LG sells one V10 phone in U.S. every nine seconds

Sales of LG Electronics’ new smartphone, the V10, surpassed 450,000 in the first 45 days since its launch in the United States. The sales can be translated as 10,000 per day, or one sold every nine seconds.

The market’s expectations for the V10 was rather grim when it was first released in October, with forecasts that the phone could fail to win popularity like its preceding model, the G4.

However, when word spread about the phone’s dual camera lenses that allow users to forego selfie sticks and still take group pictures and panoramic shots, consumer groups started to show interest. Positive media reviews on its audio quality and durability also boosted its popularity.

Due to the good response, the share of LG in the smartphone category with more than a 5.7 inch display grew to 35.7 percent, 9 percentage points higher than last month. According to brokers in the securities sector, the mobile phone business division of LG Electronics is forecast to record a turnaround operating profit of 400 billion won in the fourth quarter.

The V10 is popular among young customers in the United States who enjoy sharing photos and videos on social networking sites, the company said.

Actual numbers show that 37 percent of V10 buyers are between the ages of 25 and 34. That ratio is higher than the G4, which had 31 percent of its customer base in the same age group. More customers also lived in metropolitan areas. The company speculates that’s because the phone has a “video expert mode,” a function which enables users to easily create and share video content.

“From the start, our original customer targets were people in their 20s and 30s who enjoy multimedia, which is a rather narrow target compared to our prior G series,” said Lee Cheol-hoon from LG. “Still, with this high number of sales, we can say that the product is well settled in the market.”

BY SOHN HAE-YONG [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]