By Yoon Ja-young



Raider 4G,” an LTE smartphone by HTC

Consumers here are sensitive to trends and their handset isn’t an exception. According to KT, the country’s top communications company, consumers switch handset every 27 months, nearly twice as often as consumers in Japan who get new phones after 46 months of use on average.

Those who are considering getting a new handset may find October the right time for the switch. The handset market will see the launch of diverse long-term evolution (LTE) phones as well as the release of the much anticipated iPhone 5.

Samsung Electronics unveiled the Galaxy S2 LTE, Monday, to compete in the LTE market.

The fourth generation (4G), LTE is expected to greatly alter the way people use smartphones, thanks to the duo of high speed and high definition. Most of all, it boasts ultra high-speed data services with a maximum download speed of 75 Mbps, five times faster than that of the 3G WCDMA network.

Consumers who have been increasingly complaining of the slowdown of the 3G service due to heavy traffic on the network await LTE as the solution. The service is to make high-quality video calls and high definition video content more convenient through a stable and fast network.

HTC, a Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer, was the first to launch the LTE smartphone here. It released the Raider 4G, an LTE phone supplied through SK Telecom, the country’s biggest mobile carrier. LG Electronics also has an LTE smartphone in the works. These LTE phones are armed with a 4.5 inch display, and 1.5 GHz dual core processor. They are based on Gingerbread, the Google Android 2.3 version, to bolster competitiveness in the software side.

These LTE phones are soon to reach consumers once mobile rates for the LTE services are fixed. As the market dominant player, SK Telecom must get approval from the Korea Communications Commission before announcing a new mobile rate scheme. It is currently being developed.

LG Uplus, the smallest mobile carrier trailing behind in the LTE service market, is likely to set the rate after SK Telecom to maintain competitiveness in price.

Hindrances for consumers remain. The LTE network isn’t complete yet. The nationwide LTE network is scheduled to be finished in the second half of next year. In places where the LTE network isn’t available, they must use the 3G network.

The biggest bomb to explode in the smartphone market, however, is likely to be the iPhone 5.

Some people have delayed switching to new smartphones as the iPhone 5 remains dangled in front of them. “I have been waiting for it for the past year. Finally it’s coming,” said Park Jung-hyun, an office worker who has been using the iPhone 3 since the end of 2009.

A survey showed that iPhone users are likely to choose iPhone again. According to UBS Investment Research, 89 percent of iPhone users said they will choose an Apple phone again for their next smartphone. This is far higher than the retention rate of other handset manufacturers. HTC, a Taiwanese handset manufacturer, followed with 39 percent retention rate, Research in Motion marked 33 percent, Samsung Electronics got 28 percent, and Motorola, 25 percent. "Demand for iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro remains robust, with a leading ecosystem that creates sticky demand," the report said.

A number of IT media overseas reported that Apple is likely to release the iPhone 5 on Oct. 4. Currently, SK Telecom and KT supply iPhones here.

However, it may take some time before local consumers get the iPhone 5 in their hands as Samsung Electronics is considering raising a patent lawsuit against Apple to ban the sales of the iPhone here.

Even if Apple releases the iPhone 5 in the global market in early October as reported by a number of media, it may be further delayed as it first must get approval from the National Radio Research Agency.