Market researcher IDC blamed LG's performance on an aging portfolio of handsets and low prices in emerging markets, and said the company lost market share due to the fumbles.

LG's global handset market share dropped to 8.4 percent last year from 10.1 percent a year earlier, according to IDC figures, as rivals made a grab for its customers.

Samsung Electronics, the second biggest mobile phone vendor last year, increased its global market share to 20.2 percent from 19.4 percent, while smaller rivals ZTE and Apple both gained on LG. Chinese phone maker ZTE increased its share to 3.7 percent from 2.3 percent, while Apple's market share rose to 3.4 percent from 2.1 percent.

Worse for LG last year was its negative growth rate. It shipped 1 percent fewer mobile phones in 2010 than in 2009, according to IDC, while Samsung shipped 23.3 percent more to 280.2 million units. Shipment growth rates among smaller rivals was far better even than Samsung's, with ZTE gauging a 94 percent increase in mobile phone shipments to 51.8 million and Apple achieving an 89.2 percent boost to 47.5 million.

IDC estimates the worldwide mobile phone market will be driven largely by smartphones through the end of 2014, including a 44 percent increase in smartphone shipments this year alone.