In December of 2011, HP announced that is would publish the webOS source code and open-source it for developers who might want to use it. It was an honorable, yet disappointing ending for a mobile OS that was generally well-loved.

Today, as the Mobile World Congress is just beginning, CNET has broken the story that webOS may have been resurrected: LG has bought webOS from HP. According to the report, LG has purchased the webOS source code and all webOS-related patents, as well as webOS web sites, “related documentation,” and “engineering talent.”

LG isn’t looking to switch its smartphone lineup to webOS, though. Instead, the company told CNET that webOS software will be repurposed to power LG’s lineup of smart TVs. LG stated that a new location in Sunnyvale, California called LG Silicon Valley Lab will be headed by whatever is left of the “webOS team.”

No price has been mentioned for the deal, and HP has not yet commented on it. It is also unknown whether the Chubby Checker lawsuit will be affected as a result.

Today, LG announced its latest product, the Optimus G Pro. The smartphone will feature a 5.5-inch screen with a 1920 x 1080 resolution – an incredible 400 pixels per inch. It’s a display that’s less than two inches away from mini-tablet territory, and clearly positioned to compete with Samsung’s 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II smartphone.

The Korean manufacturer has also packed a huge 3,140mAh battery into the G Pro. The processor is a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon, and the smartphone comes with 2GB of RAM. 32GB of memory is standard, but the device will also have a microSD card slot. The cameras (13MP front/2.1MP back) are an upgrade even for this class of smartphone, and the G Pro will ship running Google’s Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS.

“The Optimus G Pro was developed specifically to deliver vivid and superb picture quality in a large display smartphone form factor,” said Jong-seok Park, CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications. “We will continue to expand our position in the premium LTE smartphone segment with our superior display technology and unique user experience.”

It’s clear that LG is making a play for high-end consumers who want a long-lasting device with which to play HD games and video, and the price of the Optimus G Pro will no doubt reflect that. Whether the company can make a dent in Samsung’s impressive Galaxy Note sales remains to be seen.

The Korean electronics manufacturer has begun selling pre-orders for its OLED TVs, which it debuted at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. At the time, the TVs were reported to cost $12,000 and rumored to begin shipping in March 2013.

Now, Reuters is reporting that over 100 pre-orders have already been logged.

While LG’s OLED TV sets are expensive, early adopters of technology are used to paying a premium for such showpieces. The cost of the TVs comes from new manufacturing processes, and the difficulty of packing in the OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology into an ultra-thin screen where LCD (liquid-crystal display) screens were once found. The new OLED TV screens are, according to LG, only 4mm thick.

LG’s Korean rival Samsung was rumored last year to be preparing to launch its own lineup of OLED TVs before the end of 2012, but that prediction didn’t pan out. Samsung did, however, show off a curved OLED TV set at CES 2013, leading to speculation that the company is more interested in implementing the display technology into its Android smartphones.

(via BGR)

IBTimes UK reports that a rumor is currently circulating that says LG has stopped production of its popular Nexus 4. It would definitely explain why the device has been sold out, but why would LG, a relatively minor player in the smartphone market, stop making such a popular device. The answer might have slipped out during LG’s CES press conference.

IBTimes UK reports that James Fisher, LG Electronics SVP, said that the Nexus 4 was just “the first of many” Nexus devices it was working on with Google. He also teased that the company would be revealing some new devices during the Mobile World Congress in February. One of those new devices may be a new Nexus smartphone meant to replace the Nexus 4.

At the moment, this is just a rumor, but it’s a particularly interesting one. Why would LG so quickly replace the Nexus 4 with a newer model? Does Google think the Nexus line needs a refresh so soon after the Nexus 4 proved to be a critical and commercial success? There doesn’t seem to anything fundamentally wrong with the hardware so it makes little sense to replace it with hardware that’s only marginally better so soon.

