As noted in the Editor's Corner above and the Vodafone-Hutchison Essar story below, capitalizing on mobile opportunities in emerging markets is a central theme here at 3GSM. In his keynote address today, GSMA CEO Rob Conway announced that LG has won the contract for the GSMA's 3G For All initiative: LG's handset "speaks well to those who are coming into 3G. It is compelling. It is affordable. It is feature-rich... We know that chipsets are upwards of 40 percent of the cost, so we also must recognize the chipset supplier for the handset, and in this case Qualcomm provides the chip in the LG handset, so we also recognize Paul Jacobs and Qualcomm."
Last June, the GSMA announced the 3G For All project along with the competition for handset manufacturers to design a phone that the organization will evangelize widely in both developed and emerging markets. The project aims to bring 3G multimedia services and mobile Internet access to many more people in both the developed and the developing worlds. The contract is a veritable coup for LG, which has enjoyed two action-packed days: The first major handset maker to license Windows Mobile 6 and the launch of its Prada phone.
ALSO: Motorola's handset, the MotoFone F3 won the GSMA's award for "Best Ultra Low Cost Handset in 2007." The MotoFone F3 is not a 3G phone, however. Release