SEOUL, South Korea- LG's handset division may have been catching up on its Korean counterpart Samsung for most part of 2008-09, but it has managed to sell over 1 million of its multimedia phone LG KM900 Arena within five months of its market launch, proving its market potential in the handset segment.

South Korea's third-largest conglomerate, LG, whose business domain extends from chemicals to electronics to telecommunication products entered the handset manufacturing domain in 1997 when it shipped the world's first CDMA phone to Ameritech and GTE in U.S. Since then, it hass been a dream run for the Korean manufacturer in the handset segment, which entered the touchscreen domain in 2007 with the LG Viewty, head-on with the iPhone - the device which bought touchscreen technology to the forefront in mobile industry. To keep up with the changing times, LG has since then launched a string of devices, and going by the recent rumors circulating the web, the manufacturer seems to be on the right track with its handset division.

The most talked about LG handset is the LG GD910 Watchphone which is available exclusively to customers of Orange in the UK. Other rumored devices include the LG KV510 headed to China, LG Versa heading to Telus Canada, LG GD310 and LG GD580 under Cyon and Oz branding in South Korea, and LG GD335 along with KP500N in the Middle East.

LG-GD910

Image courtesy of Orange UK

LG have beaten Samsung in releasing the world's first watchphone by releasing LG GD910 which will be available exclusively for Orange customers in the UK at a special price of £500 for a limited period.

Launched in the UK yesterday (27th August), the 3G watchphone is a definite head turner in the street with its sleek scratch-resistant touchscreen which makes an easy task of texting, along with the in-built speaker and MP3/AAC player bringing portable music player functions to the watchphone as well. The combination of voice-activated commands, VGA camera, and Bluetooth technology provide handsfree operation for most of the commonly performed tasks on this watchphone making it one of the most sought-after gadget in town.

LG KV510

Image Courtesy of LG Central

China is turning out to be the next big destination for touchscreen devices today with most of the manufacturers turning to China with their latest touchscreen offering. Not to be left behind, LG's very own LG KV510 is rumored to be launching under China Telecom branding in the dragon nation.

Not much is known about this device except the leaked image highlighting the resemblance of the model with the LG Cookie, and the device is rumoured to have CDMA/Ev-Do connectivity, with a 240x320-pixels touchscreen, and a full web-browser.

No news on either pricing or availability yet.

LG Versa

Image Courtesy of LG Central

In yet another case of Candian carriers following up on US carriers in launching the same models, Canada's Telus is all set to launch LG Versa, which has been available on Verizon in the US for quite sometime now.

This CDMA device features a 3" TFT screen with a resolution of  480x240 pixels and support for 262k colours, a 2 megapixel camera with autofocus, USB, Bluetooth, and microSD card slot for memory expansion up to 16 GB.

Pricing and availability from Telus Canada is not known yet.

LG GD310

Image Courtesy of LG Central

The latest clamshell model from LG is the LG GD310, featuring quadband GSM/EDGE connectivity, 2.4" internal display with 240x320 pixels, Bluetooth, MP3 player, and a 3 megapixel camera.

The first images of the model to have surfaced on the web show Cyon and Oz branding on them suggesting the devices are due for release in South Korea soon.

No news on pricing and availability yet.

LG GD335 and KP500N

Image Courtesy of LG Central

Intending to cash-in on the ongoing Ramadhan season, LG is all-set to launch LG GD335 and LG KP500N in the Middle East, which come pre-installed with prayer applications like a Qiblah indicator, Qur'an software, Adhan and Salah prayer time alarm functions, Hijiri calendar, and a Zakat calculator.

The LG KP500N is actually a rebranding of the LG Cookie, whose specifications include Active Flash UI, a touchscreen display with 240x400 pixels, accelerometer, a 3.2 megapixel camera, music player, and Bluetooth, while the LG GD335 is a altered version of the GD330, offering a 2.2" screen with 240x400 pixels, 2 megapixel camera, music player, Bluetooth, and a 1GB microSD memory card.

Pricing and availability unknown at the time being.

LG GB170

Image Courtesy of LG Central

Another entry-level device from LG is the candybar LG GB170, which is due in the markets in the next couple of months. The simple candybar features dualband GSM/GPRS connectivity (900/1800MHz), a 1.5" TFT display with 65K colors and 128x128 pixels, music player, stereo FM radio, 8MB of memory, microSD memory card support, and a 950mAh battery.

Pricing unknown as of now.

While LG has definitely beaten the competition in launching the first watchphone in the market, its other offerings are performing in the market as well. To supplement the increasing demand for the budget and entry-level devices, LG is well prepared with a string of devices in these segments. This segment is seeing increased competition in the recent times and market success will depend as much on pricing and launch timing as on the offerings by competitors in the same segment.