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LG pushes ahead despite backpedaling consumer economy

LAS VEGAS--Despite the troubled economy and an expected drop in consumer purchases, LG Electronics said it doesn't plan to reduce its marketing and research spending in 2009.

President and CEO of LG Electronics North America Michael Ahn said his company's North American sales increased to more than $14 billion during 2008, a 16-percent increase from the previous year. Five years ago, LG sales in the region were just $5.6 billion until the company began sharpening its focus on the consumer market with its TVs, mobile phones, and Blu-ray disc systems.

"We will not reduce marketing spending … Read more

LG reveals GD910 Watch Phone to be released this year

We first saw the LG Watch Phone last year at CES 2008, but it was behind glass and no one was allowed to really see how it all worked. This year, however, LG plans to break it out of the display case. At the LG press conference a few minutes ago, they demonstrated a real working prototype of the watch phone and it looks to be a real must-have for the spy wannabe in your life. It has a touch-screen user interface (!), three side-mounted buttons, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, and even a full-blown music player. It's water resistant, and it'… Read more

LG launches LED-backlit trifecta

Today LG introduced a three-model lineup of LED-backlit LCD TVs with local dimming to stand near the top of the company's HDTV lineup.

LED backlit LCDs offer superior picture quality in most ways compared to standard LCD models, due mainly to their ability to dim parts of the picture selectively--a technology known as "local dimming"--and thus improve black-level performance. Compared to last year's sets with 120 dimmable zones, the new models have 240, which should cut down on the blooming we've seen on other LED models.

We never got the chance to review the … Read more

LG LCDs offer Netflix streaming and other broadband goodies

LG and Netflix have already announced that select TVs produced by the Korean electronics company will be the first to stream Netflix's Watch Now video service without the need for an additional set-top box. Today LG fleshed out details on specific models.

The company will put Netflix and a host of other broadband content options into one series of LCD TVs, the LH50 models detailed here, as well as the PS80 series of plasmas. The LH50 series will come in two sizes: the 47-inch 47LH50 and the 42-inch 42LH50. Pricing was not announced at the show, but the LCDs … Read more

High-end LG plasmas fuse THX and Netflix

The company will put Netflix and a host of other broadband content options into a pair of plasma TVs, the PS80 models detailed here, as well as the LH50 series of LCDs. The two sizes in the PS80 series include the 50-inch 50PS80 and the 60-inch 60PS80. Both are available … Read more

Flagship LG sails with LED, 240Hz and wireless

In the features arms race among HDTVs introduced at CES this year, the military-industrial complex at LG seems poised for victory with the 55LHX.

The company's flagship HDTV, a 55-inch flat-panel LCD, delivers more bullet-point features than you'd care to remember. The parade begins with an LED backlight with local dimming for improved black level performance. If previous models from other makers, like the Samsung LN46A950 and the Sony KDL-55XBR8 are any indication, LED backlights lead to the best picture quality available among LCD TVs. Compared to last year's 47LG90 with 120 dimmable LED zones, the new … Read more

LG's LHB954 combines spherical speakers with Blu-ray and online video options

Don't want the champagne-glass tallboy speakers of the LG LHB979 home-theater system? Step on down to the LHB954. You'll lose a few of the 979's value-added features (wireless rear speakers, HDMI inputs), but you'll still get a 1,000-watt Blu-ray home theater system that offers access to Netflix, CinemaNow, and YouTube streaming and an integrated iPod dock. The LHB979 also sports unique-looking spherical speakers. The built-in Blu-ray player is fully BD-Live compliant, and includes full Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding. Look for the LHB954 in May 2009 (price TBD).

LG LHB979: LG's flagship 2009 home theater system includes a host of extras

Unlike Panasonic and Samsung, LG didn't offer any home theater systems with built-in Blu-ray players in 2008. No problem: the company gets to hit the ground running in 2009 with fully loaded Blu-ray models like its flagship home theater system, the LHB979. The 5.1-channel system takes its design cues from last year's DVD-only LHT888, with champagne-glass front-tower speakers and smaller rears that can be connected wirelessly (obviating the need for front-to-back speaker wires in the room). LG boasts that the LHB979 is "tuned by renowned audio expert Mr. Mark Levinson," but we'll have to … Read more

LG touches right spot with WaveDom microwave

Touch screen has made its way from cell phones and computers into the kitchen via the control panels of many of the modern ovens and ranges. Though not the first of its kind, the LG WaveDom is a beautiful example of a touch screen on a convection microwave oven, and it boasts several other fancy features as well.

The microwave is large (30 liters) in a round cavity configuration, and has a large turntable that can hold meals big enough to justify using one of the four auto roast programs that come included in it. In addition to roasting, it … Read more

LG VX8360 details revealed

The LG VX8350 was one of our favorite Verizon phones in 2007, and it looks like LG is getting ready to release its successor, the LG VX8360, according to this leaked spec sheet. It doesn't look like it's hugely improved from the VX8350, however, so we probably wouldn't run out to replace it.

That said, it sounds like a decent mid-range handset:1.3-megapixel camera, VZ Navigator, EV-DO, stereo Bluetooth, and of course access to Verizon's broadband services like VCast Music. It'll retail for around $50 with a two-year service agreement, which makes this an … Read more