LG launches G3 smartphone in India, priced starting Rs 47,990

LG Electronics launched its new flagship smartphone LG G3 on Monday. Priced at Rs 47,990 for 16GB and Rs 50,990 for 32GB, the phone would be available in three colours.

"With G3, LG has truly broken technological grounds and we aim to spearhead our vision of 10 per cent smartphone market share by end of 2014 for LG's mobile division in India," LG Electronics India Managing Director Soon Kwon said.

The 4G-supporting smartphone features a 5.5-inch quad HD display, 13 megapixel OIS+ (Optical Image Stabilizer Plus) rear camera and 2.1 MP front camera.

With the latest Android KitKat operating system, LG G3 also has a a removable 3,000 mAh battery, 2/3 GB RAM and internal memory of 16 GB and 32 GB options. It also has a micro SD slot with maximum 128 GB capacity.

LG G3, which sports a 'Kill Switch' that can disable the handset in the event of a theft, features a laser auto focus camera, smart keyboard, smart notice and a slim metallic design.

LG Electronics Marketing Head Amit Gujral said the company expected to sell half a million G3 devices by year-end.

G3 is being launched in India with Rs 15,000 worth of consumer offers, including one with LG's new G watch . The offer also includes Rs 3,500 worth QuickCircle Case free and an one time screen replacement worth Rs 6,500.

Globally, the G3 had witnessed exceptional traction and LG expected the same in India, Kwon said.

The phone is to be endorsed by Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, the company said. The South Korean company will release about 15,000 limited edition G3 smartphones with the actor's signature in the Indian market. 

GREATER MARKET SHARE

LG will launch a few more handsets this year in the Rs 20,000-30,000 range to further strengthen its presence and reach. Currently, the company has phones in the price category of Rs 6,500-65,000.

"We are seeing very good traction and will exceed our target of Rs 2,000 crore in revenues from smartphones in India this year from Rs 800 crore in 2013," said Kwon.

According to research firm IDC, Samsung is the market leader in multi-crore smartphone category in India with 35 per cent market share followed by Micromax (15 per cent), Karbonn (10 per cent), Lava (6 per cent), Nokia (4 per cent) and others (30 per cent).