The Korea Times

Are Samsung, Apple getting closer?

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics is seemingly poised to quadruple the shipment of its advanced mobile processor chips to its most outstanding partner and rival in the United States ― Apple. Analysts point out that the measure may herald the era of full-fledged cooperation between the two giants after two years of estranged relations in the midst of smartphone competition. Apple stopped buying application processors (APs), the equivalent of central processing units (CPU) for mobile handsets, from Samsung in 2008 in line with its strategy of creating custom chips for

Jan 26, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

SK Telecom to hop on versatile handset, platform

By Kim Yoo-chul SK Telecom is refocusing its strategy in order to beef up value-added platform businesses ― a more capable handset and a more versatile platform. SK Telecom hopes to yield tangible results in its new handset in collaboration with Samsung Electronics, which serve as a smartphone as well as a set-top box. In a news conference, SK Telecom said it has formed a united front with Samsung to launch its latest platform service dubbed as "N-Screen." Samsung will sell the "Galaxy S Hoppin" handset, a modified version of the original Galaxy S. The handset is supporting SK Telecom's cloud computing-based Hoppin service, which allows customers to enjoy using media content on televisions, personal computers or even on the phone. "SK Telecom aims to provide more customized content and competitive telecom-related applications to customers by pushing N-Screen service," Sull Won-hee, executive vice president of its open platform division, told reporters at its headquarters in downtown Seoul, Monday. The Galaxy Hoppin comes together with Android 2.2 and 4-inch "Supe

Jan 24, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Fruit sensitivity

LG, KT hope for Jobs' early recovery, Samsung mum By Kim Yoo-chul Korea’s industrial titans are showing mixed responses over the absence of the Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who is currently taking indefinite medical leave for unspecified problems. LG Display and KT, which have racked up rapid growth thanks to the rise of a set of Apple hit products, avidly hope for a fast recovery of Jobs, while Samsung Electronics remains tight-lipped on the issue. Samsung seems to be a beneficiary from the absence of Jobs as investors have flocked to the world’s foremost maker of memory chips and handsets over the past weeks after Jobs stopped working. According to market observers, investors might expect Samsung will be able to take advantage of Jobs’ leave to undermine the runaway dominance of Apple in smartphones and tablet computers. The results: Shares of Samsung Electronics reached a record high last week of 1 million won for the first time since the corporation was listed in 1975. When contacted, spokespeople at Samsung Electronics declined to comment on the issue, possibl

Jan 23, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

iPhone sales reach 2 million mark

By Kim Yoo-chul Despite its late debut in Korea, Apple's iPhone has made its presence felt here in an impressive fashion as sales of the smartphone have topped the 2 million mark after just 14 months. KT, the exclusive partner selling the iPhone, said Sunday that more than 2 million people have purchased the sophisticated handsets since their release in late Nov. 2009. KT officials predict that the "Apple invasion" will accelerate down the road as a mounting number of young clients are likely to snap up the company’s devices including the iPad on top of the iPhone. In a press announcement, the nation's runner-up mobile carrier, said that young men in metropolitan areas were the representative buyer of the iPhone. Six out of 10 customers were male with 82 percent of them aged between 10 and 39. Almost seven among 10 were living in Seoul and its vicinity ― up to 39 percent were found to reside in Seoul and 29 percent in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province. "The success of the iPhone is attributable to the combination of high product quality, KT networks, affordable

Jan 23, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Will Steve Jobs absence benefit Samsung Electronics?

Korean firm says Apple is its top supplier, hoping for CEO’s prompt recovery By Kim Yoo-chul Is Samsung Electronics smiling at the health troubles facing Apple’s brain, Steve Jobs? Jobs’ innovations — the iPod, iPhone and iPad — are setting the global standard, sending Korea’s top tech powerhouse scrambling to go head to head with it. Thus, conventional thought is that Samsung may be grinning when left alone away from the public eye, believing that Apple would be weaker without Jobs, giving it a great opportunity to pass its nemesis and win the title of world leader.

