LG has announced that they'll turn up their efforts to market high end phones in emerging markets this year, and that they're all but giving up on the lower end of the handset marketplace.  Korea Times reported the story along with the news that the electronics giant launched the Venus-like KF600 handset in Brazil and China.

``We cannot compete with such industry leaders as Nokia and Samsung Electronics with low-priced phones. We have to set our sights on the market with phones worth $300,'' an LG spokesperson was quoted by Korea Times as having said. 

Indeed, LG has made a name for themselves in the handset market by making style-conscious phones that combine fashion with high technology.  In the United States, the recently released Voyager and Venus for Verizon Wireless join the Chocolate, enV (VZW) and Muziq (Sprint) as LG's mid- to high-end offerings for major carriers.  With another pair of luxury phones - Vu and Shine - rumored to be showing up on AT&T shelves within the next month or so, LG certainly has been staking its claim to the high-end market stateside.

Read more on Korea Times online from here.