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US ruling won't affect Samsung's rating

By Kim Yoo-chul Leading global credit ratings agencies said Wednesday that they have no plans to adjust their assessment of Samsung Electronics because of the U.S. jury’s verdict against the Korean technology giant. On Sunday, a nine-member U.S. jury ruled that Samsung must pay a more than $1 billion to Apple for infringing on the firm’s highly-controversial design patents. According to Fitch Ratings, the loss should be seen as a one-off as it won’t be the case in other regions as well as going forward as recently witnessed in Korea and U.K. trials. ``We don’t foresee any abrupt deterioration in the Samsung’s credit metrics as reflected in its stable outlook,’’ Alvin Lim, an associate director at the ratings firm, told The Korea Times, Wednesday. Fitch has affirmed Samsung Electronics’ Long-term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (ID) at ``A plus’’ with a stable outlook, while it has also maintaining Samsung Electronics’ senior unsecured rating at ``A+.’’ ``Samsung’s latest main models aren’t included so far on the injunction list for the latest ver

Aug 29, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung contributes a lot to US economy

By Kim Yoo-chul If the jury believed it was patriotic in its $1 billion verdict in favor of Apple over Samsung Electronics, it might be wrong. ``Apple may be the pride of the United States and Americans. But when you think about real economic effects, you can’t say Apple is better than Samsung,’’ said Park Hyun from local brokerage Tong Yang Investment, Tuesday. Late Apple founder Steve Jobs admitted this, when he rejected a request by U.S. President Barack Obama in January last year to manufacture iPhones in the U.S. Apple isn’t manufacturing its popular i-devices. The Cupertino-based Apple procures all needed components from major Korean suppliers including Samsung and LG with Taiwan’s Foxconn assembling the iPhones in China. Samsung, on the other hand has been an active contributor to the U.S. economy. Since 1998, it has been running a chip-making plant in Austin, Texas, which makes advanced mobile application processors and flash-type memory chips that Apple uses in its i-devices. So far, Samsung has invested more than $12 billion in the plant. Now, some 2

Aug 28, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung to invest $975 mil. in ASML

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics said Monday it will invest 779 million euros ($975 million) in ASML, the Netherlands-based chip equipment maker, to speed up the development of next-generation chips. In a regulatory filing to the Korea Exchange (KRX), the company said it has agreed with ASML to invest $975 million to buy a 3 percent stake in the company and invest in its research and development. ``The strategic investment in ASML will help Samsung accelerate the development of chips with faster transmission speed and bigger storage ability, while cutting manufacturing costs, eventually. The company aims to extend its current global leadership in chips through to next-generation ones,’’ said spokesman Ken Noh. Specifically, Samsung plans to invest in development tools for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology, which allows chipmakers to cram more transistors on silicon. Existing tools use longer wavelengths to transfer circuit patterns using masks. EUV, therefore, shortens that range and makes it possible for the creation of much-improved images on wafers, allowing c

Aug 27, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung stocks plunge on US ruling

By Kim Yoo-chul While it’s premature to debate the true cost of Samsung Electronics’ recent legal setback in its intellectual property dispute with Apple, one could say at least it is roughly more than $11 billion. That’s how much the Korean technology giant lost in its stock market value on the first day of trading here after jurors in San Jose handed a lopsided victory to Apple. Apple had accused Samsung of copying the look and feel of its iPhones and iPads. Samsung’s price per share tumbled by more than 7 percent to end at 1.18 million won, dropping its market capitalization to 174.8 trillion won (about $154 billion) from last week’s 187.8 trillion won. Company officials are concerned that more investors will unload their holdings in the world’s largest maker of mobile phones and televisions over anticipation that the U.S. rulings will have an influence on litigation elsewhere. Samsung and Apple have been launching lawsuits back and forth since early last year when Apple accused its Korean rival of making copycat smartphones and touch-screen tablets. Samsung counte

Aug 27, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Will Google come to Samsung’s rescue against Apple?

By Kim Yoo-chul With Samsung Electronics staggering from a stomach punch in its high-profile intellectual property dispute with Apple, Google seems unsure whether it should step in to support its friend or look the other away. Samsung, the world’s largest mobile-phone maker, has been the undisputed flagship carrier of Google’s Android mobile operating system, the industry’s most convincing challenge against Apple’s robust consumer smartphone presence. The Korean technology giant was handed an overwhelming loss by a jury in San Jose, which awarded Apple $1 billion in damages in backing its claims that Samsung had copied the look and feel of the revolutionary iPhones and iPads. This crushing loss was an alarming development for Google, which sees Apple widening its battle front against Android makers. The company apparently doesn’t want the Samsung setback to drag the whole fleet down and is now distancing itself from its most critical business partner. ``The court of appeals will review both the infringement and the validity of the patent claims. Most of these don’t

