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Hands-on with LG's smart TV running webOS (video)
Since LG informed the world that webOS is coming to 70 percent of its smart TVs this year, naturally we were keen to take it for a spin. So, when they offered to let us take it for a spin, and have Director of Product Management Colin Zhao and Head of Product Management and Design Itai Vonshak walk us through the new UI, we jumped at the chance. And, not only did we get to see it in action, we also learned a bit about the philosophy behind LG's move to webOS on the big screen. For folks thinking LG's version of webOS might favor its prior mobile implementation, think again. While the underpinnings are the same, the card-based UI has been ditched -- according to Vonshak "content is king on the television, and we didn't want to pull the user out of the viewing experience" by dumping them into an all-card view. When you hit the home button on the remote, you're greeted by a rail of parallelogram-shaped colorful icons at the bottom of the screen overlaid on top of whatever you're watching. Those icons include a Today recommendation engine (provided by an unnamed third party) that shows content popular with the viewing public, plus any and all content sources available to the TV, be it online video, localized media, live TV, gaming console or media streamer. Naturally, Netflix is red, Hulu is green, Roku is purple and so on. As you'll see in our video below, navigate the menu to the left and you're greeted by panes that show your viewing history. Slide to the right within the menu and you'll see the rest of your video sources that couldn't fit on the home screen. Speaking of, that home screen comes with a preselected set of apps, but it's completely customizable by the user.
LG spills price, release details on its Ultra HD, OLED (flat or curved) and webOS TVs
As usual, LG has encouraged our speculation by slowly revealing details about many of the new TVs it's bringing to CES and today during its press conference we're finding out the rest, including prices and release windows. First up is its impossibly large 105-inch curved LCD, an ultrawide screen that may actually deliver on its promise of a cinema experience in the home. While this doesn't have a specific release period, LG is anticipating an MSRP of about $70K, so it won't come cheap, but its unique 5,120 x 2,160 resolution is impressive enough to merit consideration -- if you're not convinced don't worry, there are a number of other options. If you're looking for a new OLED TV instead, LG is also setting high-water marks there with its Ultra HD 77-inch curved model. It combines ultra-high resolution with the company's best display technology and high dynamic range algorithm for a picture that should be stunning. Of course, that comes with a similarly eye-popping price of $29,999 when it starts rolling out during the second quarter of this year, but delivering on the promise of one of our favorite displays from last year isn't cheap. For those that want the latest in TV technology, but prefer a flat viewing surface, LG is also almost ready to deliver its conventionally shaped Gallery OLED TV in the US. The 55-inch EA8800 doesn't have the all the pixels of its predecessors above, but with an MSRP of $8,999, it's a bit closer to our price range and hopefully, new production plants will make the price fall even faster. Of course, there's a possibility that our favorite part of the announcement is the most easily obtained, as LG has revealed that webOS is coming to most of its new Smart TVs this year. Purchased from HP and adapted to work on TV, the experience begins with a user-friendly tutorial and setup process, and moves on to a connected-TV system that could surpass the others in the field right out of the box. The webOS Launcher is built for multitasking with apps and live TV, all built around the concept of past, present and future. This platform is LG's first compatible with apps built on HTML standards, which should hopefully attract more developers to the platform. We'll have to get our hands on it to verify the company's pledge that it's "Making TV Simple Again," but so far it appears to have a good start -- check after the break for a few more screenshots.
LG teases webOS for most of its smart TVs, Life Band Touch with Android, iOS sync
LG has already shown quite a bit of its hand ahead of CES (105-inch curved LCD; OLEDs OLEDs and more OLEDs; Ultra HD televisions of all sizes) but with its press conference now just hours away, it's showing off a bit more. Now we have an official pic or two of the webOS interface on a TV, and LG's blog indicates it should appear on more than 70 percent of the smart TVs it's releasing in 2014. The webOS launcher is teased as offering all the voice search and gesture recognition features we've seen on LG TVs in the past few years, and enhanced multitasking between apps and live TV. There's even an animated "Bean Bird" character to walk users through initial setup and pair the magic remote. That's not all that's new however, as LG also confirmed it will launch the Life Band Touch. Similar to Nike's FuelBand, this wearable (pictured after the break) promises far more features powered by its ability to sync with both Android and iOS devices over Bluetooth 4.0. It has touch controls for music playback and incoming calls on the synced device, and can be used with special heart rate monitor earbuds. There are a few other products mentioned as well, check back tomorrow at 11AM ET for all the information from CES as we liveblog LG's press conference.
Daily Roundup: Samsung Galaxy Camera 2, LG WebOS TV, ZTE BlueWatch 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.
