Today in Las Vegas, LG announced what Glee star and LG spokeperson Jane Lynch described as “OMG LG” series of new products and applications to make your home, TV, and mobile phone smarter.
The first announcement in the smart TV space was LG’s SmartTV Upgrader ST600, a device that turns any TV (even non-LG TVs) with an HDMI input into a smart TV.
Going head-to-head with Apple TV and Roku, the bulk of LG’s smart TV announcement was focused on the importance of apps. To introduce the line, Dr. Skott Ahn, CTO of LG North America took the stage.
Ahn noted that content from Netlix, Hulu Plus, Vudu and Amazon would all be a part of the on-demand streaming lineup.
Probably the most exciting thing about smart TV are the sharing capabilities, something that LG’s lineup was certainly not lacking with built-in features like Picasa, Flickr, and YouTube sharing.
The SmartTV Upgrader also supports WiFi so users can stream local content via USB or through a network connection for easy access to computer stored content.
In a similar announcement, LG introduced its “Cinema 3D” technology, which will include a 3D Sound Home Theater System, a network Blu-ray player.
Content can be viewed with cheaper ($20), lighter weight glasses, and will offer less flicker, increased viewing angles, and less strain on the eyes.
Following the SmartTV and 3D announcements, LG went on to introduce the Optimus Black Android mobile, the world’s thinnest mobile phone at 0.36 inches, weighing only 3.8 ounces.
The dual-core mobile phone has a NOVA display, which offers 700 nits as compared to the standard 450 nits for an extremely vivid screen.
In the less talked about but equally cool space of smart home appliances, Patrick Steinkuhl, product insight strategist for LG’s home appliances division introduced the companies advancements.
Steinkuhl talked about a refridgerator that could text you when it was time to get more milk or an oven to tell you it’s time to take out the roast.
WiFi connected applications make for very cool Jetson-esque home automation developments that are gaining popularity within the home appliance space.
Competing with companies like iRobot and its Roomba home vacuuming robot, LG introduced its “Hom-Bot,” a similar robot with dual camera localization and mapping.
The multi-pronged announcement ended with a teaser that yes, LG would be announcing a tablet later in the week. [[LG]]
