Juno Cho, the CEO of LG's mobile
communications business, at the G4 launch today.
LG has some modestly optimistic
expectations for its newest flagship smartphone.
The company expec
ts to sell 8
million G4 smartphones this
year and 12 million over its life cycle, according to Juno Cho, president and
CEO of LG's mobile communications business. That represents a 20 percent
improvement over the G3, which sold roughly 10 million units.
That's a far cry from the heights
reached by Apple, which on Monday reported selling more than 61 million iPhones
in the last quarter, or Samsung, estimated to have shipped 82 million
smartphones in the first quarter. But the projection represents steady
improvement for LG, which is still angling for a higher profile in the smartphone
business. The Korean electronics conglomerate, best known for making
televisions and appliances like washing machines, wants a bigger slice of the
mobile pie, and is hanging on as the world's fifth-largest smartphone maker.
It's evident that LG wants to make
the G4 a big deal, as evidenced by its six-city global launch, including an
unveiling at the main event in Manhattan atop the One World Trade Center tower.
Cho said in an interview he plans to spend 50 percent to 60 percent more on
marketing to promote the G4. That's a hefty improvement for LG, whose available
cash of $2 billion is well short of the $16 billion Samsung war chest and
Apple's vast cash hoard of $195 billion.
But will the G4, which gets a slight
arc on the display and the introduction of a leather back, be able to stand
against radically redesigned versions of the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S6?
"We want to really stand out
and stay away from the rest of the pack," Cho said. Instead of embracing
metal, LG designers opted to go with subtle changes that made the grip more
comfortable. "We are very unique and stand out as an alternative for
consumers."
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