Leak shows LG's radical new interface for its webOS Smart TVs
LG's rumored webOS Smart TV is tipped to arrive at CES in the coming days, but that hasn't stopped intrepid leaker @evleaks from giving us what could be an early preview of its next connected set. In what appears to be a significant departure from the smartphone-like UI utilized in its current Smart TVs, the leaked render shows off LG's modern interpretation of the Cards interface we first saw in Palm's webOS-powered smartphones and tablets. LG chiefs have already indicated that the company has thrown its weight behind the Enyo open-source JavaScript development framework, which it acquired from HP as part of the webOS project, in the hope it will encourage third parties to create apps and services for its next-gen TVs. If the leaked image is real, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Skype apps will likely be available at launch, but we're set to find out for sure when CES 2014 commences next week.
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.
Palm and webOS product auction reminds us of the forgotten Foleo
It's funny how, as time passes, we grow fonder of gadgets that were once disregarded. Nerd nostalgia has a knack of trumping common sense and draining wallets, which is why we're almost hesitant to bring this auction of Palm and webOS gear to your attention. Featuring the collection of a former webOS employee, you'll find everything from t-shirts, posters and other branded paraphernalia, through to a mint-condition Palm VII PDA, 4G TouchPads and a range of mobiles, including many from the long-forgotten Pre series. The prize piece, however, has to be the boxed, unused Palm Foleo complete with an hour of phone time with one of the product's OG engineers, who also "has apps for you," apparently. All money raised from the auction is going to a charitable cause, which totally justifies whatever exaggerated sum Palm's nigh-mythical flop ends up going for.
The Daily Roundup for 07.01.2013
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.
Jon Rubinstein: OS X and iOS 7 borrow features from webOS
You might remember Jon Rubinstein as the Apple executive turned Palm CEO who helped spearhead development of the short-lived Palm Pre, a device which many initially thought might put Apple on the defensive. The way things played out, however, couldn't have been more different. Since the Pre first launched in 2009, Apple has gone on to sell millions upon millions of iPhones while the Palm Pre, not to mention Palm, are now all but non-existent. Nonetheless, some of the UI features introduced by the Palm Pre and the webOS that powered it have lived on and are now being incorporated into Apple's own software. Notifications and multitasking are two examples that come to mind. Naturally, this wasn't lost on Rubinstein who, in an interview with FierceWireless, couldn't help but insinuate that Palm's webOS was ahead of its time. FierceWireless: It seems like iOS 7 is taking lots of multitasking cues from webOS. How do you think that platform, webOS, influenced other mobile platforms? Rubinstein: It's not just mobile platforms. If you look at the notifications on Mac OS X, it looks just like webOS, too. We did a lot of things that were very, very innovative. Obviously, multitasking, notifications, Synergy, how we handled the multiple cards. There's a long list of stuff we did that has been adopted by Microsoft, Apple and Android. Our over-the-air updates and mechanism has been updated by everybody. Our whole Synergy concept is now becoming much more common. I don't think anyone has implemented it as well as we did yet, but clearly they're all heading down that direction. The entire interview is worth checking out as it touches on a number of subjects, including why the Palm Pre was exclusive to Sprint upon launch and why Rubinstein feels that selling out to HP was a waste.
Jon Rubinstein: Hewlett Packard's purchase of Palm was a waste
Finally, Jon Rubinstein is ready to re-open the wounds sustained from HP's bungled acquisition of Palm. When Fierce Wireless asked the former CEO what he'd do differently, he said that selling the company to Hewlett Packard was "a waste," and that he probably wouldn't do the same again. He also revealed that the company's awkward exclusive relationship with Sprint was caused by last-minute withdrawals from Verizon and Vodafone. If you're curious about Rubinstein's feelings on how webOS has influenced mobile operating systems and his new roles with Amazon and Qualcomm, head on down to the source link.
webOS to receive mandatory system update to maintain access to cloud services
It's not exactly the best birthday present ever, but today HP announced that webOS devices running version 2.1 and up will receive an automatic update to the App Catalog. The new code is needed to replace security certificate set to expire on July 23 that grants access to webOS cloud services. For the select few running older versions of webOS, fear not, for updating your devices merely requires manual navigation to the App Catalog, then grab and install the "HP App Catalog Update" application. Got it? Good.
The Daily Roundup for 04.29.2013
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.
OpenMobile ACL for webOS resurrected on Kickstarter, hopes to bring Android apps to HP Touchpad
The promise of OpenMobile's Application Compatibility Layer is enticing: seamlessly run Android apps on another operating system as if it was meant to be there. Unfortunately for fans of Palm's last hurrah, the project's webOS port died with the HP Touchpad. That won't stop dedicated fans, however -- Phoenix International Communications plans to resurrect webOS ACL. Taking the project to Kickstarter, the team is showing an early build on an HP Touchpad, seamlessly running Android apps in cards alongside native webOS applications. Phoenix hopes that a functional ACL will reduce Touchpad owner's reliance on dual-booting Android, giving them the freedom to enjoy webOS without sacrificing functionality. The team is promising a relatively short development time, thanks to OpenMobile's early work, and hopes to deliver a consumer ready build in July. But first the Kickstarter campaign will need to meet its $35,000 goal. Interested in pitching in? Check out the Kickstarter link at the source.
