LG mum on smarwatch rumors but confirms that a wearable device is coming
The Korea Herald has reported that LG will soon announce a G-Arch smartwatch and G-Health fitness band to go along with an LG G2 smartphone successor. Its unnamed sources pegged the devices as companions for an alleged LG G3 smartphone and said they’d arrive alongside it at Barcelona in February for MWC 2014. A possible smartwatch was actually leaked by an LG exec earlier this year and the company flaunted a Fuelband-like Smart Activity Tracker at CES 2013, which still hasn’t been released. We reached out to LG, and though it wouldn’t comment on the rumors, it confirmed to us that it does have a “wearable product” in the pipeline. Meanwhile, take any rumors with the necessary salt — and if such smartwatches do exist, hopefully they’ll actually be ready for the market.
Source: Korea Herald
LG’s HomeChat will let you command its latest smart appliances via SMS
LG really, really wants you to have a good chat with your washer/dryer and robotic vacuum cleaner. It just announced you’ll soon be able to use the Line messaging app and a new service called HomeChat to give natural language commands to its 2014 Smart Appliance lineup. If you tell the system “I’m going on vacation,” for instance, it’ll put your refrigerator into power-savings mode and program the robotic vacuum cleaner. The app will also update you as to what’s in the fridge, show a history of your robotic vacuum’s cleaning trips and recommend recipes via the smart oven, to name a few other features. LG also announced NFC tagging and smart diagnoses for its upcoming smart appliance lineup, a scheme that’ll help you avoid unnecessary repair visits, download new washing machine cycles and more. All of this will arrive in the flesh at CES 2014, but if you’re interested, maybe avoid seeing Maximum Overdrive in the meantime.
Filed under: Internet, Software, LG
Source: LG
Android 4.4 For LG G2 Rolling Out Now In Korea
If you own a LG G2 and you live in Korea, you’ll be happy to know you may have another Christmas present waiting for you under the proverbial tree. Reports are saying that Android 4.4 for LG G2 is hitting the airwaves now, in particular from Korean carrier, KT. The update is a pretty hefty one at 637.39MB and will bring the G2 from its decidely outdated Android 4.2.2 to Android 4.4 ahead of its Snapdragon 800 competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Sony Xperia Z1.
This actually comes a little ahead of schedule as it was announced by LG Canada that the update wouldn’t be hitting till the end of Q1 2014 i.e. around March. That’s not to say this still won’t be true; it’s entirely possible that LG is doing a soft launch of this update in its native Korea to suss out any glaring issues (as Samsung embarassingly experienced with its Android 4.3 release for Galaxy S3), which would still mean that everyone else with G2′s around the world would still need to wait a few months to get Android 4.4. Even so, it’s nice to see LG is on the ball for once.
Are you excited to hear about Android 4.4 for LG G2 being spotted in the wild? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Source: Ruliweb, Phone Arena via Overclockers Club News
Daily Roundup: 2013 Mac Pro review, Jack Dorsey joins Disney, Google powered robots and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Apple Mac Pro review (2013)
Apple’s latest workstation is a powerhouse. Armed with up to 7 teraflops of computing power, a super chill cooling system and beautiful new design, the 2013 Mac Pro is more than ready for the modern age. Click through for our review.
Canonical previews a dual-booting mobile future
Canonical is set to keep its promise and bring an Ubuntu/Android Dual-booting solution to mobiles sometime in 2014. Click on through for more info about the developer preview.
Jack Dorsey joins Disney board of directors
Today, Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey joined Disney’s board of directors. Click through for a quick look at how the social network’s inaugural user (@jack) wound up working for the mouse.
Google-powered machines lead DARPA’s Robotics Challenge (video)
SHAFT, the Google bot above, took first place at DARPA’s rescue-oriented competition this past weekend. Click through for more information about the event and Mountain View’s most recent robotic endeavors.
Filed under: Misc
LG’s new Pocket Photo 2 printer is incrementally smaller, better
We’ll have to take LG’s word on the success of its Pocket Photo mobile printer. Primarily because we fear the lady above and her soul-stealing stare, but also ’cause it would explain the investment in a sequel. LG’s Pocket Photo 2 is slightly thinner than its predecessor, and is said to have an improved battery life with 30 photos’ worth of juice. Printing resolution has been upped to 600 DPI and the platforms graced with companion apps are listed as Android, iOS and Windows 8. Otherwise, it’s much the same as the original — you pair up via NFC/Bluetooth, and can add QR codes and text to images before printing, as well as filters for the Instagram generation. Prior to a wider launch, the Pocket Photo 2 will hit Korea for an unspecified price in mid-January, shortly after LG tries to drum up interest for it at CES.
Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops, Peripherals, Tablets, Mobile, LG
Via: FoneArena
Source: LG (Korean)
LG teases CES home theater lineup including a multi-room music streamer
Nothing says “holiday cheer” like a fresh coat of snow, hot toddies and scads of CES pre-announcements from LG. After dishing on some of its 2014 smart TV plans, the Korean company has now moved on to audio, detailing several new components starting with the NP8740 wireless audio system. It’ll let you play music through your house in a similar fashion to to Sonos’ Play:1 speaker, thanks to a dual-band 2.4/5Ghz WiFi system using so-called mesh network technology. That means each speaker can repeat the signal throughout the house, letting you play the same song everywhere or choose music on a room-by-room-basis. It can even connect to other audio systems and let you control the whole shebang with a smartphone app.
