[ad_1]
LG Electronics has been rather active in the IP field in recent days, after taking steps to protect a number of terms believed to be potential candidates on behalf of its first collapsible Android smartphone, which the company has already confirmed is in preparation for. As originally reported on the Dutch technical blog LetsGoDigital, the company has registered the brands Duplex, Foldi, Flex, Solid, Solidis, XB and XF. Some of these nicknames more clearly indicate a foldable handset than others, although most seem to signal that the South Korean technology giant is preparing to establish at least an entirely new product line in the near future.
All brands have also been filed explicitly in the context of the smartphone industry, LG filing its applications with the Office of Intellectual Property of the European Union. Aside from the Flex and X names, the rest of the new wave of marks relates to names that LG has not used for commercial purposes in the past. The Flex and Foldi repositories are apparently simple candidates for LG's first flexible handset, while the others are a bit more vague. As with all IP repositories from a major electronics manufacturer, there is still no guarantee that LG will market any of the monikers that it has now solved as a trademark.
Context: Five years ago, the Seoul-based smartphone maker launched the LG G Flex, the world's first consumer handset with a curved screen and housing. His P-OLED panel impressed many critics, although the device itself failed to achieve significant commercial success. LG responded to the flagship gadget with G Flex2, which debuted in early 2015, but after the product also received a lukewarm response from consumers, the company ended its efforts to flexible panel. In the meantime, Samsung is pursuing a similar project, introducing for the first time a curved screen phone in the form of the Galaxy S6 Edge in April 2015. LG's Korean rival continues to iterate on this design to this day and has shown no indication of moving away from curved moving panels in the near future.
The XB and XF brands also suggest that LG will continue its entry-level series of Android handsets, established in 2016 with X Screen, followed by X Cam and X Power. The majority of the range has not been updated since, with only X Power being tracked in the form of the X Power2 launched in mid-2017. A month earlier, the manufacturer had also launched the LG X Venture, a rugged, IP68-certified, dust-and-water resistant, low-end smartphone, as well as a housing manufactured to the standard of MIL-STD 810G military durability. The names Solid and Solidis may indicate another robust new device being developed, although LG's chances of devoting resources to such a category of niche products remain somewhat questionable. The company's flagship products are both IP68 and MIL-STD-810G certified, even though they are not advertised as robust. Nevertheless, LG's recent financial reports suggest that the company has had some success with value-based devices. Therefore, a continuation of the X series, in any form whatsoever, is certainly not impossible.
LG is far from the only original equipment manufacturer currently looking for foldable handsets and will certainly not be the first to market such devices. Samsung and Huawei would both be closer to releasing flexible smartphones than LG. The Chinese company has recently registered under the brand name a number of potential names that may be associated with these products, according to the IP documentation reviewed by AndroidHeadlines. The source in question suggests that Huawei's first collapsible phone will be Mate brand, with two of its potential names – Flex and Flexi – being similar to one of the monikers that LG is currently considering. It remains to be seen whether this might indicate a brand dispute later, although the general nature of the word flex and its derivatives may see it becoming as ubiquitous as the terms "pro" and "plus". in the smartphone market today.
In a recent interview with AndroidHeadlinesAn LG official said the company was striving to make the world's most interesting smartphone, instead of being the first to launch such a device, but declined to provide much details about it. The company's foldable phone project is thought to revolve around another P-OLED panel and, like Samsung and Huawei, LG is likely to launch such a phone as a new flagship solution. Seeing that flexible displays already lead to high production costs, which will make the first generations of such devices extremely expensive, manufacturers do not see the point in equipping them with the best specifications, which do not affect the result. final. price as much as flexible panels do.
Impact: The fact that LG is already filing potential brand names for its first collapsible smartphone suggests that the company could market such a device in the near future. The latest development is in line with the company's statements about it, which indicated that its foldable cell phone could be released as early as the second half of 2019. The recent trademark filings of LG and Huawei also suggest that the word "flex" could possibly become so widespread. on the smartphone market as are the nicknames "plus" and "pro" today.
What's still uncertain is exactly what LG's first collapsible device will look like and what kind of features its unique form factor will allow. The entire industry is moving towards the commercialization of flexible mobile displays and Samsung has already introduced its Infinity Flex panel earlier this month, indicating that the module in question would be part of its first folding device. LG's plans are less clear, although the company will likely base its flip-handset on its P-OLED technologies, which it has been perfecting for more than five years now. LG could share more details on its flexible phone project when the MWC 2019 starts at the end of February.
Source link
