Live from LG's CES 2012 press event
It begins here. We rolled out of bed early here in Vegas to hop aboard the liveblog train (or monorail, as it were). We're kicking today's festivities off with LG. So join us and be sure to grab a warm cup of black coffee, because this early morning press event promises to be jam-packed with phones, TVs and probably even a smart washing machine or three.
11:52AM And that's all she wrote. LG promised that the press conference would only be 45 minutes, and it wasn't joking. Doesn't look like there will be a lot of stuff to play with here, but we'll see what we can grab for you guys.
11:51AM The Spectrum is launching January 19th at Verizon stores for $199 on a two year contract. LG is really pushing the sports on this thing. It couldn't have come up with a better sports name? The LG Hat trick?
11:46AM The Spectrum is pre-loaded with ESPN's ScoreCenter app for HD sports on your phone -- now you can really see those field goals the way they were meant to be seen: in HD on a 4.5 inch screen.
11:45AM The device will be launching in Verizon stores before the end of the month, according to the weirdly colored Dietel.
11:44AM Jeff Dietel, Verizon VP is talking via video with the worst color balance, ever.
11:43AM The Spectrum has a 4.5 inch display. There's a 16:9 aspect ratio, 329 pixels per inch and RGB striping. It's also more battery efficient.
11:43AM This is the True HD IPS display handset. It's the Spectrum.
11:42AM The LG Spectrum is coming to Verizon. It's got a 1.5GHz dual core, Gingerbread upgradable to ICS, 8MP camera, Verizon LTE, and full 1080p video.
11:41AM A little summary, talking about the world's first dual core smart phone, glasses free 3D and LTE. Lots of firsts.
11:41AM Okay, VP Tim O'Brien is going to start talking mobile.
11:40AM And that's in for appliances. In summary, blast chilling, lots of clothes and conspiring refrigerators.
11:39AM The company's rolling out its largest front load washer. That one's for you, giants.
11:39AM All right, washing machine time. LG is unveiling the new TurboWash feature for "ultra fast washing," sort of the blast chiller of clean clothes.
11:38AM We're talking about the blast chiller again. These guys seriously hate warm beverages.
11:37AM Now you can remotely operate your Homebot from afar and watch what's going on remotely via a built in camera. The nation's cat population just gasped in horror.
11:36AM The smart appliances that debuted last year have been upgraded. The food manager has a new touchscreen interface -- you can also scan your grocery receipt. You can stick your weight loss goals in there. It'll suggest recipes and send them to your oven. Seriously. Your appliances are plotting against you.
11:35AM Ellis Mass, the director of brand marketing is taking the stage. All of those who are psyched about appliances, now is the time to listen up. It's smart fridge time, dudes.
11:33AM What about bezels, LG? They're so 2011. LG's got a couple of new virtually bezel-free models. But again, not much in the way of actual model numbers yet.
11:33AM Are you guys ready for 3D sound? LG is. They'll be showing it off at the booth when it opens tomorrow.
11:32AM Now he's talking Smart TV. The improvements to the motion control will be added, as will a new UI, improved browser and new content partners. 50 percent of the line up will include 3D and smart TV.
11:31AM Cinema 3D has been expanded to 50 percent of the models.
11:30AM Tim's bragging about passive 3D glasses. He can't believe you guys doubted it. It's now 30 percent. No big deal.
11:29AM Tim Alessi is taking the stage now to talk actual genuine products. It's Cinema 3D time guys. Hope you brought your glasses.
11:28AM And like that he's off. We didn't really get a heck of a lot in the way of actually products. Okay, looks like that's coming up now. We need model numbers, LG!
11:27AM I could see sitting in front of one of these with a luke warm soda by my side.
11:26AM Oooh 55 inch OLED TV. It's 4mm thin and 7.5kg. Man, this thing is super gorgeous guys.
11:26AM Okay, looks we're actually going to see a real product now. It's about time.
11:24AM Are you guys ready for Blast Chiller? It's make your sodas frost in as little as five minutes. Wait, not everyone likes luke warm soda?
11:23AM Oh, cool, you can order groceries from the fridge. Okay, that's awesome.
11:23AM And we're off to the wild world of appliances. He's talking Smart manager for fridges. You get a food manager, receipt manager and a health manger, which we assume shoots spikes at you if you eat too many donuts.
11:22AM And that was it for phones. Just a tease, really. We won't be getting any real news until Mobile World Congress. No phones yet. Boo.
11:21AM Now it's enterprise. LG like everyone else is working to make Android a better OS for business, apparently.
11:20AM True HD IPS displays are coming to LG's handsets. Oh man. Low power consumption, looks good outside. Looks sweet.
11:19AM And now it's LTE phone. The company apparently has 23 percent of LTE patents. Watch out, iPhone 5.
11:18AM And now its time to talk Google TV -- looks like CES 2012 is the year. LG is coming out with a new series rocking Google TV. It's the basis of a strong relationship with Google apparently -- who doesn't want that?
11:18AM Okay, enough with the glasses. LG is talking about glasses free 3D on TVs -- no model numbers yet.
11:17AM 2D to 3D conversion is getting better -- so are the glasses, apparently. There will be 3D depth control and sound zooming. We assume if you turn it up enough, you can get some 4D going on the thing.
11:16AM LG is announcing its own chipset, the L line. It's got a quad-core GPU and enhanced 3D technology. It'll be coming to the company's top line of TVs.
11:16AM Brief mention of some exciting new services, like the 3D Zone and the K-Pop Zone. Man, we really want to get on-board with the latter.
11:15AM The company is adding WiDi to its TVs, becoming the first in the industry to do so.
11:14AM You can use your hands to emulate the function of the remote and play games. Fruit Ninja in the living room, guys. Get pumped.
11:13AM LG is working on a 3D gesture interface. Looks an awful lot like the Kinect.
11:13AM We're getting some background on the TVs. Looking pretty thin, and the Magic Remote is great and all, but this is all so 2011.
11:11AM Okay, it's 3D TV time. That explains the funny glasses they handed out at the door.
11:09AM Wayne says that the products speak for themselves -- I think he just made himself redundant.
11:08AM And we're here. CEO Wayne Park has taken the stage. He's talking about recycling right now and capping greenhouse emissions. Also some new exciting product categories. Life's still good at LG, according to Wayne.
