It isn't just wights that refuse to die (no GoT spoilers here, sorry). Even some devices do, too, if given enough attention, love, and a dose of Android. Nearing a decade since it launched, the HP TouchPad seems to refuse to bite the dust. Especially now that it has just gotten yet another chance with the latest version of Android that isn't even available yet on some of last year's smartphones.
A bunch of new LG ThinQ TVs were announced this week at Google IO 2018. This isn't the first we've heard of this connection - it's just that now, it's for realz. It's a strange thing, announcing once back at CES 2018 that LG and Google had plans to do this, then again, now, when Google and LG confirmed that, yes, they are indeed going to push that Google Assistant to the LG TVs that are otherwise branded LG OLED TV AI ThinQ.
To consumers, and probably even to some businesses, there are really only a handful of operating systems in the world. There’s Windows, Mac, and Linux for desktops and Android and iOS for mobile. Of course, the reality isn’t as simple as that and there are a lot more than you can count, like Google’s Chrome OS, the Linux Foundation’s (really Samsung’s) Tizen, Jolla’s Sailfish, the discontinued Mozilla Firefox OS, and LG’s webOS. That last one is trying to grow out of its niche status and become a serious contender, and LG is open sourcing part of it in order to help it become a global platform.
I could just as easily say the BeoVision Eclipse Wood Edition is a work of art - but that's not nearly so important at the moment. What we've got here is Bang & Olufsen sound and design combined with LG Electronics OLED TV panel tech and software (with webOS and 4K processing.) The 65-inch version of this wild adventure in television hardware is a cool $16k - not something you're going to find at your everyday department store.
Not everyone wants a gigantic TV occupying their living room wall but almost everyone wants to have the experience of having one. The solution? Why a projector, of course! There have been various home projectors put out in the market, ranging in size and resolution, but LG thinks it has the best one yet. At CES 2018, it will be demonstrating not just how bright the HU80K, its first 4K UHD home projector really is. It will also be showing off how easy it is to carry around where and when you need it.
A new Palm smartphone has been tipped to be coming in the year 2018, made by the folks at TCL. The Palm brand has been in limbo for the past half-decade, moving in and out of HP-connected devices then on into relative obscurity. The Palm operating system was acquired by LG and continues to be used (in some form or another) in LG smart TVs to this day - as such, it won't be coming with the Palm phone set for next year.
LG has added webOS, WiFi, Amazon Alexa and more to its latest Smart InstaView Door-in-Door Refrigerator, fitting the double-door appliance with a transparent touchscreen and voice and smartphone control. Revealed at CES 2017 today, the kitchen behemoth is LG's latest push in the Internet of Things, though it's not the only appliance getting smarter. In fact, LG is putting WiFi into all its 2017 home appliances.
The LG ProBeam is the latest effort in consumer electronics to make the home theater a portable affair. Movies will be able to be watched on large surfaces wherever this machine can be brought and plugged in. LG's release comes at a time when a series of extremely popular movies is coming out, once a year, all meant for the big screen - a perfect combination.*
Once upon a time, TVs were crudely simple appliances. Turn it on, switch to your channel of choice, sit back, and enjoy. Modern TV sets, however, have mutated to adapt to the more complex demands of today’s lifestyles. Especially smart TVs that add features to both make viewing more sophisticated as well as complicated. LG’s upcoming WebOS 3.5 release for its smart TVs aim to remove some of that complexity. Instead, it will replace it features to make the TV experience feel seemingly magical.
Back in the days, TVs became the hub of the house. These days, each family member usually carry their own mini-hubs in the form of smartphones and tablets. Trying to reclaim their territory, TV makers have made TVs smarter so that they could do anything their owners want. Including shopping, at least for digital goods. To that end, LG has announced its partnership with Paymentwall to bring the ability to make online purchases on a host of its Smart TVs, powered by its custom webOS 3.0 platform.
SmartThings has announced a dongle that turns Samsung TVs into the hub of a smart home. The SmartThings Extend USB adapter will allow Samsung TVs to hook into the SmartThings ecosystem, controlling over 200 products ranging from lights, through outlets, and more esoteric kit like baby monitors and more.
webOS started out life as an open source descendant of the now defunct Palm OS, initially geared to become a mobile platform to stand tall and proud beside the likes of Android and iOS. After changing hands from Palm to HP and finally to LG, the platform has been retrofitted to simply become a smart TV OS. The latest iteration of that platform, webOS 3.0, will be the bridge between users and LG's 2016 lineup of smart TVs and LG will be singing its praises come CES 2016, which takes place at Las Vegas in just a few weeks.