LG releases second 'New Chocolate' phone

SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. said it has released
a second version of its popular New Chocolate phone on Thursday, about a month
after its predecessor was released.
Aiming to meet the various needs of mobile users worldwide, LG Electronics said
it began selling the second New Chocolate phone at the end of September in
Britain.
The new model will be available in Europe this month followed by its release
across the Asia-Pacific region next month, the company said.
While keeping the characteristic glossy black surface of the first New Chocolate,
the second phone has a sliding keyboard with a 2.4-inch liquid crystal display
(LCD)) screen, according to the company. The first phone was a full touch-screen
phone with a 4-inch LCD screen.
The South Korean company, once widely known as a producer of such home appliances
as air conditioners and refrigerators, emerged in 2006 as one of the world's
leading cell phone makers with its original "Chocolate" phone, which sold some 21
million units worldwide.
LG earlier said the company expected that its newest phone in the Black Label
series would compete with Apple Inc.'s iconic iPhone.
The company overtook Motorola Inc. to become the world's third-largest seller of
mobile handsets in the second quarter of this year. Nokia Corp. of Finland is the
No. 1 maker, trailed by South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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