LG garners big share in N. American smartphone market

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's second-largest electronics firm, saw its share in the North American smartphone market soar four-fold on-year in the second quarter of this year on the back of a diversified product lineup, a research firm said Tuesday.
According to Strategy Analytics, LG Electronics sold some 3 million smartphones in the North American region during the April-June period, garnering a market share of 11.7 percent, up from the 2.5 percent a year earlier.
LG tied at fourth with Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of the BlackBerry, grabbing a double-digit share in the North American smartphone market for the first time.
Market researchers said LG's various product lines such as the Optimus series have contributed to the sharp growth. LG offered six different smartphone models last year and plans to release 15 more by the end of this year.
"LG's cheap smartphones, which also have high-quality performance, appeal to North American customers who are familiar with expensive smartphones like the iPhone and BlackBerry," said an official from LG.
LG's home country rival Samsung Electronics Co. ranked third with a market share of 15.6 percent during the second quarter by selling 4 million smartphone units, said Strategy Analytics.
Apple Inc. was the No. 1 vendor in the North American smartphone market by selling 6.3 million iPhones, followed by HTC Corp., which took up 20.6 percent with sales of 5.3 million units.
In the Western European smartphone market, Samsung rose to second place in the second quarter from fourth last year on the back of brisk sales of its new Galaxy smartphone series, said Strategy Analytics.
Samsung sold 5.2 million smartphones in the Western European market with a 22.9 percent market share, trailing market leader Apple with a 23.8 percent share.
In Asia, Samsung's smartphones were the second-best sellers in the second quarter, beating the iPhone for the first time, vending 6.7 million units with a 17 percent market share. Nokia was first, while Apple moved into third and HTC was fourth.
brk@yna.co.kr