Screenshots

Three months after the official launch in Malaysia, LG Shine is now available for 3.5G connectivity that supports HSDPA download at 3.6Mbps.

LensaPress photos by Jeff Ooi

Image courtesy LG Electronics Malaysia

The Shine variant, model KU970, was launched by I.G. Kim, LG Electronics Malaysia MD and CEO, in Kuala Lumpur yesterday (picture above).

Kim said: "With the increasing number of 3G subscribers over the last one year, 2007 is a very critical period for LG to take leadership for the next-generation mobile phones."

He said LG aimed to become a leader in the 3G market with the launch of the premium LG Shine 3.5G phone.

While retaining most of the appealing features of classic Shine (KE970), the KU970 also marks LG's high-profile entry into the tri-band handset market that supports HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) at 3.6Mbps. It moves rich files over the UTMS 3.5G network, and it comes with a media browser that makes reading files on Microsoft Office applications rather user-friendly.

Operational profitability, worldwide

At a press conference held after the launch, Kim disclosed that despite its late entry into the Malaysian mobile communications (MC) market, sales of LG Shine for the past few months have entrenched its market share, which is currently at an unshakable 5% in Malaysia.

Shine is the second model in the LG Black Label series which was inaugurated by the legendary LG Chocolate.

Kim said LG Chocolate had helped propelled the operational profitability by Q3 2006, and current tracking indicates that profitability has improved to 11.3% worldwide by Q2 2007.

Kim said, to date, over 3 million units of LG Shine had been sold worldwide, with over 25,000 units sold in Malaysia.

LG Shine 3.5G, which is available throughout Malaysia starting yesterday, is retailed at RM1,399.00.

Meanwhile, LG Malaysia has also brought in a new colour variant of the classic Shine, modelled LG Shine KE970 Titanium, that this blogger had previewed in Seoul in march this year.

Kim introducing LG Shine Titanium

LG Shine Titanium, which sports a darker finish compared to the original silverish Shine, is retailed at RM1,299. Availability starts next month.

LG had planned to introduce about 20 models of mobile phones, covering the top-end and baseline market segments, for the entire of 2007. Eighteen had been launched so far.