G2, but
acknowledged that LG wouldn't be able to spend at the same level as
Samsung. Instead, LG will focus on digital and social marketing and
attempt to build a grassroots movement to raise awareness for the phone.
"We don't worry about what we can't do," he said. "We worry about what we can do."
LG needs to go through the same transformation that Samsung has gone
through over the past few years. But such a process doesn't come without
great cost. Hong said the smartphone battle isn't a sprint, and the
ones that will survive are the ones with a sustainable long-term
strategy.
The company is hoping the G2 debut, which in some ways
mimicked Samsung's launch events, will drum up a little hype as
consumers opt to look for new phones in the critical back-to-school and
holiday shopping seasons.
"We're happy we're even in the top
three," he said. "It's such a competitive industry, to be even in the
same list with some of these other brands just shows we're still
relevant."
Lenovo
is considered to be one the top PC vendors in India. Its Windows
portfolio is top notch, but when one talks about its Android offerings
then it comes up short. Today, the company launched a slew of tablets
that run both on Android and Windows 8 in India. The products launched
include the Android based A1000, A3000 and S6000 Android tablets and the
Windows 8 based ThinkPad Tablet 2 and IdeaPad Lynx K3011.
