LG: “Operators say there is too much Android”

LG has spoken to Pocket-Lint about the performance of their Windows Phone 7 handsets.

“From an industry perspective we had a high expectation, but from a consumer point of view the visibility is less than we expected,” said James Choi, marketing strategy and planning team director of LG Electronics global.

LG is looking into explanations for this under-performance, but did not blame the OS itself.

“LG has been closely collaborating with Microsoft from the beginning. What we feel is that it is absolutely perfect for a huge segment out there. What we feel is that some people believe that some operating systems, mainly Google, are extremely complicated for them. But Windows Phone 7 is very intuitive and easy to use.”

“For tech guys like us it might be a little bit boring after a week or two, but are there are certain segments that it really appeals to. We strongly feel that it has a strong potential even though the first push wasn’t what everyone expected.”

Despite the feature set of most Windows Phone 7 handsets being near identical, LG has consistently in our and other surveys been pegged last amongst the big 3 Windows Phone 7 OEMs – Samsung, HTC and LG.

Of course most watchers would be able to offer LG a pretty simple explanation – their handsets lack attractive industrial design, something which we are often surprised a company as large as LG can not seem to understand.

LG was however not giving up on Windows Phone 7, noting there was carrier demand for the OS.

“From a vendor perspective, having that balance is critical, being dependent on one OS is not beneficial for us. That’s the same with not just the manufacturers, but the operators as well,”

“There is a need and demand from the operators saying there is too much ‘Android’ in the portfolio. In that sense LG always tries to balance our portfolio, and that’s not just in sense of hardware but OS’s as well.”

LG pegged its hope on future Windows Phone 7 success in cheaper handsets in the future.

“There is a lot of skepticism at the moment, but once Windows Phone 7 handsets that are mid-tier to low tier start appearing the market share will grow. Right now it’s only exclusively present in a high tier, because of its hardware requirements, and that’s limiting growth.”

We would advice LG that this is exactly the wrong route to follow.  Consumers are more than ready to pay handsomely for devices that exude quality and performance, and LG’s thick, plasticy devices have just not been inspiring.   Our advice – buy a design company, and make the next LG Chocolate BL40 run Windows Phone 7.

Read the full interview at Pocket-lint here.