LG has broken the Korean Android phone barrier, making the LG Andro-1, or KH5200 the companies first Korean Android phone. Features include a 3-inch Touch screen, slideout QWERTY keyboard, GPS, HSDPA, EDGE, GRPS, Social Networking Capabilities, a 2 Megapixel camera, Radio Tuner, and a MicroSD slot. The phone is currently only running Android 1.5. The Andro-1 will be available on KT, and will cost $530 to buy the phone, but will be free on a contract of $40/month.
But the real story here is the battle between LG and Samsung for manufacturing power and revenue. Samsung will be releasing their own phone on SK Telecom in Korea within the next few months. The phone will have a larger screen, will be running Android 2.1, and will just have better specs to it. From what industry leaders are saying, the Andro-1 is just LG’s test phone in the market, but in a country with a population of 48 million with over 45 million mobile phone users, it would likely be a good idea to enter the market going full throttle - this is obviously a lucrative market to be a part of.
LG has stated that they intend to release 20 premium smartphones based upon the Android OS in the year 2010 - a good projection - and it gives all of us something to be excited about! What do you think about this news - share your opinions, I’d like to hear them! [KoreaTimes]