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LG Display goes all-out for OLED

LG Display is predicting future televisions will be defined by curved organic light-emitting diode displays. / AP-YonhapCompany to invest $3.6 billion in facilities, gets green light for China factoryBy Kim Yoo-chulLG Display, the leading provider of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), is now preparing an all-out effort to extend its dominance to the new world of digital displays shaped by organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs).The company is to spend 3.8 trillion won (about $3.6 billion) this year on adding facilities and improving technologies with the predominant focus on improving its capabilities for OLED screens, becoming conventional in smaller devices like smartphones and tablets and beginning to appear in larger products like televisions.OLED screens provide a stunning upgrade in picture quality and power consumption compared to conventional LCDs. High costs and difficulty in mass production have been slowing their adaption in televisions, but major electronics makers like Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Sony believe they will see a breakthrough on this front this year.LG

Jan 21, 2013By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Can Samsung be cooler than Apple?

A model stands next to Samsung’s 110-inch Ultra HD TV at the firm’s booth at the recent International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.                                                                                                                           / AP-YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulAttendees use the Samsung Galaxy Note II at the Las Vegas trade fair. / AFP-YonhapSamsung Electronics is the global leader in mobile phones, televisions and computer memory chips. However, what the Korean company really wants is to be admired, and by successfully injecting creative input into its smart products in recent years, it finally seems to be earning its stripes as an innovator. The main source of inspiration in the technology industry in recent years has been Apple, the make

Jan 20, 2013By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Qualcomm feels uneasy about Samsung

By Kim Yoo-chulPaul JacobsQualcomm CEOGIHEUNG, Gyeonggi Province ― Competition is vital for the economy as it keeps prices low and drives companies to improve and innovate. Industry kingpins are always uneasy about new threats to their market share, the way chip giant Qualcomm is now about Samsung Electronics as it turns from friend to foe.Samsung has been one of Qualcomm’s major customers and the U.S. firm’s wealth of intellectual property has contributed greatly in the advancement of mobile communications technology in recent years. The tight relationship between the two companies is becoming complicated as Samsung accelerates efforts to carve its own niche in so-called logic chips, which are the brains inside today's fast-selling mobile Internet devices. The Korean company boasts dual strength in parts and finished products and has been paying huge sums to Qualcomm to use its products but company officials say more mobile technology will be developed in-house over the next few years. Predictably, Qualcomm has been trying to downplay the move.``Our idea is to use S

Jan 20, 2013By Kim Yoo-chul
Qualcomm feels uneasy about Samsung
Tech & Science

Samsung ranks 3rd in innovation

By Kim Yoo-chulSamsung Electronics ranked third in the world in terms of innovation, just behind Apple and Google, according to global consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Thursday.In its annual survey of the world’s top 50 innovative companies, the U.S.-based consultancy said that the Korean electronics giant moved up eight places from a year ago. BCG polled 1,512 senior executives in over 20 markets for this year’s survey. Apple retained the top post for the eighth straight year, while Google maintained the runner-up position since 2006. Microsoft ranked fourth, followed by Facebook (fifth), IBM (sixth) and Sony (seventh).``In such a challenging environment, the key question has become one of how executives can focus their limited attention on a handful of key levers that drive success. The key to being a successful innovator lies not in being great in all aspects but rather in identifying which ones are critical to your innovation strategy,’’ BCG said in a report.It admitted that major technology companies have locked horns over intellectual prope

Jan 17, 2013By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung, LG locked in OLED battle

By Kim Yoo-chulA legal battle between Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics is getting fiercer. The conflict focuses on the intellectual property of a variety of products and technologies ranging from refrigerators to the futuristic organic light emitting diode (OLED) televisions.Leading the LG charge is Koo Bon-joon, LG Electronics CEO and brother of LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo. Left behind by Samsung, LG wants to show it still is ahead in growth engines such as OLED televisions, and is also seeking hefty compensation. Samsung isn’t sitting idle, with officials calling LG’s move as one made out of desperation. ``LG really wants to give the impression that its technologies are better than those of Samsung’s. The latter has no intention of allowing this and wants the former to remain stuck second-place,” an industry source said.“It’s an ego issue,’’ admitted a senior LG Electronics official. ``It was not long ago when LG had been confident that it was making better feature phones than Samsung. In the age of smartphones, LG is no longe

