VUDU on Thursday announced that it has brought brought three key Internet apps to VUDU-enabled TVs. These are the same apps that were already available on the VUDU box and include Picasa, Flickr, Pandora, a free TV on-demand service and a few simple games. VUDU says it brought these apps to the TVs from its partners due to popular demand.
Verizon on Thursday introduced two new handsets, including its first touchscreen Chocolate handset from LG, the Chocolate Touch, along with the rugged Push-To-Talk Samsung Convoy flip phone. While not as advanced as the Chocolate BL40, the Chocolate Touch is being billed as a capable music phone, sporting Dolby Mobile sound processing, an integrated FM radio with 12 presets and song ID, as well as a dedicated key on the side of the device for quick access to music.
Telus this morning took its turn at launching its own HSPA+ network and new devices, including the iPhone. It sells the iPhone 3G and both the 16GB and 32GB iPhone 3GS units at the same $100, $200 and $300 prices as at Bell and Rogers on a three-year contract. The plans are slightly different than Bell's and start with a $50 Clear Choice iPhone plan that provides 150 minutes, unlimited evenings and weekends after 9PM and 500MB of data with tethering but supplies the perk of either unlimited local calls and MMS/SMS messaging to five numbers, double the minutes, or 1,000 outbound (unlimited inbound) messages.
LG now considers the iPhone one of its largest competitors in the smartphone space, CEO Yong Nam said in a Washington presentation today. He dismisses both market leader Nokia and Sony Ericsson as rivals and instead says most of LG's energy is now focused on beating Apple, Palm and Research in Motion. The Korean company is now "investing heavily" in smartphones and is putting most of its focus on touchscreen devices like the Android-based Eve and multiple Windows Mobile phones.
Bell today launched its HSPA+ network and its first devices, including the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G. The network supports up to 21Mbps downstream on the Novatel Wireless U998 ($75) and future modems that support HSPA+ and should also supply as much as 7.2Mbps for the iPhone 3GS and other current smartphones.
Rogers scored a minor coup tonight by becoming the first carrier in the world with the LG Eve. Also known as the GW620, the touchscreen slider is LG's first Android phone and hinges on a special Social Network Services app that pools Bebo, Facebook and Twitter updates into a single area. It simultaneously integrates those with the phone's regular contacts to tie phone, e-mail and SMS messages.
The iPhone now represents almost exactly one third of all touchscreen phones in the US, new comScore info says. Of all touch phones in the country, 32.9 percent are iPhones while all others trail significantly behind. Most of the runners-up are Verizon devices and include the LG Dare and Voyager at 8.7 and 7.8 percent respectively. The BlackBerry Storm has just seven percent, while the T-Mobile G1 is both the most popular Android and T-Mobile phone on the list with 3.6 percent.
At the FPD International show in Japan, LG has revealed its future plans for OLED TVs and confirmed that its 15-inch OLED HDTV will ship before year's end, as promised earlier. LG's OLED sales and marketing VP, Won Kim says 20-inch and larger OLED panels will be built in 2010, 30-inch and larger models in 2011 and 40-inch displays in 2012. Kim points out OLED TVs will be more expensive than their LCD counterparts in 2012, but expects this will flip by 2016.
Apple in two years has pushed the iPhone up to 2.5 percent of the entire cellphone market, Strategy Analytics estimates. The company has roughly doubled its share from a year ago and now has half the share of established firms Motorola and Sony Ericsson, which have remained flat at five percent. Some of the gain is likely to have come at Nokia's expense, as it shrank to 37 percent share, its lowest since the start of 2007.
At the currently ongoing FPD International 2009 in Japan, LG Display and Samsung Mobile Display have shown off two see-through OLED prototype displays. Either display replaces the backing with transparent material, allowing viewers to see what's behind the display with black backgrounds. This is achieved thanks to translucent materials used for the positive and negative electrodes. Both displays are also sandwiched between plates of transparent material.
Hitachi and Toshiba's optical drive divisions have also been implicated in a US Department of Justice investigation regarding possible antitrust abuse, according to another Monday WSJ report. As with Sony, not many other details were revealed, and executives at both Hitachi and Toshiba say they will fully cooperate with the investigations. Hitachi's optical drive business is a joint venture with LG, with Hitachi owning 51 percent of the operation, while Toshiba has the same split with Samsung.
Korea's LG has recently shown off its first netbook with Intel's Core i7 quad-core processor, the 15.6-inch XNOTE R590. Two models will be available, one with a 1.73GHz i7 and the other sporting a 1.6GHz version. Either version will ship with Windows 7 Home Premium and NVIDIA's GeForce GT 230M graphics chipset with 1GB of dedicated RAM.
