SMARTER TVs, intelligent homes and more powerful mobile phones are all on LG’s radar for the coming year, with the company announcing a range of new products ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
High definition TVs were the star of the show for LG, with the company saying it planned to launch displays in sizes up to 84 inches, and unveiled OLED TVs.
The firm also showed off 3D gesture control for its TVs, thinner cinema displays, improved LED technology and the company’s first Google TV as it provided a “small taste” of what it plans to unveil at this week’s show.
The Google TV announcement was not a surprise; LG had last week flagged its intentions to show off the device at the conference. There wasn’t a huge amount of detail given at the press conference, but the devices are expected to be on display when the show officially opens today.
There was also some evidence of the impact Microsoft’s Kinect has had on tech firms, with LG debuting its new interface feature using a 3D camera, Magic Touch, announced last year, which is getting voice recognition too.
“Not only can you use your hand to emulate the function of magic remote, you can also enjoy games that recognise entire body gestures,” said chief executive of LG Electronics North America Wayne Park.
At the press conference, LG said it would bring in a new chipset for TVs, the L line, with its own dual core ARM processor for its top TVs. LG said it would also add WiDi to its TVs – Intel’s wireless display technology that allows you to stream content from your laptop to your HD TV – the first time such technology will be used in TVs.
LG’s Smart Share Plus will also enable users to mirror the content playing on their TV to mobile devices. The firm also showed off a new smartphone, the LG Spectrum, with a new HD IPS display. The Spectrum, which also promises better battery efficiency, comes with a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and an 8-megapixel camera, will be available on US network Verizon later this month.
Promising a new era of home appliances, the technology firm demonstrated its vision of your home for the future, one where the fridge would track your food purchases and alert you to food that was about to spoil, a robot vacuum cleaner that can be controlled from a smartphone, and a blast chiller that would cool drinks in five minutes.
Intel, meanwhile, was keen to show off what the new range of Ultrabook PCs would be capable of, powered by its new Ivy Bridge architecture. The devices are set to compete with Apple’s MacBook Air. Intel is pushing for slimmer, lighter notebooks, hoping to inspire consumers to switch to the devices.
“Wow is not a technology word, wow is a consumer word,” Intels vice president and general manager of its PC client group Mooly Eden said. “18mm is only the beginning.”
There has been some concerns over prices, but Mr Eden told the press event that Ultrabooks would be “affordable”.
Intel also demonstrated some multi-touch enabled notebooks.
