Good Tech wins global licensing deal with LG
By Tarmo Virki, European technology correspondent
BARCELONA Feb 14 (Reuters) - The world's No 3 cellphone maker LG Electronics (066570.KS) has signed a deal to license Good Technology's communications platform, helping it to strengthen service offerings on its phones.
Good's platform -- integrating e-mail, messaging, social networking, and media sharing -- could help hardware manufacturer LG in a market shifting increasingly toward services and software.
"Mobile users want to be connected all the time in a wide variety of ways: from e-mail to texting to social networking to sharing photos," said Good's Chief Executive Brian Bogosian.
The entire cellphone industry has started to focus increasingly on services and software since Apple (AAPL.O) and Google (GOOG.O) entered the higher end of the market -- a major challenge for companies like LG.
LG has seen consumers who seek Web and other PC-like functions increasingly turning away from their feature-heavy phones to more advanced smartphones from top vendors Nokia (NOK1V.HE), Apple and Research In Motion (RIM.TO).
LG saw its phone business profit margins falling close to zero in the December quarter as the company had to spend heavily on marketing of its simpler models.
Privately held mobile e-mail company Visto bought Good from Motorola MOT.N early last year, and changed its name to Good Technology.
((tarmo.virki@reuters.com, +358-9-680 50 235, Reuters messaging: tarmo.virki.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: GOOD LGELECTRONICS/
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