Hasta La Gadget!

Police have raided one of Samsung’s offices in Asan, South Korea, after being tipped off about the possible theft of OLED TV technology from rivals LG. More »

It’s no secret that Samsung and LG have been less than enthused with each other in recent months, with Samsung having sought an injunction against the latter company last year. The competitors aren’t calling a truce any time soon, and it seems things might have jumped a notch, with Samsung’s display business’s office in Korea being searched by Seoul police yesterday over possible tech theft.

Reports Bloomberg, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency searched Samsung’s Asan-stationed display headquarters in search of documents that would indicate theft of LG’s OLED display technology. According to the report, the police have an active investigation going on regarding whether LG’s partners leaked the company’s secrets, and, in this particular case, whether Samsung could be on the receiving end.

In response, Samsung’s spokeswoman Jun Eun Sun offered a semi-smug statement: “We have no reason to steal other companies’ technology, as we have the world’s best OLED technology.” While the initial thought is that LG is behind the search, the company’s spokesman said that it didn’t have any involvement in the matter. “The latest investigation is related to large-sized OLED TV panel technology, but the police have made the allegation themselves.”

LG was smacked last year with theft accussations, with six of its workers being charged with stealing Samsung’s OLED technology. LG saw the matter different than the legal system, claiming that the technology its employees were charged with stealing was common industry information and that no trade secrets were involved. As it currently stands, LG has trumped Samsung in the OLED television market.

[via Bloomberg]

Samsung’s offices searched by Seoul police over possible technology theft is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

LG is looking to expand its retail stores in overseas locations by up to 20% this year. It plans on opening up around 600 new retail locations in various emerging markets, including India, the Middle East, and Africa. It currently has 3,000 retail stores located all around the world. Its primary reason for doing so is to increases its smartphone market share, however, its retail locations will also be selling its other consumer electronics as well.

LG hopes to increases its smartphone market share, and get more exposure to its smartphone line-up so that it can better compete with the likes of Apple, and its homeland rival, Samsung. LG sold over 10 million of its LTE handsets worldwide, however, it still doesn’t hold a candle to Samsung. LG plans on doubling its LTE-smartphone marketshare this year, and it plans on tripling its sales of LTE-handsets as well.

LG’s expansion of its retail stores is most likely a reaction to Samsung’s plan on launching 1,400 experience shops this year, with 900 of them launching next month. The experience shops will showcase Samsung’s mobile products, such as its smartphones, tablets, and laptops. They will be launching in Best Buys all over by summertime. These stores will mainly focus on pushing out the Samsung GALAXY S 4, which Samsung plans on selling 100 million of.

LG hasn’t stated how much this expansion is going to cost it, but the emerging markets are the best option for it to grab as much market share as possible. Smartphone shipments in an emerging market like India is expected to grow rapidly. Its anticipated to reach 155.6 million smartphones shipped in the year 2017 alone, which is a 459.7% increase compared to its 27.8 million smartphones shipped this year. Be sure to check out our review of the LG Optimus G, which LG will most likely be showcasing in its stores.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

LG to expand its retail stores in emerging markets is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

LG, CBS Sports, Turner Sports, and the NCAA all worked together to record the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four championship in 4K Ultra HD resolution. This is the first time that a major U.S. sporting event has ever been recorded in 4K, and it’s a start of more 4K programming to come. James Fishler, Senior VP of marketing for LG Electronics USA, stated, “After being the first to market with Ultra HD TVs, it only seems fitting that we’d be a part of the first major U.S. sporting event produced in 4k.”

The 4K recording was displayed on LG’s 84-inch 4K Ultra HD TVs at various, private locations inside of the Georgia Dome. The premiere of the NCAA Men’s Final Four championship in 4K also coincided with the 75th anniversary celebration of March Madness, making it the perfect time to start broadcasting the sporting event in the next-generation of HDTV. Ken Aagaard, Executive VP of operations, engineering and broadcast services for CBS Sports, states that Ultra HDTV can become the future of sports broadcasting.

LG’s 84-inch 4K Ultra HD TVs sell for $19,999. It brings 4 times the details of a Full HD 1080p display, shelling out a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution. It features the LG Resolution Upscaler Plus which boosts lower-resolution content into higher detail. It also comes with an LG Magic Remote which allows you to navigate through LG’s HD TV onscreen interface with gestures and voice search. It has a 2.2 Sound System that brings ultra-quality sound to your ultra-quality television.

LG has some big competition coming from Sony. Just yesterday, Sony released the pricing for its 55-inch and 65-inch 4K Ultra HD TVs, both of which will be available on April 21st. The 55-inch will sell for $4,999 and the 65-inch will sell for $6,999, making them both much more affordable than LG’s current offering. Sony will also be bringing a 4K media player in the future, and it will launch a 4K video distribution service as well in order to jet-start the 4K era.

LG and NCAA records the NCAA Final Four in 4K Ultra HD for the first time is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you happen to live in Europe and have the LG Optimus 4X HD in your pocket (or handbag, you get what I mean), then it is time to sit up and take notice. It seems that the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update has finally arrived, where it catered for folks living in the Czech Republic first, before it hit the rest of the continent. Of course, this version of the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update is available only for handsets purchased in Europe in their SIM-free and unlocked form.

To apply the update, it seems as though it is a must to use LG’s Update Tool, which would be an application for desktop Windows. Hence, this would translate to owning a PC to perform this update, considering how this is not an Over The Air (OTA) update. It does make us wonder, why not just make it an OTA update, it would certainly make life a whole lot easier for all of the LG Optimus 4X HD owners out there?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: T-Mobile Now Accepting iPhone 5 Pre-Orders, Alleged Blackberry 10 R-Series “Curve” Photo Surfaces,