LG Electronics (LG), a worldwide technology and design leader in mobile communications, has launched their online application store to enhance the mobile experience of LG handset users in the UAE. The LG Application Store (http://www.lgapplication.com) officially went live on July 14th 2009 in Asia first and is in the process of expanding the service to a further 24 countries, including South Africa, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong and Italy. LG expects to widen the number of applications to 2,000 by the end of year. Among these, over 100 programs will be available free of charge to LG handset users.
“To meet the growing demand for software contents from consumers, LG expands its business portfolio into application & software contents business,” said Mr. H.S. Paik, President of LG Electronics Gulf FZE. “We saw that in many ways consumers were getting the short end of the deal, where many applications were premature in terms of being commercially viable. On the contrary, the LG Application Store is a platform that is aligned with LG’s proven quality, allowing the users to take full advantage of the handset.”
To ensure that the quality of the applications is top notch, both LG and the content providers have carefully selected the most convenient applications and underwent a rigorous quality test before they are made available for download. Users will be able to download with confidence knowing that the applications have passed the regulations for seamless operation.
Associated with the LG Application Store is the LG Mobile Developer Network (http://developer.lgmobile.com), a website specifically designed for third party software developers that invents games and apps for LG mobile phones. Since its opening in last October,
the site has been significantly renovated with enhanced contents and has reopened as of June 2009. The number of applications is expected to expand even further over time as developers will be given added incentives. At the website, developers can develop and share widgets and test their applications through Virtual Developer Lab and Over-The-Air downloads. Currently the website supports Java SDK and for widgets, it will support VDL, OTA D/L by the end of the year.
To access the LG Application Store, users can either visit www.lgapplication.com and download applications to a computer, or directly access the shop from selected LG mobiles by flicking horizontally on the “Quick key box” at the bottom of the home screen and touching the App icon. More feature phones from LG will be able to access the LG Application Store in the future.