LG aims to make TVs, phones, appliances smarter in 2011

LG kicked off the day at the Consumer Electronics Show describing how it aims to make televisions, mobile devices, and yes even household appliances, smarter in 2011.

With TVs, LG is following in the footsteps of many companies this year with an increased emphasis on apps. LG’s new Smart TV line will feature premium apps like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Vudu and Amazon on-demand streaming. There are also more apps for viewing shared content, like Picasa, Flickr and Youtube. The TVs will also support streaming of local content from USB storage, as well as over the network using DLNA sharing. The TV apps will use a card-based interface, which allows you to easily switch between apps.

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The company also announced its Smart TV Upgrader, a set-top box that will let anyone bring its app ecosystem to any television.

When it comes to 3D TVs, LG announced that its upcoming 2011 units will feature brighter screens, less flicker, and most importantly, won’t require battery-powered active 3D glasses. Instead, the TVs will process 3D inside of the set — allowing users to rely on cheaper glasses like those you use in most movie theaters.

LG also briefly hinted at some prototype TVs that it’s working on: A thin, bright display using OLED technology, and a 3D display that doesn’t require glasses at all.

When it comes to phones, LG showed off its dual-core Optimus 2X Android smartphones, which it launched earlier this month. The company says the 2X uses the world’s brightest display and that the display is also 15 percent more efficient than the company’s previous panels.

Perhaps the most interesting thing LG showed off was its extensive smart appliance lineup, which includes washers, dryers, ovens, and refrigerators with network connectivity. LG’s smart ovens have the ability to download recipes and send you texts when your food is done cooking.