Hasta La Gadget!

LG Electronics wants you to have a 3D home entertainment system, and it’s willing to offer you a deal to buy one. It released the Infinia LX9500 and LX6500 series HDTVs, as well as its 3D-capable network Blu-ray Disc player, the BX580. If you buy the Blu-ray player and one of the sets, you can get two free pairs of 3D active shutter glasses, a $100 instant rebate, and a certificate to get the Blu-ray disc Imax Under the Sea 3D by mail.

Both series of HDTVs are available in 47- and 55-inch sizes. The LX9500 uses LG’s Full LED Slim technology for providing LED backlighting in a slim shape. The LX 6500 series uses LED Plus technology to deliver better contrast and clarity. The BX580 Blu-ray Disc Player also offers online options, including Netflix, CinimaNow, Vudu, YouTube, MLB.TV, Pandora, and more.

Remember NTP? The tiny company with a portfolio of patents on wireless email technology that wrung a $612 million settlement out of RIM in 2006 after years of litigation? Well, get ready to fall in love all over again, because the company just sued Apple, Google, Microsoft, HTC, LG, and Motorola for the same thing. Given the company’s protracted history defending its patent portfolio — the RIM case alone took nearly five years and ultimately involved USPTO re-examining several patents, rejecting some and then ultimately declaring some others valid in 2009 — we can’t see any of this ending quickly or easily, especially with such formidable adversaries aligned as defendants. In particular, we’d note that Apple and Microsoft have a long history of cooperation and cross-licensing in the patent space, so we’re sure their lawyers are ready to party down in lawsuit town, and adding Google, Motorola, HTC, and LG to the mix isn’t going to make any of this easier for NTP. We’ll see what happens — this one’s going to be long and messy. PR after the break.

Continue reading NTP awakes, sues Apple, Microsoft, Google, HTC, LG, and Motorola over wireless email patents

NTP awakes, sues Apple, Microsoft, Google, HTC, LG, and Motorola over wireless email patents originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everyone wants an OLED display on their cellphone, right? Ok, maybe not everybody, especially when compared to regular AMOLED, but we certainly want, no demand, a 4-plus inch Super AMOLED on our next Android smartphone. Problem is, there just aren’t enough to go around according to iSuppli. An issue compounded by the fact that Samsung, the world’s largest AMOLED panel manufacturer, gets first crack at its displays in support of its massive growth plans for 2010, leaving companies like HTC to look elsewhere as we’ve already heard. That leaves LG, the only other source for small AMOLED panels, to shoulder the burden until the two can ramp up production, or until more players can enter the market. Samsung hopes to significantly boost production in 2012 when it brings a new $2.2 billion AMOLED facility on-line. Meanwhile, Taiwan-based AU Optronics and TPO Display Corp. plan to introduce AMOLED products by the end of 2010 or early 2011. Until then there’s always the venerable LCD which will continue to dwarf AMOLED shipments for many years to come. See the numbers after the break.

Continue reading iSuppli: OLED panel shortage a concern for Android smartphone makers

iSuppli: OLED panel shortage a concern for Android smartphone makers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While all of you Droid, Incredible and EVO 4G owners wait patiently for an official Froyo update to call your own, LG’s wasting no time introducing its first phones based on the latest and greatest Android build. Over in the UK today, the company has decided to launch the Optimus Series, a family of smartphones that’ll run “on a range of operating systems as well as Android.” If all goes well, LG will introduce around ten new smart devices worldwide in the second half of this year under the Optimus label, though only two are being partially revealed for now. The Optimus One with Google and Optimus Chic will both ship with Android 2.2 onboard, with the latter being specifically aimed at fashionistas who just might appreciate the “sleek curves” that make themselves so apparent. Further details surrounding pricing, availability and specifications remain to be seen, but here’s hoping this is just the beginning of the Froyo flood to come.

Continue reading LG debuts Optimus smartphone series, Froyo-powered ‘One’ and ‘Chic’ arriving first

LG debuts Optimus smartphone series, Froyo-powered ‘One’ and ‘Chic’ arriving first originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Like a bad perm in the 1980s, you just can’t be hip in the mobile world these days without an app store. We had secretly hoped that LG would take the wise route, à la Motorola with Android, of supporting a better established app platform and sticking to serving out delectable hardware, but alas it ain’t so. The Korean company is today unveiling an “all new” Application Store with over 3,000 apps in tow, about half of which are aimed at featurephones. The rest seem to be targeting Windows Mobile devices, though LG promises Android-compatible apps will also be available later in the year, all set to deliver “greater value and genuine benefits” to owners of LG handsets. Judging by the early roster of 23 countries, this effort has “emerging markets” written all over it, but there are ambitions to bring this Store to Western Europe as well. Oh goodie!

Continue reading LG Application Store aims to sate WinMo, Android and featurephone users alike

LG Application Store aims to sate WinMo, Android and featurephone users alike originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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