Jan 21, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Companies

EU fine hits LG Display

By Kim Yoo-chul LG Display, the world's second-biggest flat-screen maker, has swung to a quarterly loss for the first time in nearly two years due to the steep price falls in LCDs and a big fine imposed by the European Union (EU) for price fixing. In a regulatory filing to the Korea Exchange, the LG Group's key display-making unit said it posted a 387 billion won operating loss during the fourth quarter of last year, while the quarterly net loss was tallied at 268 billion won. Sales during the October-December period improved 10 percent to 6.48 trillion won from 5.9 trillion won year-on-year.

Jan 21, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Companies

LG Innotek aims big

By Kim Yoo-chul LG Innotek, the LG Group's component-making affiliate, is seeking business expansion this year, expecting demand for high-end digital devices such as smartphones will recover from last year. In a statement, Friday, Innotek said it is aiming to reap 5.3 trillion won or some $4.7 billion in sales this year, an increase of 29.2 percent from 2010. The company is upbeat on the growth prospects of its light-emitting diode (LED) related businesses. The firm is planning to invest 760 billion won in facilities capitalizing on LED light-bulbs, and solar-cells. ``This year is more than crucial for Innotek to lift our LED business,’’ said company spokesman Jung Jae-wook, adding sales of these exceeded 1 trillion won. LG Group, the nation’s fourth-largest conglomerate, has realized vertical integration of its display-related businesses. LG Electronics produces finished products with flat-screens from LG Display and components supplied by LG Innotek. Separately, Innotek said it saw 4.10 trillion won in sales and 156 billion won in operating profit for last year o

Jan 21, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

KT vows cultural shift in management

iPhone seller plans overseas expansion through acquisitions By Kim Yoo-chul South Korea's telecom giant KT, led by chief executive Lee Suk-chae, has bolstered its corporate image over the last two years partly because of its then controversial decision to sell Apple's iPhone here. The bold decision made sense as the nation's second-biggest mobile carrier secured the right springboard to enjoy more first-mover advantages in the rapidly growing local smartphone and wireless data-related segments. At a time when South Korea’s top carriers including market leader SK Telecom are unexpectedly busy looking for their next revenue sources in the local telecom markets by announcing fine-tuned data and platform strategies, KT is looking to make bigger breakthroughs outside the peninsula. Market analysts still have questions whether local telecom companies will successfully penetrate overseas markets, citing unlikely attempts and lack of competitiveness. Even the market leader SK Telecom has failed to yield any visible results to expand its profile in the United States, Vietnam

Jan 20, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Companies

HHI wins $1 bil. drillship order

By Kim Yoo-chul Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the world's biggest shipbuilder, has signed a deal worth 1.14 trillion won or $1 billion in a drillship deal with U.S. oil and gas rig operator Nobile Drilling. The contract calls for the Korean shipyard to deliver two drill-ships by the end of 2013, according to HHI in a press release, Wednesday. "Amid the rising oil prices, HHI expects to win more such orders," said a company spokesman Jo Sung-woo, without elaborating further. Drillships are used to explore and develop offshore oil and considered a premium vessel in terms of price. HHI as well as smaller Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy are focusing on garnering orders for value-added drillships. HHI has won three orders to supply drillships. Last month, HHI clinched a separate drillship order for U.S. oil explorer Diamond Offshore Drilling for $520 million. Jo said it has been receiving calls more frequently concerning the build-up of the ships from its bigger existing clients. HHI plans to win $19.8 billion worth of total shi

Jan 19, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Opinion

Brothers up in arms for corporate revival

LG Chem, LG Display play role models By Kim Yoo-chul Leaders of LG Group are talking about making the conglomerate lean and mean. Some affiliates, such as LG Chem, are already tough nuts to crack, with its competitiveness surpassing or being on par with its counterparts in Samsung Group. Of course, LG Electronics is an exception but with Koo Bon-joon, the younger brother of the group leader Koo Bon-moo, in charge, the situation facing the LG flagship, which has suffered from a late start in smartphones, appears to be changing very fast. Shares of LG Electronics rose more than 20 percent after Bon-joon was appointed to be in charge, with analysts predicting a

Jan 19, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Kim Yoo-chul

Read more

Are Samsung, Apple getting closer?

SK Telecom to hop on versatile handset, platform

Fruit sensitivity

iPhone sales reach 2 million mark

Will Steve Jobs absence benefit Samsung Electronics?

EU fine hits LG Display

LG Innotek aims big

KT vows cultural shift in management

HHI wins $1 bil. drillship order

Brothers up in arms for corporate revival

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