Korean Firms Lead 'Smart TV' Drive

Korean firms lead the "Smart TV" revolution of incorporating smartphones into TVs. Smart TV enables viewers not only to navigate programs live, but also to check online content such as news, weather forecast, stock market information, maps and games.

The world's leading TV manufacturer Samsung Electronics became the first firm to hold a conference on Smart TV applications on Tuesday in San Jose in California, the global IT hub. It revealed a Smart TV operating system it developed and pledged to become the world leader in the TV applications market.

Yoon Boo-keun of Samsung's visual display business said, "More than half of the TVs manufactured in the world will be Smart TVs by 2013, and half of them will be made by Samsung."

LG Electronics also revealed a Smart TV sporting an operating system developed on its own prior to the IFA 2010, Europe's largest electronics fair, which kicked off on Wednesday in Berlin. The OS, called Netcast 2.0, features a chequered menu where various programs such as multimedia, Internet search, TV apps are neatly arranged.

LG's television business head Kang Shin-ik said, "We focused on a user interface that allows people to enjoy fun content more easily than on a PC."

Apple and Google plan to reveal their own Smart TVs in the U.S. and at the IFA.