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LG Electronics
LG’s WebOS has found a new life for itself driving sales of smart TV sets.
More than 1 million of LG’s WebOS-enabled smart TVs have been sold since the lineup debuted in March, the company announced Monday. LG said it expects sales to hit 10 million units by the first half of 2015. That’s not bad for an operating system that was considered all but dead and buried after floundering under former owner Hewlett-Packard.
After giving up on WebOS for its mobile devices, HP sold the operating system software to LG early last year. But instead of using it for mobile products, LG adapted WebOS to serve as the centerpiece for a simpler type of smart TV interface. The goal was to offer users a remedy in a world of smart TVs that have grown cumbersome and confusing to control.
In the case of LG’s WebOS, an animated character pops up to show you how to use the TV the first time you turn it on. You can tap into a launcher to help you switch among all of your recent apps and content. You can also control the TV using voice and hand gestures.
LG is rolling out its Smart+ TVs across a wider swath of the world and expects them to land in more than 150 markets by the end of June, the company added. It also plans to expand its LG Smart+ TV Experience Zones in more retail stores to give prospective buyers a demo of its smart TVs and the WebOS interface.
“Reaching the one million mark in just three months is a significant achievement in the TV industry,” In-kyu Lee, senior VP and head of the TV division at LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company, said in a statement. “Rather than continuing to add more and more functions into our smart TVs that few people will ever use, we’ve decided to focus on simplicity with our 2014 Smart+ TVs with WebOS. Consumers seem to share our view that this is the right direction for the evolution of smart TVs going forward.”
(Via The Verge)
