LG is releasing a new touchscreen TV — StanbyME — which comes equipped with a movable stand. Stick around a bit to see the ins and outs of the new TV, the highlights, the lowlights, and why this very unique, nice TV might be the right one for you.
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What is LG’s StanbyME TV?
This is one of the most unusual TVs that is out on the market at the moment, and there are a lot of unusual TVs to compete with at the moment. The TV is a modest size at 27 inches, but more than enough for most people. The TV is battery-powered, making it ultra-portable (except when it is charging and plugged into a wall, of course).
The elegant stand is what really makes the TV stand out amongst the others, with a wheeled pedestal base. The LG StanbyME is more than just an oversized tablet on a fancy stand, though, as it can be connected to consoles or smart boxes thanks to its HDMI port. The price of the TV is $999 (R17,259.22 depending on the exchange rate, and prices in-store may vary).
The display can be used in both portrait or landscape mode and is, as mentioned, a touchscreen. It does come with a remote, but it also has three rubberised buttons on the back of the screen for quick control of power and volume (up and down). It can also be controlled with the LG ThinQ mobile app, with ease from your phone.
The Highlights
The LG StanbyME is a well-designed stand with a lot going on, putting it in a category of its own. The stand is tastefully designed and has a small footprint compared to many other enormous and unwieldy, ugly-wheeled TV stands. The stand is much more elegant and practical than most. It can be easily assembled in just a few steps and has hidden wheels so the stand looks really nice in a room. Be aware that the wheels don’t lock, so kiddies and pets will be able to knock it around a little.
There are a lot of really good applications for a movable TV, like a bedside or couch-side display for persons with limited mobility or in a home that doesn’t have space for a TV.
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The Lowlights
The TV isn’t the best resolution that you could get for the same price and doesn’t have the greatest viewing angles either. The screen is only a 1080p 60Hz IPS panel, but it has HDR support which makes it look quite a bit nicer than you would be expected considering the specs (it supports both HDR 10 and HLG).
Because of the way that it is mounted onto the stand, that is the only way to mount it. If you were to decide to try and take it off the stand, it would have no ability to stand on its own.
It, unfortunately, doesn’t have a lot of options when it comes to ports. The TV has only one HDMI 1.4 port and only one USB-A 2.0 port. This is a step up from most tablets which only have a USB C port but don’t afford a lot of options. A person could use a mouse and keyboard that has a joint USB to control both and have one console plugged in, but no more than that (standard TVs have at least 2 of each).
You would think that being battery-powered would be an upside because of portability, but unfortunately, the TV has a weirdly small battery capacity. It is only 5,000mAh 74Wh. This isn’t the most terrible, but I have a power bank that is four times the power of this, so not very impressive at all.
If an elegant, portable, touchscreen sounds like something that you need in your life, the LG StanbyME is definitely the new appliance for you. Although it might not be the best, it definitely has a lot of perks that would suit a minimalist lifestyle.
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