LG to launch a Windows 8 smartphone?

Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 operating system (OS) is expected to get support from one more Korean tech giant—LG Electronics. The company is working on its Windows smartphone, which is currently at the R&D stage. “At home (South Korea), we are actually working on our Windows Phone 8 OS powered smartphone,” LG India’s Managing Director Kwon Soon told Light Reading India.Kwon however said that the company’s focus will primarily be on Google’s Android operating system. “Android is the major platform globally, given its acceptance and penetration. Although, we believe that Windows will pick up going ahead, as Microsoft is pumping efforts into it,” Kwon further explained.On Windows Phone 8 launch plans, Kwon said that nothing has been decided yet and the company is assessing the market opportunity attached to it.Presently, Finnish handset major Nokia is the only player, which has its smartphone range completely dedicated to the Windows Phone platform. Samsung also offers Windows Phone powered smartphones under its ATIV portfolio.Chinese smartphone vendors—Huawei and ZTE also offer Windows smartphone globally, while HTC has also introduced its Windows Phone 8 OS powered devices—HTC 8S and HTC 8X.Globally, the market share of Windows Phone OS powered smartphone has been improving by each passing quarter. According to Gartner, the market share of Windows Phone OS smartphones stood at 2.9 percent in Q1 FY’13, up from 1.9 percent for the same period of FY’12.LG Electronics is banking high on its high-end Android powered Optimus smartphone portfolio. The company is preparing to expand its smartphone range in India with 22-30 new smartphones planned for launch by the end of 2014. In India, LG Electronics wants to garner Rs 750 crore revenues from its smartphone business by the end of 2013.  The company has less than 5 percent (2 percent) market share in the country, and it aims to increase it to 10 percent by the end of 2014. LG has its fingers firmly entrenched in the Android pie, but that doesn’t mean the company is going to ignore other options.

He was also quick to point out though that Android is still LG’s bigger focus. After all, LG has had some success in the market in the past year thanks to their partnership with Google on the Nexus 4 smartphone. Considering that sales of the device have not peaked in India, where it has only recently hit stores, it's safe to say that LG can expect more fortunes from the Nexus 4

Korean manufacturer LG might be the next major smartphone producer to offer a Windows Phone 8 model. A published report out of India says that while the phone is under development, there is no guarantee that the Korean manufacturer is going to go ahead and launch the handset. While LG has been avoiding Windows Phone, the platform is slowly picking up market share. From a 1.9% market share in the first quarter of 2012, the platform had 2.9% of the global smartphone market a year later, according to researcher Gartner. Whether that is enough potential for LG to decide to offer a Windows Phone 8 model is a question only LG can answer.  Where has LG been during Windows Phone 8′s first year on the scene? The company released a pair of Windows Phone 7 handsets back in the platform’s day (above), but hasn’t continued that involvement so far as WP8 is concerned. From time to time we’ve heard LG mention its aspirations for Windows Phone 8 – back in January, it even sounded like there might be multiple LG WP8 models – but we’ve ultimately had nothing to show for it all. As we wait for such a device to actually arrive, LG is once again talking about its plans, and confirming a WP8 smartphone is under development. For the moment, there aren’t any specific launch plans, and we don’t even have a general launch window; that could mean that things are still early along, so we might have a bit of a wait on our hands.Companies rarely like to speak about future plans, but an LG executive has confirmed that company is indeed working on a Windows Phone 8 handset; however, working on a phone doesn't mean that it will actually be released. The trepidation is understandable considering that the company said its Windows Phone 7 launch fell short of expectations. However, with improving Android sales and a very slow advancement of Windows Phone 8 dominated by Nokia, the company may be more willing to take a chance. Kwon clarified that LG has not yet decided when or if it will release the phone currently in development. The manufacturer is currently exploring options and waiting for a chance to seize on the right opportunity. LG will continue to make Android a priority, but it hasn't ruled out pursuing Windows Phone 8.