LG Updates Web 1.0 Smart TV to Web 2.0 – @LGUS Smart TV Model has Developer Support and Customer Advertising Revenue

It’s is an extremely rare event when a Smart TV set maker update the Operating System in their TV.

So when LG announced that their updating the Web OS 1.0 Operating system in their series of Smart TV sold in 2014, including the 55EC9300 OLED, to Web OS 2.0 as reported in the article “LG updates 2014 TVs to Web OS 2.0”, published April 22, 2015 by David Katzmaier, CNET News  I was immediately intrigued.

This new update, slated to land sometime in the second half of 2015, will be rolled out to all Web OS TV's. LG had purchased the rights to Web OS from Palm, which they announced after CES (Computer Electronics Show) 2013 back in February 2013 as reported in my blog article entitled “LG Electronics purchases WebOS from HP to develope its line of Internet Connected TV's - HP's The Great Gatsby as The Wolverine of Streaming TV rises”.

They soon followed up with an official launch of their Web OS 1.0 TV a year later at CES 2014 as reported in the article “LG to show off webOS 2.0 smart TV at CES 2015”, published December 17, 2014 by Jaehwan Cho, CNET News.

LG Updates Web 1.0 Smart TV to Web 2.0 – Smartphones update model indicates strong Developer support

It's quite a treat that they're giving away this major update for free. This is a move that’s different from other Smart TV makers such as Samsung.

Samsung, like other Smart TV makers, who apparently want you to effectively purchase a new TV each time they make one, such as the new line of SUHD TV that sue Quantum Dot technology as reported in my Geezam blog article entitled “Samsung's SUHD Smart TV running Tizen OS as UHD Alliance Grows and Internet of Things Beckons”.

LG's trying to set a trend here with this latest update, introducing the same updates to smart TV in a model that's worked quite well with Smartphones and Tablets in the Telecom world.

In a nutshell, this Web OS 2.0 will result in your LG Smart TV having more channels and features and will make it run 3 times faster than Web 1.0. The interface won't change much so as not to frustrate the user.

LG’s smartphone Developer Advertising Business Model – Charge for access and resell customer information

Not sure how LG's business model works, but it appears that they are making money from some other means, possibly reselling viewing habits of their users of their Smart TV as had mentioned in my blog article entitled “@samsung Smart TV Listening to you – How DSP enables Voice Recognition in Smart TV's to make our lives more convenient”.

Or, more likely, Developer for Web OS pay a premium in order to develop for the Web OS platform, as the audience is guaranteed, being a Smart TV is a device that most Americans and East Asians and Chinese, which are very large markets, will buy. By leveraging their sales numbers, they can get Developers and Content providers to not only pay them to develop for Web OS, but possibly get a cut of all sales made via the platform.

Charging for access by developers and advertising within the Web OS apps on the platform may be the business model that they’re using. This guarantees a continuous stream of revenue unlike merely selling a new hardware update every time they make a new TV.

This also works out cheaper for LG, who merely have to update the firmware and Software API (Application Interface) instead of investing huge sums is R&D (Research and Design) involved in the making of a new Television set.

So a treat awaits all owners of LG Smart TV running Web OS 1.0, as they'll be getting a significant OS update to Web 2.0 without having to purchase a New Smart TV.