Samsung, LG set for TV battle at CES

IDG News Service - LG Electronics is hoping to make its smart TVs more attractive by making it easier to share and find content, while Samsung Electronics is only hinting at what its plans are for 2013.

The TV market is highly competitive and vendors are doing their best to differentiate their products from the competition, or at least not fall behind.

Samsung and LG will both present new TV hardware and software at the International CES trade show in Las Vegas next month.

LG's TVs will make it easier to share content with a feature called Tag On, which uses NFC (near-field communication) to connect a TV with, for example, a smartphone.

To connect, users just have to hold a smartphone or some other NFC-enabled device against an NFC sticker on the TV, the company said on Monday.

A recommendation function called On Now will suggest trending on-demand and broadcast content. Results pop up in thumbnail images, making it faster and easier for the viewer to make a selection, according to LG.

The TVs will also have thinner bezels, the frames that surround TV screens.

LG has already announced that its 2013 lineup will include two new Google TVs called the GA7900 and GA6400. Its TVs will also get better support for speech recognition, thanks in part to a new remote.

Samsung, on the other hand, is still keeping its new offerings under wraps.

Last week, the company posted a teaser on Youtube, which didn't provide any details beyond the arrival of a new product that by the looks of it still has a bezel. The set will have an "unprecedented new TV shape," according to Samsung's official blog.

The next 12 months could have some interesting developments in store for consumers with the arrival of more Ultra HD and OLED TVs. But the big question is still if Apple will finally reveal its own TV.

Samsung and LG both have launch events planned for Jan. 7 where they will announce their new products.

CES takes place between Jan. 8 and Jan. 11 in Las Vegas.

Send news tips and comments to mikael_ricknas@idg.com

Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2012 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

View the original article here

EU to charge Samsung in Apple patent battle

IDG News Service - Europe's top regulatory authority will charge Samsung over abuse of patents.

The European Commission is very close to issuing a statement of objections against the electronics giant, Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said Thursday. The list of Samsung's alleged breaches of European competition law may be released before the end of the year, he said.

Samsung is accused of abusing its dominant market position by filing patent lawsuits against Apple.

Earlier in the week, Samsung announced that it would withdraw all its injunctions against Apple in European countries and the commissioner said that while he was happy with this news, his department would continue to investigate "to see if abuses happened in the past."

"One of the biggest issues we have with holders of standard essential patents is using them to launch injunctions before attempting to license on FRAND [fair reasonable and non discriminatory] terms. This is precisely what we are investigating in the Samsung case," Almunia said.

Samsung did not just threaten Apple with injunctions, it launched them, he said, leaving the Commission "dissatisfied."

Sources at Samsung said that they had been informed that Thursday's announcement was imminent, but the company did not issue an official statement.

Follow Jennifer on Twitter at @BrusselsGeek or email tips and comments to jennifer_baker@idg.com.

Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2012 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

View the original article here