LG to unveil 'G3 Stylus' The LG G3 Stylus, right, alongside its variants, the G3 and G3 Beat. / Courtesy of LG Electronics By Bahk Eun-ji LG Electronics said Wednesday that it would unveil its new smartphone, the G3 Stylus, within the third quarter of the year in an effort to retain its bullish position within the industry. The move comes after local brokerages revised up their estimates for the sale of LG smartphones to more than 60 million units this year, citing the steady popularity of LG's latest G3-branded smartphones in key target markets such as the United States and China, said LG officials and market analysts. Recently, the company offered a preview of the product in a lengthy promotional video. An industry source who is familiar with the matter said the launch of the Stylus was not yet official but would happen by the end of the third quarter, with slightly reduced features. "The Stylus will be the pen-pushing model with a screen size of about 5.5 inches," he said. "Overall specifications will be slightly downgraded compared with the G3, with a different battery size and screen resolution." The source, however, fell short of divulging detailed specifications. Simply put, the Stylus is a budget smartphone. Attention is shifting to the question of whether the upcoming new LG mobile will steal the limelight in the already-heated competition for smartphones, as its bitter cross-town rival Samsung Electronics confirmed earlier Korea Times reports that the Galaxy Note 4 phablet would be released Sep. 3 in Berlin, Beijing and New York. The Galaxy Note 4 is also a pen-pushing model with a 5.7-inch screen and more high-end features, such as water resistance and a fingerprint scanner to unlock the device. ejb@koreatimes.co.kr,

LG, Samsung unpack new smartwatches LG Electronics released Thursday the G Watch R, its second-generation smartwatch, with a classic circular design. The G Watch R will make its debut at the IFA consumer electronics conference in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 5. / Courtesy of LG Electronics By Bahk Eun-ji Samsung Electronics unveiled the Gear S, its sixth smartwatch, with a curved Super AMOLED display, Thursday. The Gear S has Tizen OS, which does not pair with other Android OS smartphones. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics LG Electronics unveiled Thursday its second-generation smartwatch, the G Watch R (The R), with a classic circular design. The G Watch R will make its debut at the IFA consumer electronics conference in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 5. "The G Watch R is more focused on design, with a classic circular display. We hope LG can take a leading role in the wearable market with the innovative premium design," said Park Jong-seok, president of the mobile communications division at LG Electronics. The watch faces fierce competition with other smartwatches, as Samsung Electronics also unveiled the Gear S on the same day. Motorola's circular designed smartwatch, the Moto 360, will reportedly make its debut on Sept. 4. Apple is expected to unveil its iWatch on Sept. 9. LG's G Watch R has an Android Wear operating system, and comes with a 1.3-inch Plastic OLED (P-OLED) full 360-degree display. LG said the watch is the first wearable to which the P-OLED is applied. P-OLED is more suitable for thin display than other materials. The R also comes with an improved battery compared to its former square one. It has a 410mAh battery which lasts about a day and a half on a single charge in "always-on" mode. On top of its impressive circular display, the R may attract consumers who place great importance on the latest fashion and trends. Unlike other existing smartwatches, the R comes with a 22 mm interchangeable leather strap. Gear S Samsung also introduced its sixth wrist-worn device, the Gear S. It has a curved display just like Gear Fit, but the Gear S is more like full-fledged smartwatch, while the Gear Fit is focused on fitness tracker features with a few smartwatch functions. The Gear S runs Tizen OS, so it doesn't pair with other Android OS smartphones. Currently, only the Gear Live runs on Android OS. It has a curved square display with 360x480 resolution, and 3G connectivity. Both Samsung and LG didn't disclose prices. LG plans to sell the R early in the fourth quarter of this year and the price may be higher than the previous model's 269,000 won price tag. ejb@koreatimes.co.kr,

Apple denied Samsung sales ban By Kim Yoo-chul A federal U.S. judge denied Apple's request to slap a sales ban on the Galaxy S3 and older smartphones manufactured by Samsung Electronics. A court ruling by Judge Lucy H. Koh from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, said; "Apple has not established that it is entitled to the permanent injunction it seeks. Apple's motion for a permanent injunction is therefore denied." The smartphones in question were those found in May to have violated three of Apple's patents. The filing pointed out that Apple is moving based "only" on the three patents to keep Samsung from making, selling, developing or advertising its products. The U.S. judge said, "Apple has not satisfied its burden of demonstrating irreparable harm and linking that harm to Samsung's exploitation of any of Apple's three infringed patents. Apple has not shown that it suffered any of these alleged harms because Samsung infringed Apple's patents." Samsung said it welcomed the ruling. "We remain committed to providing American consumers with a wide choice of innovative products," the Korean company said. "This decision is great news not only for Samsung but also for Google, the developer of the Android mobile operating system," German-based intellectual property expert Florian Mueller said on its popular FossPatents blog. In this second California case, Apple is essentially suing Samsung as a proxy for Google, said the expert. Mueller expects Koh will "very soon" rule on the parties' other post-trial motions. Samsung is pushing for a further adjustment in its favor, especially for the invalidation of certain asserted patent claims, while Apple would ideally like a retrial because the damages award was disappointing from its point of view, Mueller said. "Apple wanted almost 20 times more money than the jury awarded," Mueller added. The ruling is expected to lay the groundwork for Samsung and Apple to drop their ongoing patent litigation in the United States. The two companies earlier agreed to drop all lawsuits, globally, other than those in the United States after Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with Apple CEO Tim Cook at an event with owners and CEOs at major technology companies in the Silicon Valley. "Apple's continued inability to convince U.S. courts that its patents entitle it to drastic remedies has probably increased the likelihood of a near-term settlement of the remaining litigation between them," Mueller said. yckim@koreatimes.co.kr,