Telus on Monday revealed that both its HSPA+ network and its iPhone launch will kick off on November 5th and has provided device pricing for its version of the Apple handset. Its pricing will match the Rogers version and see 16GB and 32GB iPhone 3GS units cost $200 and $300 respectively on three-year contracts. Contract-free versions will sell for $700 and $800. The 8GB iPhone 3G will sell for $100 on contract or $600 contract-free.
A new Universal Charging Solution (UCS) has been approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a division in the United Nations, according to a Thursday report. The energy efficient charger will be compatible with all cellphones regardless of make and model, with certain unnamed manufacturers already incorporating the standard into their products, the ITU says. Other than the energy savings, the new charger will also help eliminate waste as the charger can be retained as new phones are upgraded and older ones are thrown out.
AT&T has filed a lawsuit in a federal court in San Francisco on Tuesday against Samsung, LG Display, AU Optronics and other LCD makers for allegedly colluding on fixing the price of display panels in the US. According to a Wednesday Bloomberg report, AT&T claimed Samsung and six others have formed an illegal international cartel meant to "restrict competition in the United States in the market for LCD panels." In its complaint, AT&T claims this conspiracy has included communications and meetings during which defendants agreed to eliminate competition and fix the prices of LCD panels that were coming to the US.
Vodafone UK today added three touchscreen smartphones to its roster that in most cases represent world premieres. The Sony Ericsson Satio is now finally shipping after having been detailed in May and is the handset designer's first Symbian S60 smartphone; besides full third-party app support, it's considered a high-end media phone with a 12-megapixel camera, a 3.5-inch touchscreen, GPS and Wi-Fi. For Sony Ericsson, the phone is a symbolic first as one of its first major devices to use microSDHC cards instead of Memory Stick Micro for storage.
LG Display today staked out a minor first for e-book readers with a prototype of the Solar Cell e-Book. The 6-inch device has its own solar panel and, since e-paper consumes little power of its own, can significantly extend its battery life even with only a 9.6 percent efficient solar charge. LG estimates another full day of reading if the Solar Cell is exposed to sunlight for four to five hours.
Telus' imminent HSPA 3G network has received what should be a more definitive launch date as well as its initial phone lineup. Multiple reports from insiders in HowardForums have staffers training to be ready on or before November 3rd for the new network. The preparation window would have the HSPA deploy at its earliest opportunity and may give a specific timeframe for the announced November iPhone launch on the Canadian network.
The iPhone today claimed an even larger edge in satisfaction versus its rivals in JD Power's second phone satisfaction study of 2009. Apple's smartphone climbed ten points from an earlier score to 811 out of 1,000 while its closest rival, LG, managed just a four-point increase to 776. The two were the only smartphone designers to score above the industry average.
Relative newcomer Kempler & Strauss this morning made official the W PhoneWatch. It provides similar functionality to a watch phone like the LG GD910 but should be even smaller; despite the size, it doesn't require a stylus for its touchscreen interface. It serves as a full media phone with 4GB of built-in storage as well as a microSD card slot and the option of playing videos as well as music; it can even use its camera for video recording.
LG chose Wednesday to launch a new starter touchscreen phone as a spiritual successor to the Cookie. The GD510, also known as the Pop, is more upscale but also much more compact with an aluminum shell that's only just slightly wider than the 3-inch 240x400 touchscreen. It still uses the S-Class interface but has just a single button on the front that changes role depending on the context: it can bring up a menu but will also cancel a task or end a call.
LG on Monday officially announced the upcoming release of its newest New Chocolate series handset, the BL20. While most of the specs have already been known, including the 5-megapixel camera, 2.4-inch display, and touchbutton interface, the official release adds an approximate release date and pricing for the handset. The BL20 should ship in Europe at first sometime in October, priced at the equivalent of $394 without needing a contract.
LG has released specs for its upcoming Chocolate BL20 handset via a developer page devoted to the device. As previously believed, the touchphone will get a 2.4-inch screen with a 240x320 resolution, along with a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus. LG calls it a "simple touch phone" that can connect to HSDPA data networks with 3.6Mbps speeds. There is otherwise quad-band GSM network support and dual-band UMTS compatibility.
More than 15 phone manufacturers will release over 30 new smartphones running on Microsoft's upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system before the end of 2009, the copmany's GCR Mobile Team Unit senior director Benjamin Tan said recently. Tan was speaking to a group of reports at the time, according to a Wednesday Digitimes report. Among the phone manufacturers slated to introduce models are HTC, Acer, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and HP.
