Affordable 3G LG phones to hit world market soon

THE general perception that the third-generation (3G) handset is an upmarket gadget will be a thing of the past when LG Electronics Mobile Communications starts to market its affordable phones that support the 3G platform worldwide soon.

The slim, multimedia phone LG-KU250 was chosen as the winning handset under the GSM Association's (GSMA) 3G for All campaign and the result was announced at the 3GSM Congress in Barcelona, Spain, recently.

GSMA is the global trade association representing about 700 GSM mobile operators across 214 countries.

GSMA chairman Craig Ehrlich said the range of 3G handsets remained relatively limited and at a premium price level, particularly for pre-paid customers who made up over 60% of the global mobile subscriber base.

Therefore, he said, the association had embarked on the campaign with the aim of making 3G mobile services accessible to a much wider user base, especially in developing countries.

Ehrlich said 12 of the world's leading mobile operators had selected the LG-KU250, which is only 15mm thick, from 19 handsets submitted by eight vendors.

He said that by agreeing on a common set of requirements, the 12 operators would enable LG to achieve major economies of scale in manufacturing, logistics and marketing.

“These will enable those cost efficiencies to be passed on to consumers,” he said at a briefing for Asian media representatives at the 3GSM Congress. The briefing was organised by Ericsson.

Ehrlich said the price gap between 2G and 3G handsets would also be narrowed, and more compelling and affordable content and services would be made available.

“We expect LG to start shipping the LG-KU250 handsets worldwide in April,” he added.

Ehrlich said the LG-KU250 handset would be available at a wholesale price of 30% to 40% less than a typical entry-level 3G mobile phone and be competitive with the multimedia 2G handsets on sale today.

The product, which has a chipset supplied by Qualcomm, supports video calls, high-speed Internet access, MP3 music and video playback/recording, multi-tasking and a wide range of other multimedia services.

Additional specifications include Bluetooth capability, an external memory slot, standby time of 300 hours and 3G voice talk time of 180 minutes.

“The LG-KU250 has a clear mass market appeal and will help fuel interest in 3G services worldwide,” he added.

Ehrlich noted that although there was only one winner, GSMA would not stop the other 18 participating handsets from entering the marketplace.

“The other manufacturers that lose may also commercialise their products, and if they do so, consumers will have a wider choice of affordable 3G phones to choose from,” he added.

Meanwhile, the GSMA has announced a new initiative to promote the worldwide use of mobile phones for payments at points-of-sale.

A total of 14 operators, representing about 900 million mobile users, have agreed to take part in the association's Pay-Buy Mobile programme, which seeks to define a common global experience for mobile phone payments.

Ehrlich said mobile payments would be made using a SIM/Universal Integrated Circuit Card embedded in handsets, plus the Near Field Communications technology that would link mobile devices with payment and contactless systems.

The first phase of this initiative will begin with a business model analysis, followed by an end-to-end trial in South Korea later this year.

Korea Telecom Freetel, South Korea's leading mobile communications operator, will lead the trial, which will include participants in the value chain, from banks and credit card providers to retail organisations and handset makers.

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