LG to unveil 1st smart TV

A model shows a prototype model of LG Electronics’ first “smart” television, which will be unveiled at the IFA trade fair in Berlin.
/ Courtesy of LG Electronics

By Kim Yoo-chul

LONDON _ Korean technology giant LG Electronics plans to release its first ``smart’’ television, equipped with its ``NetCast 2.0’’ for Web-connected televisions, at the upcoming IFA trade fair in Berlin.

LG, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of flat-screen televisions behind Samsung Electronics, claims to be providing an ``all-in-one’’ device for its data-handling television, it hopes will provide competition to similar products planned by Apple and Google as well as its Korean archrival.

Television heavyweights like Samsung and LG are vowing to acquire the lion’s share in smart televisions, which along with three dimensional (3D)-enabled flat screens, is the buzzword in consumer electronics.

However, the television makers lack in areas such as software capability and content delivery compared to Apple and Google, which have acquired massive developers’ networks through their content platforms for smartphones that they hope could trickle down to the foundations for their nascent televisions business.

As a result, companies like Samsung and LG are seeking partnerships with movie studios, entertainment companies and other content providers to reduce the gap, while also seeking to use their manufacturing prowess as an edge.

Industry watchers believe that the expected launch of ``Google TVs’’ may ring in the new era of smart televisions and jolt the growth in online video content and techniques for streamlining high-definition (HD)-quality pictures.

LG said its smart televisions will be focused on being ``easy,’’ ``fun,’’ ``more’’ (content and functions) and ``better.’’

The first products out of the gate will be equipped with a graphic user interface (GUI) that will allow users quick and easy access to a variety of content and applications, many of the moves enabled just by a single click, said LG spokesman Cho Joong-kwon.

LG will also focus on developing personalized applications in entertainment, games, life-related functions, education, news and information, which could be easily downloaded on the television sets.

The company is seeking a partnership with over 120 television networks and content providers to deliver a wealth of programs in movie, sports and news coverage. LG’s partners currently include online video giant YouTube, which happens to be a unit of Google, as well as Maxdome and Orange.

There are also rumors that LG will collaborate with Google to present its own version of Google TV early next year, which may coincide with its debut of its applications store, ``LG Apps,’’ although Cho declined to comment on the speculations.

``It seems inevitable for major television manufacturers, including LG, to partner with Google as they wouldn’t be able to bear the cost of developing their own platform and relying on it entirely,’’ said Kim Young-woo, a Seoul-based analyst at HMC Investment.

Google’s Android mobile platform has been gaining increasing popularity among software developers in past years due to its open-source nature and the wealth of handset vendors _ including Samsung, LG, HTC and Motorola _ supporting it.

Google envisions Android to become more than just an operating system for mobile phones, but also power the systems of a variety of devices such as tablet computers, laptops, and of course, televisions.

With more and more consumer devices powered by Android, LG’s future lineup for smart televisions will likely be dominated by Android-based models, according to company officials.

Although Samsung is trying to build its own developers’ network through its own mobile platform, ``Bada,’’ LG doesn’t have such aspirations and is rather focusing on strengthening its partnership with companies like Google and Microsoft.

LG ‘스마트’TV 공개한다

LG전자는 오는 3일 독일 베를린에서 개막하는 유럽 최대 가전전시회인 'IFA 2010'에서 자체 플랫폼을 적용한 스마트 TV를 처음으로 일반에 공개한다고 1일 밝혔다.

LG전자의 스마트 TV 플랫폼인 '넷캐스트(NetCast) 2.0'을 기반으로 한 이 제품은 개방성과 사용자 경험(User Experience) 측면을 강화했다.

LG전자는 '무한 콘텐츠로 가는 가장 쉬운 관문'이라는 콘셉트의 스마트 TV가 쉽고(Easy), 재미있게(Fun), 더 많고(More), 더 수준 높은
(Better) 프리미엄 콘텐츠와 서비스를 이용할 수 있는 TV라는 점을 부각시킬 계획이다.

홈 대시보드(Home Dashboard)로 명명된 LG 스마트 TV의 그래픽 유저 인터페이스는 실시간 방송과 주문형 비디오(VOD) 서비스 같은 프리미엄 콘텐츠와 앱 스토어, 선호 채널, 추천 콘텐츠 등을 각각의 카드 형태로 한 화면에 배치했다.

이 때문에 스마트 TV의 다양한 콘텐츠와 애플리케이션을 여러 화면을 거치지 않고 한눈에 확인해 한 번의 클릭으로 쉽게 사용할 수 있다.
LG전자 스마트 TV는 애플리케이션 기능도 보강됐다.

앱 스토어의 TV 전용 애플리케이션이 오락, 게임, 생활, 교육, 뉴스/정보 등의 항목으로 구분돼 사용자의 취향에 따라 최신 인기 애플리케이션을 내려받을 수 있다.