Verizon Wireless has announced the upcoming LG Cosmos, a feature phone sporting a QWERTY keypad and a budget-friendly price.

A basic phone aimed at social networkers, the Cosmos offers a 1.3 megapixel camera along with quick links to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other social networking platforms. Bluetooth 2.1 and aGPS round out the wireless features with added functions like voice clarity noise level reduction and favorite keys for oft-used contacts.

The LG Cosmos will be available from Verizon Wireless on March 25 at a price of $29.99 USD with a two-year commitment and $50 USD mail-in rebate.

LG has announced great sales success with its GD510 Pop feature phone with over one million units sold in the first 100 days since release.

With a 3 inch WQVGA touchscreen display and optional solar charger, the GD510 Pop quickly became one of the company’s most popular feature phones, offering mid-range add-ons such as a three megapixel camera and included photo and video editing apps for a low price.

LG Pop offers most of the benefits of a smartphone without the steep learning curve. There’s still a huge market out there for phones that do everything right out of the box.

Dr. Skott Ahn, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications

In celebration of its great success on store shelves, LG plans to release the GD510 in two new colors next month: aqua blue and lime green.

LG has unveiled its latest touchscreen smartphone, the 3G-enabled GS500 Cookie Plus. With a focus on easy social networking, the new Plus model continues where the original Cookie left off.

A brand new graphical user interface (GUI) allows quick and easy access to web apps like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and more where friendly networking is concerned and other added features include a built-in three megapixel camera, screenshot snapper MMS function for clipping and sending screenshots from the web.

LG has indicated that the Cookie Plus will open the doors for more Cookie devices to be revealed over the next few months; release details for this handset have yet to be fleshed out for most of the world but Italy and France will see it next month.

Mobile phone manufacturer LG has made a strong commitment to the Google Android mobile operating system with the announcement that 10 of the 20 smartphones that the company plans to release in 2010 will sport Google’s popular OS.

Given LG’s historic involvement with Microsoft and its Windows Mobile operating system, the news comes as something of a surprise but comments made by LG president and CEO Scott Ahn clear up some of the mystery:

Windows Mobile still has its legacy issues that makes it challenging to compete in mobiles: we know it and Microsoft knows it.

LG will continue to release WinMo-based phones and also plans to offer at least one LinMo-powered device (Linux Mobile operating system) in 2010. The company also stated that they plan to increase phone production by 20% this year.

LG has officially announced its second smartphone to be powered by the Google Android mobile operating system; the LG GT-540.

Described by LG as a “social networking device”, the GT-540 aims to be an introductory smartphone, ideal for light-users and first-time buyers. With Google Android 2.0, users have integrated access to a wide variety of internet and social networking tools including Facebook, Twitter and a host of on-board Google Apps.

Multimedia features include a three megapixel camera with autodocus, a 3.5mm headphone jack and the ability to easily customize the phone’s interface through the use of themes, widgets and selectable color variations.

While LG did confirm that it was planning for an April launch, the company did not release full technical specifications or pricing details.

The long list of smartphones running the Google Android platform is growing and LG has added one of its devices to the list with the unveiling of the LG GW620. This announcement comes only days after LG promised 13 new smartphones over the next 16 months to be released with the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system.

The LG GW620 sports a three inch HVGA touchscreen with sliding QWERTY keyboard for the full smartphone feel. Multimedia features such as a five megapixel camera, full WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 and built-in Google services add to the allure of this UMTS/HSDPA device.

The LG-GW620 will appeal to first-time smartphone customers by offering a new and different kind of user experience. Our objective is to provide a wide selection of smartphones to satisfy the diverse preferences of today’s consumers. This Android phone is just one of many smartphone models we plan to introduce worldwide in the years ahead. – Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company

LG expects to start shipping the GW620 during Q4 2009 in select European markets; pricing details have yet to be released.

Orange UK is preparing for next week’s launch of the LG GD910, perhaps the most anticipated watch phone yet manufacturered.

Featuring a touchscreen, 3G and HSDPA connectivity and a built-in music player, the GD910 is a fully-featured phone that fits on the wrist, offering extended options like speech-to-text and text-to-speech to make up for the small form factor and necessary lack of keyboard.

The LG GD910 watchphone officially hits the market on August 27 with a planned price of GBP 500 in the United Kingdom.

Despite the ongoing global recession, handset manufacturer LG is expected to report continued strong growth when it releases its quarterly profit report on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reports that LG will post growth around 10%; this while the rest of the mobile industry is bracing for an expected 10% decline.

LG attributes much of their success to their policy of assigning a single person to oversee each product from early planning to development to release. The company sees this as a sure way to keep the closest possible eye on a product in order to determine its popularity and ideal lifespan.