(Telecompaper) LG will use the webOS platform as an alternative to Android in a new smartwatch line to be launched early next year, a person familiar with the plans told the Wall Street Journal. "We're going to slowly try to build an (software) ecosystem around areas we can have more control over," the person said on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. LG has introduced a few smartwatches powered by Google software, with the recent G Watch R running on the Android Wear operating system. Another person familiar with the matter said LG has plans to release another smartwatch that can make calls without having to be linked to a smartphone early this year. LG acquired webOS from HP in 2013 and has been using the software to power its smart TVs. The company said in June 2014 that it shipped more than 1.1 million webOS-based televisions