LG

A relatively new company by industry standards, Korea-based LG was established in 1958 as a maker of radios, TV's, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners. The company was a merger of two Korean companies GoldStar and Lucky, hence the abbreviation of LG. Its current slogan "Life's Good" is derived from those initials.

In 1995 GoldStar was rebranded LG Electronics, and at the same time took over Zenith Electronics from the USA.

LG has made been able to grow so rapidly mainly through key acquisitions and mergers. It has partnerships with several companies including, Philips Electronics, Nortel and Hitachi.

LG Telecom was one of the first corporations to launch a commercial 3G service using PCS technology. In 1997, LG launched its second PCS network, offering a vastly improved data transmission speeds.

By 2003, it had entered the North-European and Middle East GSM mobile phone market and only two years later it had become the fourth-largest supplier of mobile phones worldwide. This was aided by innovative products such as the world’s first 3G UMTS DMB handset, 3G-based DVB-H and MediaFLO phones.

Also in 2006, LG's mobile phone division, LG Mobile, launched the LG Chocolate phone, altering the company's image of large chunky 3G phones. LG is now focused on the design and marketing of cell phones such as the LG Shine and LG Prada (KE850). As a result, the company was selected as 'The Design Team of the Year' in 2006-2007 and is been often nicknamed the 'New Apple' or 'New Sony' in the mobile phone industry and online communities.

LG Telecom in Korea offers an array of mobile phone services. BankOn is a very popular Mobile Banking services and MusicOn is an on-line music store.

Currently LG Electronics sits number five but is expected to become the fourth largest mobile phone maker in 2008.