Aug 27, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

LG expresses confidence on smartphone rebound

By Kim Yoo-chul LG Electronics says it’s ready to challenge the smartphone supremacy enjoyed by local rival Samsung Electronics. The company is hyping its soon-to-be-released Optimus G as a game-changer that could revive its faltering handset division. LG in recent years has fallen so far behind industry leaders like Samsung and Apple that Koreans have joked that owning an LG smartphone doubles as a corporate name card, indicating you’re on the company’s payroll. The Optimus G is a sexy-enough device both in appearance and functions to erase all the jokes, claims LG spokeswoman Jinny Lee. The G in the name stands for ``great,’’ and Lee will argue in lengthy why such confidence isn’t irrational. The smartphone will be a cut above all the other devices in picture quality, battery life, camera quality and other functions, featuring state-of-the-art components provided by LG subsidiaries like LG Display, LG Chem and LG Innotek. The display in particular uses a cutting edge ``G2 Touch Hybrid’’ technology, which the company has never before applied to smartphones. It allows

Aug 26, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Koreans could miss out on new iPhone

By Kim Yoo-chul A landmark victory for Apple in its intellectual property dispute with Samsung Electronics could pretty much turn out to be a crushing blow to Apple consumers in Korea. Industry sources find it likely that Samsung will assure Apple’s next iPhone, which may or may not be named the iPhone 5, is blocked from Korean shelves for a considerable time. The next iPhone is widely expected to be the first Apple smartphone with the ability to work on fourth-generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) networks. But LTE is actually one of the areas where it has been lagging visibly behind its Korean rival, the other aspect being larger smartphone screens. Apple is in negotiations with Korean mobile-phone carriers SK Telecom and KT over the local launch of the next iPhone, which could be unveiled as early as sometime in September. Supporting LTE on its iPhones will be more difficult for Apple than when it was pushing 3G devices. Different countries use different radio frequencies for their LTE networks, requiring Apple to install different communication modems for the

Aug 26, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung scrambles to recover after uppercut

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics’ uphill court battle against Apple in the United States over intellectual property patent infringement now looks insurmountable after a jury in San Jose awarded the American technology giant an overwhelming victory. While Samsung officials in Seoul weren’t expecting a convincing win in a trial held at the heart of Silicon Valley, they hadn’t been expecting such a lopsided loss either. Jurors awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages, deciding that Samsung did indeed copy the look and feel of iPhones and iPads in its own lineup of smartphones and touch-screen tablets. They rejected all of Samsung’s claims against Apple, which included critical third-generation (3G) wireless technologies. Samsung executives were still reeling in shock Sunday, but provided no clear hint on the company’s next move in the showdown with its industry archrival. It’s widely expected that Samsung will appeal, but the outlook for success in the appeal now looks rather murky. ``It’s absolutely the worst scenario for us,’’ a senior Samsung executive said as he rus

Aug 26, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung to appeal against US ruling

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics said Saturday it will appeal against the latest ruling in the United States that truly favored Apple and stressed Apple's win is a ``loss'' for American consumers. A U.S. jury has just awarded a clear victory to the Cupertino-based Apple, which is also the national pride for Americans, saying that its biggest business partner and competitor Samsung Electronics infringed on its patents for mobile devices. The jury in the state of California awarded Apple more than a billion dollars in damages, Samsung confirmed the outcome of the ruling. ``This is not the final ruling. But the latest decision is a loss for consumers in the United States and will lead to fewer choices," Samsung said in a statement. ``We will appeal against the U.S. ruling to protect our intellectual properties. Apple wasn't the first to design features over rectangles with rounded corners. Therefore, it's very unfortunate that patent law could be manipulated to give a certain company a monopoly over the design feature or technology that's being updated everyday by Sam

Aug 25, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung may break away from copycat image

By Kim Yoo-chul The latest ruling in Korea about the Samsung-Apple dispute has paved the way for the Korean electronics giant to break away from its copycat image as the Seoul court ruled that Samsung did not copy the design of iProducts. ``Financial damages are just a very small thing. What the ruling means Samsung didn’t copy the looks and feels of Apple i-devices. The ruling signifies Apple’s claim that consumers confuse devices from the companies is groundless,’’ said a senior Samsung executive by telephone, Friday. Apple has raised the issue of the so-called ``consumer confusion.’’ According to Apple, consumers buy Samsung’s Galaxy line of devices because the Samsung products are almost similar to the designs of Apple’s i-devices. Earlier in the morning, the local court ordered Apple to pay 40 million won to Samsung Electronics over an infringement of two Samsung-owned wireless patents, while Samsung was ordered to pay 25 million won to Apple. In the United States, Apple is seeking a $2.75 billion or some 3.11 trillion won damages from Samsung, while the Korean

Aug 24, 2012By Kim Yoo-chul
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