New TVs, Phone Features From LG

Maintaining its marketing focus on “quality design” and “smart technology,” LG unveiled 12 new HDTVs – nine LCDs and three plasmas in 19- to 60-inch sizes – backed by several new technology sets, including LED Backlighting, TruMotion 240Hz and wireless capabilities.

Those combine with four core technologies LG began integrating into its sets last year: AV Mode II, Invisible Speakers, Clear Voice II and Picture Wizard. LG also unveiled several new phones with enhanced mobile features.

On the TV front, LG is featuring its TruMotion 240Hz technology on the LHX, LH90, and LH55 LCD HDTVs. Two new series of the “Broadband HDTVs” feature NetCast Entertainment Access, which provides Ethernet connectivity for access to content over the Internet.

The technology helps leverage LG’s existing relationship with Netflix and new alliances with Yahoo and YouTube. The Yahoo Widget Engine, for example, provides access to weather reports, stock quotes, and Flickr photos. LG also recently announced its HDTVs will be the first to offer instant streaming from Netflix and access to YouTube via the LH50 and PS80 series.

Wireless HDTVs include the LHX and LH85 series. Meanwhile, the LHX Slim Wireless set uses backlighting for deeper blacks, a wider color gamut and smoother motion.

While much of the industry suffered through the recession last year, LG’s mobile phone business thrived, with a roughly 27% increase in unit sales in the U.S., said Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of product strategy and marketing for LG mobile phones USA. That translates to about one LG phone sold every second, he said.

The featured handsets at the show included the Incite, equipped with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and Microsoft Office Mobile; the Invision, which enables users to watch full-length TV shows and play music; the Rhythm, which incorporates the latest audio technology; and the Lotus, a highly stylized device that features a customizable user interface.