Reflecting its growing role as a total IT solutions provider, LG Electronics will showcase a host of groundbreaking technologies at Gitex this year, including the world’s largest PDP and LCD TVs, new notebook PCs, and a multimedia broadcast receiving mobile (DMB) phone.
LG’s 71-inch PDP TV, the world’s largest commercially available plasma display TV, will be on display during Gitex. The model is sold as a package that includes a gold-decorated PDP TV, a home theatre system and a digital broadcast receiver.
This breakthrough will have a tremendous impact on the flat panel display industry as the technology was considered impossible to be implemented in a large PDP TV format.
The TV has a stunning aspect ratio of 16:9 and is embedded with a picture enhancing XD Engine. LG aims to be the market leader with 30 per cent global market share in PDP modules by 2005, and the leading manufacturer of PDP television sets worldwide with 20 per cent market share by 2006.
The company is also updating its LCD TV product line-up, and will launch several new models at Gitex this year, including the world’s largest, 55-inch, all-in-one LCD TV.
“New generation designs and innovative product concepts will strengthen our regional product leadership. The latest additions to our IT product line-up, which boast integrated design concepts, will set new benchmarks for superior technology. The upgraded models are also aimed at penetrating niche markets. Increasing LCD demand will come from the large, high-end sector and through continuing regional IT and internet led growth,” said C H Lee, President, LG Electronics Gulf FZE.
Also on the launch pad for LG Electronics at Gitex is the world’s first terrestrial digital multimedia broadcast receiving mobile (DMB) phone, and television-enabled notebook computers. The DMB mobile phone is equipped with a mega-pixel camera and MP3 player functions. LG has built a standard home TV antenna function into the new phone to receive broadband DMB that adopts the DMB-receiving System-on-Chip (SoC). The chip enables users to watch terrestrial broadcasts and talk on the phone at the same time. The phone can broadcast continuously for two and a half hours.
Other products on display include LG’s Express laptops and tablet PCs. Two mini notebooks from the Express series will be launched at Gitex this year – the LW20 that features a 12.1-inch wide screen and powerful 3D sound card, and the LW40 Express notebook with a 14-inch screen and five-in-one memory card reader. Designed specifically for a mobile lifestyle, these sleek and easy-to-carry computers feature the latest Intel wireless connectivity, an impressive ten hours’ battery life, and thin and light designs. The new range of notebooks uses Intel Pentium M processors, and is equipped with the Windows XP operating system.
“We also look forward to introducing visitors to our new multi-drive optical storage devices, portable optical storage devices, mobile phones and new monitors from our award-winning Flatron LCD range,” added Lee.
LG’s plasma display monitors - many of which now feature optional TV tuners - will also be on display in sizes ranging from 42 inches, 50 inches and 60 inches along with Plasma Display Panels - which can operate as monitors or TVs - LCD TVs, LCD projectors, DVD Home Theatre systems, DVD combination units, slim-line DVD players, MP3 players and a range of mobile phones.
LG’s Super Multi DVD recorder supports all storage standards for DVD±R/DVD±RW and DVD-RAM, and eliminates limitations in recording formats. The model enables recording on DVD+R double-layer discs, allowing the recording of 11 hours of video data – this is approximately twice the capacity of existing products. It can also perform time shift functions designed to record and simultaneously play previously recorded video.
LG is the leading monitor and optical storage supplier throughout the Middle East and Africa, and with the introduction of PCs and notebooks, the company now covers every IT product segment. IT products generated regional sales worth US $315 million, and GSM handsets made US $169 million for LG in the region last year. With the restructuring of its mobility division, notebooks, mobile phones and PDP televisions are priority products for the company this year. LG Electronics sold notebooks worth US $25 million in 2004 and is targeting sales of US $100 million for the category this year.
“We want to increase LG’s influence in the global mobile and display industries, while providing innovative technologies to customers around the world. The Middle East is a key market for LG and contributes significantly to LG’s global results. For 2005, LG is targeting overall regional sales of US $2.8 billion, a 34 per cent growth over 2004. LG is forecasting sales of US $80 million in the MEA for laptop PC’s in the retail consumer market, with a 30 per cent market share, and sales of US $27 million in the monitor market. In the optical storage segment, we are targeting sales of US $26 million and a market share of 70 per cent,” said Lee.
