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With the Optimus part of its name left by the roadside, LG’s G2 is expected to be formally revealed at an event in the US in early August.
(Credit: LG)
Speaking to the Korean news site The Kyunghyang Shinmun, LG’s CFO David Jung let slip a few choice bites of information about the release plans for the new flagship phone.
Obviously, South Korea will have the phone first, with an August launch date, and the US will follow in September.
However, it’s Jung’s description of a “global launch” in October that may whet the appetites of Australians.
LG has recently launched smartphones either late or not at all in the Australian market. The LG Optimus G launched locally in mid March, five months after the November 2012 launch in the US.
The current flagship phone, the Optimus G Pro, has never arrived in Australia, despite being very well reviewed after its May 2013 launch in the US.
If the “global” truly means global, then this could indicate a shift in LG’s policy for Australian phone launches, at least as far as the G2 goes.
LG’s mobile division has become a force to be reckoned with; Q2 2013 sales were up 34.5 percent year on year. The company expects this boost to continue, mainly bolstered by its mid-tier range of L- and F-series phones.
And this is what could be the fly in the ointment for a local launch: LG tends to think of its flagship phones as enhancing its “competitive profile”, not its bottom line. With other phone series already selling well in Australia, a G2 Australian launch may not prove cost effective, meaning the “global launch” may once again have a few gaps in it.
