Microsoft and Nokia might be making a big push for Windows Phone in the United States, but other OEMs haven’t been quite so active as of late. LG was one of the original launch partners, and the company has now said it has no plans to introduce any new Windows Phones onto the market. LG will instead focus its efforts on Android, as said during its earnings call last week.
While LG say it will “continue research and development efforts” for Windows Phone, the company won’t be making any new handsets in the immediate future. A spokesperson for LG further alluded to poor sales, saying that “the total unit of Windows Phone sold in the global market is not a meaningful figure.”
LG has been losing money over the past few quarters, and only recently began turning a profit in Q1 2012 after refocusing efforts on its best performing products. Sales still declined, but the higher margins on products helped the company turn a profit. It makes sense then that the company would want to focus on its more successful products, and if Windows Phone isn’t delivering big numbers it stands to reason that LG would cut it from their portfolio.
Meanwhile, Steve Ballmer is said to be visiting Seoul for one day in order to meet with the chief of LG Electronics. While Microsoft and LG both have no records of a set meeting, the timing comes after LG’s last earnings conference call where an executive reaffirmed the commitment to Android following recent strong sales of LTE handsets, and said the company would be taking a step back from Windows Phone.
