LAS VEGAS — WebOS, the promising mobile operating system developed by Palm and then tragically mishandled by HP, is now officially a TV platform. LG has revamped the software for its smart TVs, on display at the International CES.
LG's webOS-powered TVs will have a home screen with three main "boards." The first is Today's Board, which includes menu selections tailored to the viewer. The My Content board, which shows all media from connected devices, including smartphones and tablets. The third board features frequently visited websites and services. Users can add their own customized boards, too.
See also: 10 Weird Gadgets That Never Took Off
Like webOS of old, LG's re-imagined version is big on multitasking. Users can call up a menu bar at any time, letting them browse or view other content without interrupting the program they're watching. LG also says switching between services is fast, aided by the system's ability to identify your most-used apps.
LG hopes its first batch of webOS-powered TVs are just the beginning of a smart TV platform, one that developers can easily jump on board with, since the technology is based on HTML and other open-source standards. However, it's not exactly the same flavor as open-source HTML.
Of course, for developers to get interested, people need to buy the TVs. We'll see how that goes as LG's Smart TV platform rolls out in its 2014 lineup.
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Image: LG
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