Jan 17, 2013By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

LSIS wins two big deals in Iraq

Oh Soo-hun, an executive at LSIS’ smart-grid business division, shakes hands with Nafaa Abdelsada, an official from the Ministry of Electricity in Iraq, after LSIS agreed with the Iraqi government to build a power control center, Thursday. / Courtesy of LSISBy Kim Yoo-chulLS Industrial Systems (LSIS) announced Thursday it has to bids worth over $100 million in Iraq, as the company strengthens its position overseas.The Korean company said that it signed a contract with the Iraqi government to build a power distribution control center, estimated at $67 million. LSIS said the facility, which will operate on wireless technology, will be based on smart grid technology that enables a more efficient power management system.Along with the building project, the company has also signed a $39.4 million deal with the Iraqi electricity ministry to supply and install a gas-insulated switchgear facility in the Middle East country.``LSIS is receiving rising attention from government-led projects in Asia such as Iraq. One of the noticeable things for the latest deal is that LSIS beat out global

Jan 17, 2013By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Galaxy SIV, iPad3 not subject to court battle

By Kim Yoo-chulSamsung Electronics and Apple have agreed not to put their upcoming new devices in a second trial in San Jose slated for March, according to a global patent expert, Wednesday.Under the agreement, Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy SIV and Apple’s mini iPad3 will not be included in the second court hearing, according to Samsung.Florian Mueller, the founder of popular FossPatents blog, said Wednesday in his blog that Apple and Samsung filed a joint stipulation with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California concerning the addition of new products or new product versions to the second case pending between the parties in that district.Mueller said iPhone5, iPad mini, Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 will be on the table in the second hearing. This second California case involves different patents from ones in the first trial last summer, according to the German-based intellectual property expert.``The strategic significant of both California lawsuits now largely depends on whether the Federal Circuit will grant Apple’s request for a reh

Jan 16, 2013By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Gov't steps in to end display feud

Kim Ki-namSamsung Display CEOHan Sang-beomLG Display CEOBy Kim Yoo-chulThe government will move to resolve a deepening intellectual property dispute between Samsung and LG over display technologies, The Korea Times has learned.Samsung Display and LG Display, the flat-screen affiliates of the groups, have been involved in an ugly fight over patents related to liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens. Samsung has argued in court that LG’s patents in these areas should be delisted. LG countered by seeking a sales ban on Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets, which it claims depend on the infringed LG patents.Policymakers have concluded they can ill-afford to let the conflict escalate given that companies in Japan and Taiwan are determined to make inroads into the display market currently dominated by the Korean duo. The market for OLED panels, in particular, is increasingly becoming an open-field contest. According to sources from both companies, Kim Jae-hong, who heads the industrial policy department at the Minist

Jan 15, 2013By Kim Yoo-chul
Gov't steps in to end display feud
Tech & Science

LG aims to sell 75 mil. handsets in 2013

By Kim Yoo-chulLG Electronics is aiming to sell 75 million handsets this year, up sharply from this year’s estimated 55 million, according to the firm’s local partner, Tuesday.Of the 75 million, the company said that around 45 million will be profitable smartphones and the remaining 30 million will be budget and feature phones.LG has fallen to a second-tier smartphone manufacturer as Samsung and Apple continue to dominate the market. LG is also facing challenges from rising budget Chinese smartphone makers such as ZTE and Huawei.``We will release quite a number of new Optimus devices this year and LG also has some new smartphones in the works, that will run Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8,’’ a senior executive from one of LG’s local partners said by telephone.LG plans to reveal a 5.5-inch full-high definition (HD) flagship smartphone at February’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in the Spanish city of Barcelona.``This year won’t be as bullish for LG as last year. But LG’s Optimus G and Nexus 4 impressed some major carriers and consumers.

Jan 15, 2013By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

NHN's Line rises; Kakao Talk stalls

By Kim Yoo-chulLine, a smartphone messenger application created by NHN is emerging as Asia’s leading SMS tool as a growing number of people in the region are using it for instant communication.The free call or message service now boasts 100 million users, according to NHN officials, Monday.The growth is partly based on Line’s cute ``sticker’’ (icons or image) feature, which could best be described as next-generation emoticons and analysts say the popularity is impressive amid staggering moves of Kakao Talk.``The 100 million mark is a milestone as that means the Korean information technology service is proving its competitiveness globally,’’ said an NHN spokeswoman, adding Line users exceeded 94 million as of last week. Line is downloaded 500,000 times on average every day.Unlike Line, Kakao Talk is stalling as it has failed to increase its base from some 70 million users, said analysts and officials.Since its launch in June 2011, Line offers services in 230 countries. In 41, the application is the favored ahead of Apple’s App Store and Google

Jan 14, 2013By Kim Yoo-chul
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