WindsorNot: the 4-inch webOS smartphone that never saw the light of day
The downfall of webOS left more than a few canceled devices in its wake, but the most elusive of the bunch tends to be the WindsorNot: a touch-only smartphone. We've seen hints of it here and there, but the shy little device has largely been kept under wraps -- until now. The dedicated folks at webOS Nation have managed to get their hands on a functional prototype. The 4-inch devices seems to lie somewhere between a Pre3 and HP Touchpad, aping the hardware specifications of the former while adopting the latter's software version: webOS 3.0. The tweaked software does feature a smartphone-sized keyboard, but webOS Nation says some of the OS' trappings are difficult to read, and were clearly meant to be refined for the smaller screen before release. The phone's form, on the other hand, seems to be top notch, indicating that the project was canned before the software team had a chance to catch up. Check out the source link for a full walkthrough of the device and a brief history lesson of webOS' last days.
The Daily Roundup for 02.25.2013
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.
LG acquires webOS from HP, plans to use it in smart TV platform (updated)
Here's a wild one -- webOS has been revived, and the suitor may surprise you. LG has reportedly lifted the troubled webOS unit from HP's hands, but instead of using it in future smartphones or tablets, it's planning to inject the operating system across its smart TV portfolio -- finally adding a layer of truth to a rumor we first spotted in October of last year. The deal includes the source code for webOS, "related documentation, engineering talent, and related webOS websites." Moreover, LG's procuring HP licenses for use with its webOS wares, not to mention patents that HP had originally gained from Palm. Not surprisingly, dollars and cents aren't being publicly discussed, but we'll be sure to clue you in on any more specifics as we get them. Update: The official PR has appeared, and can be found after the break. It doesn't shower us with additional info, but fans of Open webOS and Enyo should know that LG is assuming "stewardship" of these projects as part of the HP deal.
The Daily Roundup for 01.02.2013
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.
Open webOS ported to the Nexus 7, gives us the Touchpad Go that might have been (video)
More than a few enthusiasts were gutted when HP exited webOS hardware before the Touchpad Go could even have the distinction of a press release. WebOS Ports' Simon Busch can't resurrect HP's miniature tablet plans, but he can give us an inkling of what we missed with his new alpha port of Open webOS for the Nexus 7. The conversion is surprisingly complete given its basis on a related Galaxy Nexus edition: along with supporting core functionality like the accelerometer and WiFi, it at last cuts the cord and works independently of a PC connection. The only clear flaw is occasional lag. We'd still be cautious with a rough build of an OS that wasn't ever intended for Google's tablet; if that's no obstacle, however, the Nexus 7 port is the next-best way to relive HP's original vision for 2011.
Phoenix project reincarnates WebOS as Nexus S app
After its untimely demise, WebOS showed some resilience by coming back in open source form and popping up in various devices hither and yon. On the vanguard of that resurrection is Phoenix International Communications, a team of volunteers who've managed to port the orphaned OS to a Samsung Nexus S device, running as an app inside Android. So far, the reborn OS app is displaying decidedly zombie-like slowness, but it's still an early pre-alpha build. If all goes well, you might one day be able to seamlessly switch between WebOS and Android without rebooting, letting you run apps from both systems. So, if you've been carrying a torch for the fallen system, check the video after the break.
Open webOS-powered HDTVs said to be on the way from... LG?
If you were wondering what was next for webOS now that it's gone all open source on us, webOS Nation chimes in with word that Gram is working with LG to bring it to connected HDTVs. Several names from the HP / Gram team are dropped as being involved in the effort, which reportedly was under way even before HP revealed it would spin the project off as an independent. Of course, when we actually saw Open webOS 1.0 it was already stretching to fill the space of an HP TouchSmart computer screen (project architect Steve Winston specifically mentioned hotel kiosks as a possibility, a market LG is all over) so it makes sense that larger displays have been a target. With LG supposedly both looking to replace its existing NetCast smart TV platform and unhappy with Google TV based on its rate of adoption and Google's terms, engineers have been working to port the software to its dual-core L9 chipset. In the past LG has pursued voice and motion control, the aforementioned Google TV integration and even Plex support to make its smart TVs more appealing, and has founded the Smart TV Alliance for cross platform apps. We only have to wait until CES 2013 to see if webOS is next up to power its efforts, stay tuned.
