LG Stops Tablet Development to Refocus on Mobile

In what seems to be a trend lately among hardware manufacturers, Korea-based LG Electronics has announced that it will halt tablet development.

Cisco did the same thing a few weeks ago, dropping its Cius tablet line after noticing there was no chance of taking on the iPad. LG does, however, plan to continue developing and producing mobile phones.

"We’ve decided to put all new tablet development on the back burner for the time being in order to focus on smartphones,” said Ken Hong, an LG spokesman.

LG released its Optimus Pad LTE – an 8.9-inch, Android-based tablet with a high-quality IPS display and a 1.5 GHz dual core Qualcomm processor – earlier this year, but couldn't compete with Apple, Amazon or Samsung. The Korean Samsung has managed to gain some traction in the tablet space with its Galaxy Tab line, but still trails the iPad, which continues to dominate the market.

LG may not be able to place its hopes on releasing a Windows 8 tablet, either, as Microsoft's recent announcement to produce its own Win 8 tablet, Surface, has undercut third-party manufacturers with its solid design.

Luckily, LG's smartphone story has a happier ending as the manufacturer has managed to cement itself in this market. While it is still outclassed by the frankly ridiculous sales seen by Apple and Samsung in this sector, global sales of LG's LTE smartphones have reached three million units as of the end of May.

As such, LG does have a chance of successfully claiming a decent market share with its LG Optimus line of Android smartphones. Furthermore, the company has said that it plans to continue making Windows Phones.

In other LG news, the company, along with Samsung, is getting ready to release its new line of OLED HDTVs this winter in an attempt to stay relevant in this highly competitive market that has seen a decrease in global interest over the last year. OLED TVs promise better contrast and clarity than standard LED TVs along with thinner screens.

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