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MS aims to be game changer in tablets

By Kim Yoo-chulMicrosoft (MS) is seeking to become a “game changer” in the tablet computer market currently dominated by Apple and Samsung Electronics, the company said Monday.The ambitious plan was unveiled at a news conference to introduce its latest 8-inch tablet at its headquarters in Seoul.“We just want to be a challenging changer in tablets,” Kim Young-wook, a senior technology officer at MS Korea, told The Korea Times.“We’ve set the price tag of the device at a very appealing level and that means MS will be aggressive in promoting the 8-inch tablets. Initial responses to our device are impressive. Our device could play a key role as the right connector linking legacy products and mobile devices,” he added. The basic model of the 8-inch tablet running on Windows mobile software will cost $299, while models with additional features will cost more. The company is well aware of the ongoing trend in the global PC industry that tablets are rapidly replacing conventional T-Tower style PCs, notebooks and even ultra-book PCs. “It’s

Jan 27, 2014By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

KT, Samsung join for LTE

New KT CEO vows to diversify overseas portfolios By Kim Yoo-chulKT said Sunday it has agreed with Samsung Electronics to launch a joint promotional campaign to expand the sale of LTE-embedded devices and solutions, globally.“KT has jointly completed the development of LTE evolved multimedia broadcast and multicast service (LTE eMBMS) with Samsung. The service will be available from Jan. 27,” KT spokesman Lee Jeong-ho said.“The two companies also agreed to level up corporate ties in business areas they are mutually interested in.”A Samsung spokesman confirmed this, saying the firm will offer advanced LTE-embedded devices to local and global customers. He added the firm’s renewed collaboration with KT will help the world’s biggest smartphone manufacturer expand its territory beyond manufacturing.KT said the LTE eMBMS technology significantly enhances the quality of video-viewing in crowded areas such as movie theaters and concert halls. “Thanks to the development of the advanced networks, our customers can enjoy faster viewing without cuts

Jan 26, 2014By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Firms turning to 'smart glasses'

By Kim Yoo-chul“Smart glasses” are emerging as the next big thing for leading technology companies, such as Samsung, Sony and Google, amid the gloomy outlook for conventional devices.Google Glass isn’t the only smart handset. This year’s tech fair in Las Vegas provided a glimpse into new technology trends with firms offering their versions of wearable devices.This year will see the emergence of many of these, according to market analysts and company officials, because they will create new business opportunities amid connectivity between hardware and software.Just as smart watches emerged as a key theme at the U.S. fair, smart glasses may become the savior of hungry tech companies with U.S.-based software giant Google currently leading the way.Competition in the new market is expected to get hotter. “The reason is simple. The market potential for smart glass is huge. It will be used in trucks, cars and has a greater impact on related industries such as glass- and coatings-makers,” said an official at Samsung Electronics.An executive at Google’

Jan 26, 2014By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung to establish battery plant in China

By Kim Yoo-chulSamsung SDI, a battery-making affiliate of Samsung Group, will build its first battery plant in the western Chinese city of Xian, the company said, Thursday.The move is aimed at increasing its market share in the promising electric vehicle market.The Samsung affiliate signed an agreement to establish a joint venture with Chinese auto parts maker Anqing Ring New Group and the government of Shaanxi province.The project is expected to commence in April, SDI said in a statement.The joint venture will invest up to $600 million over the next five years, though SDI declined to provide details of the breakdown of contributions by each party. Advanced battery applications from the plant will be used for upcoming electric vehicles by leading automakers such as Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and BMW, according to an company spokesman.He added the decision was aimed at bolstering its presence in the Chinese electric vehicle market, which is forecast to become one of the world’s largest in terms of market volume by 2020.Since late 2012, Samsung SDI CEO Park Sang-jin and Samsu

Jan 23, 2014By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung, Apple unlikely to reconcile

By Kim Yoo-chulFlorian MuellerA leading intellectual property expert said Wednesday that Samsung Electronics and Apple are unikely to reach a compromise at the upcoming court-requested high-level mediation talks because of an “anti-cloning provision.”“Apple’s insistence on an anti-cloning provision is probably going to be a key issue. Financial terms will be another one. I don’t doubt both parties’ intention to work out a deal, but they may be too far apart at this point,” said German-based patent expert Florian Mueller in an e-mail interview.A recent court filing confirmed that Apple is demanding that any potential patent-litigation settlement with Samsung includes an anti-cloning provision. Samsung’s mobile boss Shin Jong-kyun plans to meet Apple CEO Tim Cook within the next month for talks.Samsung Electronics is still eager to enter a comprehensive cross-licensing deal with Apple, allowing Samsung to access all of Apple’s design and non-design patents. Samsung has so far preferred to resolve intellectual property issues through

