A collaboration between Korea’s less well-known IT vendor TG & Co, mobile carrier SK Telecom and Taiwan manufacturing company Foxconn, has produced a less expensive option in the Korean smartphone market.
And her name is “Luna”.
At 449,900 won ($380) the price is just slightly above the midrange bracket, but her specs are too. With a look that bares a striking resemblance to Apple’s iPhone 6 (Foxconn does build the iPhone as well), Luna comes with a 5.5-inch, 1,920×1,080-pixel screen, 3GB of RAM, a Qualcomm 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor and 16GB of internal storage.
Altogether, those specs are actually higher than many of Luna’s mid-range peers and comparable to Samsung’s previous flagship Galaxy S5 model.
She also features a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The lens is in the middle of the device, perhaps preventing it from looking anymore like the iPhone than sites like CNET have said that it does?
“Luna is available at a relatively cheap price, although its function is not inferior to that of premium models. It could attract much attention from budget-conscious consumers.”
SK Telecom has declined to give exact numbers, but reports are that Luna has already sold out several times on SKT’s official online store due to higher-than-expected demand.
More midrange players on the market
SK Telecom isn’t the only company vying for the midrange market. Last month former Apple CEO John Sculley revealed the Obi Worldphonet. Available in emerging markets in Africa, the Middle East and Asia the phone is set to sell for $249 and $199.
How well Luna will do in her home country of South Korea remains to be seen. Unlike markets in China and India, Koreans tend to gravitate towards high-end devices from major makers such as Samsung, LG, and Apple.
“Luna is available at a relatively cheap price, although its function is not inferior to that of premium models,” said an SK official. “It could attract much attention from budget-conscious consumers.”
“Luna is particularly popular among younger smartphone users,” a manager at a phone outlet located in Shinchon, western Seoul told Joongang Daily. “While older users rely on familiar brand names, young consumers prioritize actual functionality and price.”
