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(LEAD) LG Electronics to release Android smartphone in S. Korea this month
By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. said Thursday it is set to bring its Android-based smartphone to the domestic market this month, pitting itself against Samsung Electronics Co., Apple Inc. and Motorola Inc. in the burgeoning smartphone sector.
The GW620 model will be introduced in South Korea before March, following its release in the global market four months ago, LG spokeswoman Na Joo-young said by phone. The model is LG's first smartphone powered by Google Inc.'s operating system.
The handset will be the first out of 10 smartphone models that LG plans to sell in South Korea this year. LG will launch 20 smartphone models in the global market, as it strives to catch up as a late comer in the fast-growing smartphone segment.
The upcoming release is expected to test LG's first smartphone at the hands of its home consumers who will be offered a wider selection of computer-like handset devices this year. Motorola released its Android-based Motoroi this month in South Korea, and Samsung is expected to launch its first Android phone in April.
Shares of LG, the world's third-largest handset maker after Finland's Nokia Corp. and its home rival Samsung Electronics, underperformed its industry peers on concerns about its weak smartphone portfolio.
Its 2009 operating margin in the handset business sank 3.9 percentage points to 7.3 percent from a year earlier despite a 17 percent increase in shipments. LG's fourth-quarter operating margin was a mere 1.7 percent.
Operating margin, or the ratio of operating income to net sales, measures how much a company earns before interest and taxes on sales.
LG attributed its handset margin decline to the increased proportion of low-end handsets and a rise in marketing fees. It raised its annual shipment targets to 140 million units, up 19 percent from 2009, adding that it will step up its smartphone business and launch a full line-up in the second half this year.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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