If it did get replaced though, what would a new Nexus smartphone from LG look like? Rumors from IBTimes say that the next Nexus could sport a 2GHz quad-core processor and the next version of Android – Key Lime Pie or Kandy Kane. If it sports the next version of Android, however, the phone wouldn’t be available until Google I/O which takes place in May. I don’t think LG or Google want to hold off on having a Nexus smartphone for that long.

In short, I don’t think there’s much credence to this rumor. Is LG making a new Nexus smartphone? Probably. Are they going to phase out the Nexus 4 so soon to make room for it? Probably not. It’s already been well reported that LG has “scarce and erratic” distribution, so we might just have to wait a bit before the Nexus 4 returns to the Google Play store.

In any case, we’ve reached out to Google for comment. We’ll let you know if and when they get back to us.

LG announced today that its 55-inch OLED TV will begin shipping to the U.S. in March of this year. The television is razor thin at only 0.16 inches, and is incredibly light at 22 pounds. The OLED display also provides the best image quality currently available on televisions.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to make this announcement at the start of the new year because we believe that OLED will usher in a whole new era of home entertainment,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG’s Home Entertainment Company. “Not since color TV was first introduced 60 years ago has there been a more transformational moment. When high definition TV was first introduced 15 years ago, the public’s reaction was ‘wow!’ but when customers see our razor-thin OLED TV for the first time, they’re left speechless. That’s a clear indicator as any that OLED TV is much more than just an incremental improvement to current television technology.”

It’s hard to say how popular OLED TVs will be in the coming year especially with its high price of entry. Engadget reports that the 55-inch model will retail for $12,000 while there’s no price set for the 65-inch model just yet. It’s also unlikely to do well in its first year because most consumers are presumably happy with their LED televisions.

For those who can afford the television, have fun being the envy of your neighbors. While you’re at it, you might as well pick up Lenovo’s 27-inch tablet just to show off.

A report out of GSMArena says that LG has two new smartphones in the works for this year that it will be showing off at CES 2013. The first has a 4.7 inch display with a bezel of only 1mm thick. The other, more exciting, device is taking on Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 with a 5.5 inch display full 1080p display.

LG will also reportedly take on the tablet market with its own 7 inch device. The device will feature a 1920×1200 resolution with a 324 ppi pixel density. That puts it ahead of the Nexus 7, but its fate will be decided by its price. LG may have a hit on its hand if it can price the tablet competitively.

Price is going to be a big deal at CES for everybody, including LG. 2012 proved to be a great year for smartphones and tablets, but only because the price came down for a number of flagship devices thanks to carrier or distributor subsidies. Google devices, like the Nexus 4, 7 and 10, did incredibly well thanks to these subsidies that kept the price down. LG may have to shoulder a bit of the cost for its own products, especially the tablet, it it hopes to compete with the likes of the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD. Either way, CES 2013 is already promising to be pretty interesting despite talk that the annual trade show is quickly becoming irrelevant.

Everything on display can be found in the newest version of Jelly Bean, but the OS is only available on Nexus devices at the moment. Sure, you could download a custom ROM, but LG really sells the Nexus 4 here. It just makes you want to buy one, but alas, you can not as the device is still sold out.

In fact, the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 are all sold out. These are the only devices, aside from the widely available Galaxy Nexus, that officially support Android 4.2 at the moment. It’s almost like Google is telling you to root your Galaxy S III and install an Android 4.2 custom ROM. Most carriers are now just getting to Android 4.1 so it will undoubtedly be a while until carriers upgrade everyone to the newest flavor of Jelly Bean.

Until LG fixes its hardware distribution, you can pick up Nexus 4 smartphones at inflated prices on eBay. The gadget scalpers are in full force offering Nexus 4 devices for the low price of $550 when the MSRP is only $300. At that price, you’re better off just buying a Galaxy S III and installing a custom Jelly Bean ROM.

