Samsung, LG Clash for Full Touch-Screen Phones

While mobile phone users have been showing greater interest in high-end touch-screen phones since the launch of the Apple iPhone, South Korea's Samsung and LG Electronics clash head-on for a bigger presence in the local full touch-screen phone market.

On Thursday, Samsung Electronics, the world’s No. 2 handset manufacturer after Nokia, said it will commercialize full touch-screen phones this month. The product, code-named ``SCH-W420,’’ is equipped with a 3.2-inch LCD screen (12.1 millimeters thick), supports terrestrial DMB services and has a 2-megapixel camera.

``The South Korean market has been regarded as a test bed for global success due to the greater penetration of high-tech gadgets. We should not lose the local market,’’ a Samsung spokesperson said.

Both the local players have been accelerating efforts to propel wider full-touch phones focused on the sophistication of User Interface. As User Interface is not considered as a service platform any longer, Samsung and LG are busy to adopt strategy to differentiate mobile handset in order to increase user demands and handset purchase.

Samsung’s rival LG Electronics is also set to jump into the full touch-screen phone market with its ambitious KF-700 model, riding on the wave of ``emotional’’ touch-based models.

The multimedia-capable 3-inch KF-700 phone is the company’s first handset emphasizing better user-friendly interface with multiple navigation paths that help users find their way round the handset without screen upon screen of drop-down menus. The phone also features ``haptic’’ sensory feedback technology, providing precise confirmation.

``The KF-700 model will make a debut in the local market late this month through SK Telecom and KTF. We expect the sale of more than 1 million units this year alone in South Korea,’’ an LG official said.

Experts say the local touch-based phone market will expand further as local mobile carriers have reportedly been told to introduce products from Apple and Nokia to diversify their distribution channels.

Nokia, the latecomer in touch-based technology, is expected to release a full touch-screen handset for the first time in the second half of this year, signaling that even the global handset market will move toward sophisticated gadgets.

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