LG Electronics To Roll Out Smart TV At Germany's IFA Show

written by: Richard Kastelein

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Published on Wednesday, 01 September 2010 06:19

LG Electronics, the world's second-largest TV maker, said Wednesday that it will disclose a smart TV based on its own platform during the annual trade show in Germany this week, joining the recent scramble among global TV makers to introduce the web and applications to the living room staple.

LG Electronics will display its first web-connected TV based on NetCast, its own smart TV platform, during the September 3-8 IFA trade show in Berlin, the company said in a statement.

The announcement comes amid rampant speculation that its Japanese rival Sony (TSE:6758) will also unveil the Google TV for the first time during the industry show. The Japanese TV maker announced in May that it will join hands with Google Inc. and Intel Corp. to offer a smart TV built on Google's open platform.

Samsung Electronics,  the world's top TV maker, also confirmed that it will display its smart TVs, which can access the company's TV application store, in Berlin.

Smart TV refers to internet-connected TVs built on an operating system that have the ability to expand capabilities by adding applications. They can also surf the web, and stream and download videos on the Internet.

The global smart TV market will amount to 41 million units this year - accounting for 18.2 per cent of the overall TV market - and in 2013 will increase to 98 million units, or 37.2 per cent of the TV industry, according to Noh Geun-chang, an analyst at HMC Investment Securities.

LG said its smart TV will set itself apart from rivals with an easy user interface and a remote control that traces a hand's movement. It also provides video-on-demand service, TV application store and video streaming services from popular websites like YouTube.com.

The company said it plans to establish more than 120 partnerships by early next year with global media and content providers in order to build the list of popular content for different regions.