LG announces its first Google TVs

LG has announced its first Google TV models will be available this year with a mix of Google technology and the Korean company's own.

Ty Pendlebury Editor

Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.

Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials

Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.

See full bio

Ty Pendlebury

Jan. 5, 2012 3:32 p.m. PT

2 min read

LG announced that its first Google TV models will be available later this year with a mix of Google technology and the Korean company's own 3D and Web-friendly features.

LG announced two new LCD models, the LMG860 and LMG620, which will both be available in 47-inch and 55-inch versions.

Both ranges feature LG's Cinema 3D technology which features inexpensive passive glasses. The TVs will include a 2D-to-3D conversion mode if you tire of your copy of "Alice in Wonderland" in 3D.

The LG Smart TV with Google TV feature's LG's own Smart TV interface in addition to Google's, plus the new Magic Motion QWERTY remote, which includes a microphone and a keyboard on the flipside. It is the first Google TV to be announced in 2012, and will likely be the second on the market after Sony's budget GT1. Unlike that TV, the LGs sit in the mid- to high range due to their mix of features.

The high-end LMG860 is a Cinema Screen design with a slim bezel and metallic stand.

LG has developed its own chipset for the television and says it is built for multitasking, with the search, social networking, and TV functions able to run simultaneously.

The news comes as Google announces work with Samsung and Sony to bring further Google TV models to market this year. Google also said it's switching its recommended chipset from Intel to Marvell.

The past year has been a tough one for Google TV. It started poorly, with products pulled from CES 2011, and got worse with a no-show from Vizio, a lukewarm reaction to the long-overdue Honeycomb update, and Logitech blaming a huge financial loss on the Google TV Revue. However, Google executives told CNET late last year that "Google TV" is a "marathon not a sprint" and said they are optimistic about its future.

Editors note: this post has been edited with additional model information after its original publication