LG Electronics debuts its mobile app processor

LG Electronics’ first mobile application processor, Nuclun. Provided by the company

LG Electronics has launched a new smartphone with a mobile application processor it solely developed.

The processor, Nuclun, is installed on the new LG G3 Screen smartphone, which will be sold exclusively through LG U+, the nation’s No. 3 mobile carrier. It will retail at 803,000 won ($758).

LG, the nation’s second-largest smartphone vendor, has reportedly invested 200 billion won in research and development over the last two and a half years to launch its own mobile application processor. And although the new system was not implemented in its premium smartphones such as the G3, LG said the focus was on commercializing the mobile application processor.

“Nuclun opens up a new chapter in LG’s history of innovation in the mobile industry,” said Park Jong-seok, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “With this in-house solution, we will be able to achieve better vertical integration and further diversity in our strategy against stronger competition. Nuclun will give us greater flexibility in our mobile strategy.”

LG’s G3 Screen has an expansive 5.9-inch full HD in-plane switching liquid crystal display, a 13-megapixel back camera, a 2.1-megapixel front camera and a 3,000-mAh removable battery. It has the largest screen among smartphones that run on the LTE-A broadband service.

LTE-A provides a maximum download speed of 225 megabits per second, allowing users to download an 80-megabyte video in 2.8 seconds and a 1-gigabyte movie in 36.4 seconds.

“The G3 Screen will deliver download speeds three times faster than the regular 4G LTE networks for a truly smooth and satisfying multimedia experience,” said an LG Electronics spokesman.

For LG Electronics’ business with the mobile application processor to exceed the break-even point, the company needs to sell 10 million units that run on Nuclun.

BY KIM JUNG-YOON [kjy@joongang.co.kr]