South Korea's Communications Commission on Wednesday cleared a path for Apple to legally sell the iPhone in the country. The organization said (subscription required) that it would waive a normal rule that requires domestic location software and instead let individual carriers obtain permission for Apple on its behalf. The iPhone's operating system code base and policies on third-party software would previously have prevented the device from arriving in Korea as-is.
A recent BGR leak reveals approximate release dates of upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 phones coming to the AT&T network. The AT&T Tilt 2, otherwise known as the Touch Pro2, is due at the provider in October, complete with a 3.6-inch touchscreen, a 3.2-megapixel camera, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and Windows Mobile 6.5. It will also be the first variation of the handset to ship with the latest Windows Mobile OS. Also, AT&T will get the HP Obsidian and LG Monaco business-oriented smartphones sometime in November, though they will initially only be offered to corporate subscribers.
LG's upcoming VX8575 handset, the Chocolate Touch, has been spotted again, this time with more detailed images, which were posted in a recent PhoneArena report. The new batch all but confirms that the Chocolate Touch will not look like the similarly named Chocolate Touch BL40 due for Europe. The new photos show off the interface, revealing a lack of LG's S-Class UI.
A video of the upcoming Chocolate BL20 slider phone has been found online, revealing some of the handset's specs and functions. According to a Friday PhoneArena report, the Chocolate BL20 has touch-sensitive navigational and volume control buttons, and will support GSM voice and 3G data networks. Screen resolution is fixed at 320x240 pixels, and there will be a shortcut key that brings up the most often used applications, such as the contacts directory, alarm and calendar, among others.
Alltel Wireless on Thursday announced it is now offering LG's clamshell AX310 handset to subscribers. The entry-level phone has voice-activated calling, a speakerphone and Bluetooth support. Separate controls allow users to record voice memos.
LG on Thursday announced the release of its WIDEBOOK family of notebooks, made up of the R380, R460, R480, R560, and R580. All have a 16:9 HD LED-backlit display and a choice of Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs. The R380 has a 13.3-inch display with a 1366x768 resolution, the R460 and R480 have 14-inch displays with the same resolution, while the R560 and R580 use 15.6-inch LCDs with 1366x768 panels or an optional 1600x900 display.
LG today released its first smartphone based on Android rather than Windows Mobile. The GW620 teased earlier is a high-end model with a 3-inch touchscreen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Most details aren't mentioned, but the company has already hinted the phone will have a 5-megapixel camera, 3G and a 3.5mm headphone jack, and it will come with all of Google's preloaded apps for chat, maps, YouTube and other services.
At the currently ongoing CEDIA show, LG is showing off its first wireless LCD HDTVs, including the 55-inch 55LHX and the LH85 series. The wireless connectivity lets users stream 1080p video signals to the TV sets up to 30 feet away without lag; a separate media box takes the majority of wired input. Power for the sets, however, still needs to come from a cable connection.
LG today opted to launch its own network-attached drive in the N2R1. The box is tailored to media sharing and, besides acting as general storage, can automatically share up to two SATA hard drives to any DLNA-aware devices (like the PS3) or to iTunes clients. A rare addition is a DVD burner that can be used to play or write optical discs for ultraportable notebooks or others that don't have a free drive.
LG on Wednesday announced that its BD390 Blu-ray player now supports video streams from VUDU. The service will allow users to view content such as movies and TV shows, with over 2,200 movies available in 1080p resolution paired with 5.1-channel audio. Other supported sources for streaming video include Netflix, Roxio, CinemaNow and YouTube.
LG today provided final information for the American launch of its SL90 TVs. The new models will now be priced at $2,099 for the 42-inch version and $2,599 for the 47-inch edition. Both represent LG's new "seamless" design that makes the display surface flush with the bezels and are some of LG's most advanced sets, with LED backlighting that boosts their contrast ratios to 3,000,000:1. They also refresh at a fast 240Hz and have cabinets are thinner than many at 1.15 inches deep.
Although overlooked by most, LG's first Android-based phone was spotted at last week's IFA technology show. So far nicknamed the Etna Android, the phone seen by German magazine Chip is a typical QWERTY slider design but with a 3-inch touchscreen and a 5-megapixel camera. Little else was revealed by LG, though it's very likely the phone will also have 3G, GPS and Wi-Fi on top of expected features like Bluetooth.
LG on Friday announced that its first touchscreen phone, the Chocolate BL40 handset will begin shipping in the UK starting in mid-September, then arrive at other European countries before making a full worldwide release in October. The device sports a wide 4-inch, 800x480 resolution touchscreen with a 21:9 aspect ratio which can be split into two virtual halves for multitasking.
