After weeks of leaks and speculations, LG on Monday reintroduced webOS as its new smart television platform.

In a press conference at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, LG announced that it will use webOS on 70% of its smart TVs this year.

With the new webOS, LG offers the same qualities that made Palm’s creation popular among techies — its simplicity and ease of use.

“The beauty of webOS is that it provides so much freedom and is so simple to use,” said In-kyu Lee, SVP and head of LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company’s TV division.

Palm created webOS for smart phones and tablets before the mobile computing pioneer was bought in 2010 by tech giant HP, which eventually abandoned made the OS open source. LG bought rights to webOS from HP last year for use in smart TVs.

LG promises that their webOS-powered TVs will be easy to set up with the help of an animated character named BeanBird, who will guide first-time users.

LG modified webOS’ popular cards interface for television’s non-touchscreen. LG’s webOS features the new Launcher — a left-to-right scrollable menu on the screen’s lower portion that can be called anytime. Its multitasking capability allows users to easily select a card-like icon to switch between live TV, smart TV content, and media on external devices. It’s like having your second screen on the same television so you can watch a show, play a game, and browse the Web at the same time.

The new webOS also has a Live Menu, which can be opened while viewing the TV. It appears on the right side of the screen and keeps the search, recommendation, and channel options within easy reach. The Today menu, which appears horizontally along the center of the screen, suggests popular TV shows, missed programs, and full-feature movies.

Users of LG webOS also have access to LG’s app store. They will also be able to connect their TVs with their other devices.

Here are some related stories from leading tech sites:

TIME’s Techland: With WebOS TV, LG Begins to Remake Itself

The Verge: Rebooting webOS: how LG rethought the smart TV

CNet: WebOS lives on to make LG’s smart TVs smarter

Mashable: LG Resurrects WebOS as a Smart TV Platform

Engadget: Hands-on with LG’s smart TV running webOS (video)

Gizmodo: LG’s WebOS TV Hands-On: An Awesome Resurrection

TechCrunch: WebOS Design Lead Takes Us Through LG’s New Smart TV Platform Ambitions


Ederic Eder

Ederic is a Filipino communications worker in the telecom, media, and technology industry. He writes about K-dramas and Korean celebrities for Hallyudorama.

He used to be a social media manager for news at GMA Network, where he also headed YouScoop, GMA News and Public Affairs’ citizen journalism arm.

He was with Yahoo! Philippines for more than three years before returning to GMA Network, where he was also previously part of the News Research section.

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