Jan 22, 2014By Kim Yoo-chul
Samsung, Apple unlikely to reconcile
Tech & Science

LG Chem obtains patent in Europe

LG Chem researchers check out the final product of its safety-reinforced separator (SRS), a key component of lithium-ion polymer batteries, at its technology center in Daejeon, South Chungcheong Province, Wednesday./ Courtesy of LG ChemBy Kim Yoo-chulLG Chem, the nation’s largest petrochemical company, has obtained a patent for its safety reinforced separator (SRS) technology in Europe and Japan, the company said Wednesday.SRS is a key component of lithium-ion polymer batteries that is used in various battery related applications.“LG recently obtained the patent for SRS in Europe and Japan. This will help us expand our battery-related businesses in target markets,” said Owen Sung, head of LG Chem’s public relations office.The LG Group’s petrochemical affiliate had the patent registered in China in 2012, the United States in 2010 and in Korea in 2007, the company said in a statement.SRS is regarded as a core patent to enhance the safety of the separation membrane by means of an inorganic material coating. The SRS technology is currently being used in batt

Jan 22, 2014By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

LG seeks deal with Fox for Web-based TV

By Kim Yoo-chulLG Electronics is in talks with Fox TV, a major U.S. broadcaster, to buy the latter’s content for its recently-released first Web-based TV, which will run on the software platform it bought from Hewlett-Packard last year, an LG official said Tuesday.“We are negotiating terms with Fox TV to put its content and other services on our WebOS TV,” the official said.He added that LG, the world’s second-biggest TV manufacturer, will launch large-scale promotional campaigns for content providers, broadcasters as well as leading distribution channels from the latter half of this year. The partners will include BestBuy and large retailers in Europe and China.“WebOS TVs will account for over 65 percent of total TV shipments we expect this year. This is a survival issue. We remain bullish over the outlook for WebOS TVs.”The official said senior executives at the home entertainment division, which manages its TV business, have met with U.S.-based partners to discuss possible contracts.During this year’s technology show in Las Vegas, LG unvei

Jan 21, 2014By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

SK hynix to remain bullish

By Kim Yoo-chulSK hynix is expected to continue on a bullish run in the stock market this year on the back of the firm’s stable earnings portfolio and strength in the memory chip business, analysts said Tuesday.The shares of the world’s second-largest memory chip supplier have been undergoing a correction period over the past week after solid gains in the fourth quarter of last year powered by a foreign investors’ buying spree.Analysts said that there are four key changes that will support the rebound of SK hynix shares — increasing technological complexity, demand becominginelastic, memory becoming highly concentrated and entry barriers rising.“The new paradigm creates a novel industry landscape that no longer rewards aggressive investment and is characterized by slowing growth amid limited capacity additions and natural loss from nearing scaling limits,” Bernstein Research, a Wall Street-based premium research firm wrote in a note to clients.“Amid the onset of a new market paradigm, SK hynix has benefited from structural industry changes as

Jan 21, 2014By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung, Google become 'frienemies'

Korean firm plans to promote Tizen-based phones at MWCBy Kim Yoo-chulSamsung Electronics and Google have become “frienemies” ― part friends, part enemies ― with each other.Samsung’s move to promote smartphones using the Tizen operating system, instead of Google’s Android, is an example of their relationship.A Samsung official said Tuesday the firm will hold a developers’ forum to promote Tizen-embedded smartphones at the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) fair in the Spanish city of Barcelona.“We are working with leading mobile carriers in Europe and distribution channels to expand the use of Tizen-embedded mobile devices,” the official said.Samsung said the “Tizen Reception” will be held on Feb. 23 by Tizen Association, an open-source group that was created through the merger of the former MeeGo and LiMo platforms. Samsung is the largest backer of the association.The reception will be the venue for invited media, partners and content developers to get insights into the next strategies for Tizen software, the official

Jan 21, 2014By Kim Yoo-chul
Samsung, Google become 'frienemies'
Tech & Science

Display redefines technology future

By Kim Yoo-chulSoftware has always been the pacesetter in the technology industry and still is in many ways. However, the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show (ICES) suggests that there is a new trend ― innovation in display components.Two Korean consumer electronics giants, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, as well as Japan’s Sony showed off their innovative capabilities by exhibiting various prototypes in Las Vegas last week. The ICES is the largest technology fair in the world.Wearable devices and curved TVs were some of the main attractions at the fair, according to officials of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the fair organizer.“I thought the panoramic curved ultra high-definition (UHD) TV looked amazing. Most of the high-end TVs are meaningless for today but look beautiful and just showcases the firm’s capabilities and hopes for the future,” said Mark C. Newman, a senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, who attended the exhibition.The outlook for Korean manufacturers is getting better not just because of the futuristic devi

Jan 19, 2014By Kim Yoo-chul
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