Droid Life reported over the weekend that some Canadian Nexus 4 owners were able to access LTE speeds on their phones. All it took were a few simple tweaks, and the Nexus 4 could connect to LTE Band 4 networks. It raised hopes that the Nexus 4 could connect to LTE Bands in the US, but LG immediately shot down those hopes by saying that the LTE chip on board the Nexus 4 won’t work in its current state.

Here’s the full statement that LG gave to TechRadar:

“In order to provide the best possible specification for Nexus 4, LG utilised the same powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset as can be found in its 4G LTE product, namely LG Optimus G.

This powerful chipset is only available with a combined processor and modem and cannot be implemented separately.

The modem contains 4G LTE capabilities but is only effective when combined with other essential hardware parts such as a signal amplifier and filter in order for it to work. It therefore cannot be upgraded to 4G LTE capability through software.”

Despite a few Canadians being able to get on their LTE networks, it probably won’t be possible for the rest of us. For now, Nexus 4 owners can just be content that they got a LG Optimus G at a much cheaper price. The lack of LTE speed is a small price to pay for having cutting edge technology everywhere else, right?

[h/t: Droid Life]

Google has canceled its Android event due to take place this morning in New York City. The company has yet to reschedule the event, but I can’t see it being delayed over a week. Apple and Microsoft already had their events last week so Google can’t afford to hold it off for much longer.

Leaks and rumors suggested that Google was going to show off a number of new additions to its Nexus line of tablets and smartphones. First up, it’s already been pretty much confirmed that LG is making the Nexus 4. The phone sports a 4.7-inch 1280×768 screen and it’s powered by a 1.5GHz Quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. Even more interesting, it sports the newest version of Android – 4.2.

The other major hardware addition to the Nexus line is rumored to be the Nexus 10 – a 10-inch tablet built by Samsung. The device has been pretty much confirmed as images of the manual and the device itself have leaked to the Web. It’s rumored that the Nexus 10 will sport a resolution of 2560×1600. It will also be equipped with the Android 4.2 operating system.

On a final note, it was rumored that the event would bring some upgrades to Google’s current Nexus line as well. Specifically, the 8GB Nexus 7 would be getting the axe while the 16GB Nexus 7 would be dropped to $199. Taking its place would be a 32GB Nexus 7 for $249.

Google will most likely have a new date for its Android event before the end of the week. We’ll let you know when the new date is and we’ll be sure to bring you all the news from the rescheduled event.

[h/t: Droid Life]

Google will be announcing a number of Android devices and updates at an event next Monday. There have been numerous rumors regarding what’s going to be on display, but a report from The Next Web reveals all. A source close to Google disclosed that the company will be announcing the Samsung Nexus 10 at the event. This is the rumored 10-inch tablet that Google will be using to take on the regular iPad at its own game with an impressive 2560×1600 display.

It’s also reported that the Nexus 10 will be equipped with Android 4.2. Everybody thought the next version of Android would be getting a name change, but Google is reportedly sticking with the Jelly Bean name for now. The extra time with Jelly Bean will hopefully convince them that Kandy Cane is an awful name for the next major upgrade.

In other good news, the leaked LG Nexus 4 will also feature the new Android 4.2 operating system. As for those leaked specs from last week, The Next Web reports that those are correct. It looks like we’ll be getting a powerful phone at a cheap price if the rumored price of $300 sticks.

It’s great that Google is pushing Android 4.2 on two different devices at once, but what does the new OS offer over previous iterations? According to the report, Android 4.2 will have a new feature called “Content in the center.” In essence, it allows users to access Google Play via a widget.

The other more interesting feature in 4.2 is “Tablet sharing.” It allows users to create multiple accounts on one device with different apps tied to each account. This is something that Apple and Amazon have still not done, and it’s a welcome addition for tablet owners who want to set up separate accounts for family members. Parental controls can only do so much after all.

Leaks take some of the fun of anticipation out of events, but it looks like Google is going to have one heck of a show on their hands. Android 4.2 looks to be exciting enough as it is and tablet sharing needs to be a thing across every mobile device. Here’s hoping Google inspires Apple and Amazon to follow.