The company also revealed its LAB540W SoundPlate, a slim home theater receiver for 32-to-55-inch TVs with a 4.1-channel, 320-watt amp and external wireless subwoofer. It packs a built-in 3D Blu-ray player and smart TV functions, letting you stream audio from a portable device via WiFi or Bluetooth. For those who just need audio, LG also flaunted the 320W NB5540 soundbar that can either work via a Bluetooth connection or over a single HDMI cable from your TV, thanks to an audio return channel. As usual, there’s no sign of pricing or availability for any of these products yet, but we’ll be boots on the ground next month at CES 2014 in Vegas to fill in all the details. Meanwhile, check after the break for a few more pics.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, LG
Via: Pocket Lint
Source: LG
The best HDTV deals of the week: 12.22.13
With Engadget’s new tools, you can track price drops on thousands of devices every day, and once a week we feature some of the best deals right here. But act fast! Many of these are limited-time offers, and won’t last long.
Have all of your shopping wrapped up already? No? Well, we’re here to lend a hand. You’ll decide quickly in order to make sure one of these HDTVs arrive ahead of the holiday, but a trio of worthy options with attractive price cuts await on the other side of the break. Be sure to visit our product database to monitor prices on these gadgets and more as they move around. Join us and add the gadgets you’re shopping for to your “Want” list; every time there’s a price cut, you’ll get an email alert!
Price: $798 (regularly: $1,300)
Buy: Amazon
Vizio’s 42-inch E-Series smart HDTV sees a $500 discount here, enabling you to save significant coin and nab built-in Netflix and Hulu streaming at the same time. According to our price drop tool, this is the lowest price on the unit in a month, too.
Price: $1249 (regularly: $2,300)
Buy: Abe’s of Maine
Matching its 90-day low, the LG LA7400-series 55-inch offering sees a $1,050 price cut just ahead of Christmas. The display’s ultra-thin bezel and 240Hz refresh rate make it a worthy consideration, especially at a lighter hit on the ol’ wallet.
Price: $3,298 (regularly: $4,000)
Buy: Amazon
If you’re after a much larger unit for viewing those holiday pastimes, this 70-inch Sharp option should do the trick. Outfitted with the company’s Quattron color tech, this HDTV is also WiFi enabled for streaming that Home Alone marathon later this week.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
LG’s webOS Smart TV tipped to arrive at CES
Remember when LG bought the festering remains of the once proud webOS project from HP with the plan to add it to Smart TVs? Nearly a year later and it looks as if the company is ready to show off the results. According to ZDNet Korea, company officials told investors that next fortnight’s CES is where the platform will launch. At the same event, LG chiefs also said that it would throw its weight behind Palm’s Enyo open-source JavaScript development framework in the hope of encouraging third parties to craft software for the new system. You never know, maybe Jon Rubinstein’s big project could get a happy ending after all.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software, HD, LG
Via: The Verge
Source: ZDNet Korea (Translated)
LG’s 105-inch, 21:9 curved UHD TV is wide enough to be a tanning bed
LG already has a big 77-inch curved Ultra HD OLED TV, but why stop there? The Korean company has just announced that it will be unveiling a 105-inch version at CES next month, but with a twist: this one uses LCD instead of the more expensive OLED, courtesy of improved TFT technology for an even backlighting across the curved surface. Furthermore, this 105UB9 model has a wider-than-usual 21:9 “CinemaScope” aspect ratio, thus providing a 5,120 x 2,160 UHD resolution (but technically not 5K). While we likely won’t find out about the pricing of this monstrosity until CES, this milestone for LG Display’s LCD technology could signify a wave of more affordable curved TVs next year — much like what Sony’s attempting with its S990A. Stay tuned for our eyes-on report once we hit the show floor.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, LG
BBM to be Preinstalled on Some LG Devices
When the Blackberry Messenger app first got leaked out, pulled, and then officially released it was met with excitement and disappointment. While many couldn’t believe it was coming to Android, it took off like a bolt of lightning. Current numbers in the Play Store put it in the 10 to 50 million download bracket. The launch didn’t go all that smooth and had plenty of bumps, but it is alive and obviously flourishing.
Blackberry claims there are around 80 million active users sporting the software with 20 million of them being Android users. It makes sense that they would want to attempt to take it to the next level and find a partner to have the app pre-installed on a device out of the box. A press release that has hit the Blackberry press site has announced just that today. LG will pre-install BBM to the LG G Lite.
“BBM is widely used throughout the Middle East, Africa and Indonesia where smartphone users tend to engage heavily in social networking,” said Kevin Shin, Vice President of Marketing for Asia, the Middle East and CIS countries of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “The LG G Pro Lite offers an optimized BBM experience with its large, high quality display and embedded Stylus Pen.”
“People across the globe are using BBM to connect with each other and the enthusiasm has been phenomenal,” said Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President for BBM at BlackBerry. “We’re extremely pleased that LG Electronics will help bring their customers a more seamless experience with BBM by preloading the app, starting with the G Pro Lite in key markets.”
As you see, there is no mention of the U.S. in their. While BBM will be pre-installed in some LG devices, it looks like it will mostly be for devices in the Middle East, Africa and Indonesia. It is good for Blackberry, even if it might seem a little odd to some of us Android users.
Via Blackberry
AIVAnet 