By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter

World IT Show Draws More Than 500 Companies for 4-Day Event

Green is the latest buzzword in technology, and the World IT Show 2009 is eager to honk the bandwagon horn. Under the boisterous motto of ``Feel the New Convergence for Green IT,'' more than 700 companies in electronics, computing and communications will participate in the four-day exhibition that starts Wednesday in COEX, unveiling their latest products and services designed to provide more muscle for less power.

The World IT Show, in its second year, combines a number of previously separated exhibitions such as SEK (Software Exhibition of Korea), IT-Korea, KIECO (Korea International Exhibition for Computer, Software and Communication) and Expo Comm Wireless Korea.

About 630 companies from 22 countries participated in last year's event, where the Korean participants negotiated about $218 million worth in exports deals.

The global economic downturn had little effect on the industry's enthusiasm for this year's event, organizers said.

``We have high hopes for business deals this year,'' said Kim Ji-hyang, a spokeswoman for this year's event, saying that about 1,100 buyers from 20 countries are expected to visit the 2,000-plus booths.

``As the country's largest IT trade show, the event will provide a rare opportunity for small-to-medium-sized companies that are establishing themselves as innovators in wireless communications and low-power technologies. We can also witness the trend of technological convergence across previously separated sectors like IT, automotives, shipbuilding, healthcare, construction and military,'' she said.

Among Korean companies, KT, the country's biggest telephone and Internet provider; SK Telecom, the No. 1 mobile telephony operator; and electronics giants, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, top the list. They will be mixing it up with foreign high-tech heavyweights such as IBM, Qualcomm, Hewlett-Packard and Fujitsu, as well as Brocade and Dialogic that recently established Korean offices.

KT will feature its latest services that blend its traditional fixed-line offerings with wireless and television entertainment.

The highlight of the company's exhibition will be a mobile version of Internet protocol television (IPTV) based on WiBro, the local variant of mobile WiMAX.

Mobile IPTV, which provides interactive video and data services on handsets atop of conventional television, is expected to emerge as an critical application when the industry makes the fourth-generation (4G) transition, which will be about three to four years away.

Among the products closer to the market, the company will display ``QOOK TV Clear Skin'' interactive advertisement services, which allows its IPTV customers to shop for accessories, clothes and other items worn by celebrities moving on the screen.

Also featured will be the QOOK Internet phone, which enables subscribers to receive basic information and access online banking services without turning on the computer, and a robot vacuum cleaner that could be controlled by users through the video-call functions on KT mobile phones.

SK Telecom, KT's industry rival, will display its latest technologies in telematics, which integrate computing and mobile communications technology in automotive systems. As the country's first mobile telephony operator, the company will also operate a separate booth on Korea's history of wireless communications.

Samsung Electronics will display its first mobile phone models with high-definition displays, based on active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMO LED) lighting, and low-power liquid crystal display (LCD) television LED backlighting technologies. Also featured will be the company's ``Finger Slim'' plasma television that is only 29 millimeters thick and supposedly 40 percent more energy efficient than conventional models.

LG Electronics will also feature a wide-range of power-saving products among televisions, mobile devices and domestic appliances in its booth dubbed as the ``Eco Zone.''

The smaller companies will be competing for headlines in the areas of office applications, Web technology and security software. Uprism (www.uPrism.com) and 4NB (www.4nb.com) are both unveiling programs that enable video-conferencing anywhere and anytime by simply downloading their software from the Internet.

Thatsgood (www.thatsgood.com) and PT Maker (www.ptmaker.com) are displaying their office software that makes it easier for users to create presentation documents.

Ijaksnc (www.ijaksnc.com) is featuring ``GFormat Movie,'' a program tailored for advertisers looking for easier and simpler ways to create commercials in Web videos. Companies such as Click Electronics (www.clickeni.com), NA4 (www.flaon.com) and Avistek (www.avistek.co.kr) are also pushing products that promise easier production of Web videos, including programs that convert text into voice, edit clips and insert subtitles.

Secure on Mobile is unveiling a security program that boosts the safety functions of USB memory sticks and also allows the user to control lost or stolen mobile handsets. HASP is promoting a range of programs that prevent the illegally copying of software products, while Prestige Electronics is offering a program designed to block eavesdropping on mobile communications.

On the sidelines of the exhibition, the U.S. state of Georgia and Fairfax county, Virginia, will hold seminars and one-on-one business meetings to lure potential Korean investors.

thkim@koreatimes.co.kr