Samsung, LG to flex muscle at IFA 2011

Korean and foreign firms to show new TVs, smartphones, tablet PCs during 6-day global trade show

BERLIN -- The global trade show IFA 2011 kicked off in Germany on Friday, unveiling a number of new wireless gadgets and smart home appliances.

LG Electronics featured 3-D total solutions -- the 3D TV, 3D monitor, 3D projector, 3D PC and 3D smartphone by displaying up to 1,200 items in its 3,700 square meters booth, putting forward its six series full line-up of 3D TVs and displaying the world’s largest 72-inch LED TV.

Samsung Electronics also announced the release of the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note on Thursday, claiming it is introducing a new category in the mobile industry during its global press conference.

The new smart device is equipped with a 5.3-inch high-definition Super AMOLED display screen and a 1.4 gigahertz dual core processor.

“The Galaxy Note is a smartphone, tablet PC and digitalpad,” said DJ Lee, head of global sales and marketing of Samsung Mobile.

Lee also introduced two other new models -- the 4-inch Samsung Wave 3 running on its own upgraded Bada 2.0 and the Galaxy Tab 7.7. 

KT Corp. presented a new smartphone, operating on the Google’s Android platform, which could be plugged onto laptop computers, tablet PCs and other gaming devices. 

Sony introduced the audience to its Android tablet PCs, marking the company’s first entry into that industry.

The Wi-Fi version of the Sony Tablet S will be launched in Europe by the end of this month, while both Wi-Fi and 3G versions of Sony Tablet P and Tablet S will be available in November.

For the smart home appliance sector, LG Electronics set up an experience zone for its visitors, displaying a refrigerator that reminds its users of the food expiration date and cooking methods.

Ranging in about 100 items, people could switch off or control the status of their washing machine outside of their homes and also monitor and control their robot cleaning devices.

What is more interesting about the items is that the home appliances can be interconnected with the owner’s smartphone or the internet for increased convenience.

The German-based Miele also displayed washing machines, dryers and dishwashers that use solar energy, boosting its environmental friendliness.

Also known as the International Funkausstellung organized by Messe Berlin, the six-day trade show themed “Get in Touch” will feature consumer goods and electronics, stressing smart innovation, from 1,441 companies and organizations in more than 40 countries.

“It is already clear that this is the best event ever in the history of IFA, Never before has the industry invested in such a large display area. We have high expectations for this year’s IFA,” said Christian Goke, chief operating officer of Messe Berlin.

His comments come as the exhibition has seen 4-percent growth in rented display area this year with newcomers including Korea’s KT Corp. as well as Dell, Beko and Ford.

On the sidelines of the event, LG Display said Friday it prepared an exclusive customer booth near the IFA exhibition hall to promote its 3-D TVs based on the film-type patterned retarder technology and meet with its clients like Toshiba, Panasonic and Dixons.

By Cho Ji-hyun, Korea Herald correspondent 
(sharon@heraldcorp.com)