LG G5 Friends Website Launched In US, UK, UAE, South Korea
The LG G5 wants more friends and LG is giving it the Web space to do so. Last week, the manufacturer revealed its play to invite developers and third party accessory makers to become closer friends with its flagship. That is, to build future modules for the somewhat modular smartphone. Now it is launching the LGFriends website to become the online portal for that community that it wants to grow, offering a place to collaborate on ideas and eventually even buy modules for the G5.
It might look like an online store but LG positions it more like an online community hub, at least for the future. It will be a place where third party developers can promote their product ideas. It will also be a place for users and interested owners to chime in on the development of future modules. As LG seems to be in need of ideas for said modules, the online portal is definitely a strategic move to gather those into one single place.
Of course, it will also be a place to buy modules. Or rather, to point to where to buy them. For now, of course, only LG's own first batch of Friends are available for purchase, or at least most of them are. The LG Rolling Robot remains marked as "Coming Soon" but almost everything else is available for purchase in most supported markets. Confirming previous speculation, the LG Hi-Fi PLUS, a.k.a. the Bang & Olufsen DAC module, is indeed available only in the UK, South Korea, and UAE, but not in the US. On the other hand, the LG Tone Platinum is not available in the UAE but is sold elsewhere.
LG is doing a soft launch of the website, with many of the sections still empty or unreachable. Since there are practically no third party module developers yet, that part of the website also remains devoid of content, though LG has an open invitation for those interested. The LGFriends website will initially only support the US, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, and South Korea before expanding to other markets that will also sell the LG G5's friends.