New images of what is said to be the LG Chocolate Touch for Verizon Wireless have surfaced recently. Although the new photos don't match up with older sightings of the device, the phone is nonetheless described as the successor to Verizon's existing Chocolate line. No new specs for the handset were revealed. There is also the possibility that the device in these images is not a Chocolate, but some other, as yet unnamed LG handset.
LG on Thursday introduced its latest messaging device, the Bliss UX700. The entry-level device features a 2.0-megapixel camera with video capture, stereo Bluetooth connectivity, and a 3-inch touchscreen with 240x400 pixel resolution. Users can listen to music or access the web through the full HTML browser, while microSD support allows storage expansion up to 16GB.
LG's turn at IFA saw it roll out two new desktop LCDs as well as supply early details of digital photo frames. The W63 series (shown at top) is made for gaming first and adds a number of touches just for PC or console games. A Thru Mode disables the usual image processing to cut down on lag at the expense of quality; Tru Light adds Philips-like ambient lighting to match the tone of some games; a chin-mounted speaker bar provides virtual surround sound better than most displays with their own audio.
LG on Thursday announced it will ship three new Windows Mobile handsets over the course of the next few weeks. By the end of 2010, that number will grow to 13 Windows Mobile cellphones. One of the phones, the GM750 (pictured), will feature a touchscreen interface, another will be a touch slider with a QWERTY keyboard and the third, the GW550, will sport a QWERTY bar form factor. Each will be initially launched in limited markets, including Europe, the US and Asia, before making a global debut.
Microsoft today committed to a ship date for Windows Mobile 6.5, its last significant update to the current generation of its smartphone OS. The first devices to use the new platform should reach shops on October 6th. It's not said which evices will be the first, but HP, HTC, LG, Samsung and unusually Toshiba will be the first to have 6.5-equipped smartphones in North America. AT&T, Sprint and Verizon will be the first in the US, while Bell and Telus should do the same in Canada.
LG will release its GW880 smartphone together with wireless provider China Mobile, according to these leaked images. The device will be preloaded with OPhone OS, a version of Google's open-source Android that has been approved by the Chinese government. The GW880 has support for China’s TD-SCDMA/EDGE 3G connection and includes a 3.5-inch touchscreen with 800x480 resolution, 512MB of built-in memory and 256MB of RAM. There is also built-in GPS, Bluetooth and a 5-megapixel camera.
LG on Sunday said it would launch its previously rumored 15-inch AMOLED (active matrix organic light-emitting diode) TV set sometime in September. When it launches, the LG set will be the largest AMOLED display actually on the market, trouncing Sony's 11-inch XEL-1. LG will show the 15-inch AM-OLED TV at the IFA 2009 show in Berlin.
Apple will probably launch a new Apple TV within the next several months, argues Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. In July's Q3 results call, COO Tim Cook stated that Apple would "continue to invest" in the Apple TV. The company could also have strong incentive to build a new set-top, says Munster, if it decides to offer a subscription service for iTunes video.
The UK division of Orange announced on Thursday it will be the exclusive provider of the LG Watchphone, the GD910, with the device first sold in the carrier's Bond Street Station store in Central London on August 27th. The device will sell for the equivalent of $824, or much less than the previously reported $1,291, but only for a limited and undisclosed amount of time. The handmade watch phone is expected to be relatively popular and will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis, with only one per person. Orange also said another limited batch of the devices will be made available from the provider's online store in mid-September.
Smartphones now represent more than a quarter of all cellphones sold in the US, the NPD Group has revealed in findings on Wednesday. Shipments of the devices jumped by almost half, or 47 percent, year over year in to where they represented 28 percent of all phones in the country this spring. The shift helped push the average price of a phone up $4 to $87.
Three American firms are ultimately going to take control of the smartphone business, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky said today in a research note. He believes that Apple, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and eventually Palm are all "positioned for leadership" and should command the smartphone market when it reaches 35 percent of all phones, or over 500 million smartphones, by 2012. They represent the few companies that properly integrate the hardware and software from top to bottom, according to the analyst.
A larger Sony OLED TV will now have to wait until 2010 at the earliest, an apparent leak signaled today. Once on track for the end of the year, the set now isn't slated to show until next year at the earliest. Those reportedly passing on the information to the Wall Street Journal have portrayed it as an economic move, as Sony likely can't afford to worsen its losses by selling a TV that has little to no profit, as it does with the 11-inch XEL-1.
LG has introduced its latest netbook, the X130, featuring a standard nine-cell battery claimed to enable runtime of approximately 12 hours. The device sports a 10.1-inch LCD with 1024x600 resolution, while powered by Intel's 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU. Standard configurations ship with 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive.
