Local television makers are vying to churn out “smart TVs” to maintain their dominant position in the global market. They are going-all out to create and lead a new market for electronics and communication gadgets amid ever-increasing competition with multinational giants.
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics ― the world’s top and No. 2 TV makers ― are displaying their smart TVs in the IFA trade show in Berlin, which started Friday for a six-day run. The event now serves as a forum for new gadgets, including mobile devices, tablet PCs and other consumer electronics.
The international fair has ignited a race in smart TVs. Apple Inc. also unveiled its new Apple TV product, while Sony demonstrated its Google TV platform with a plan to sell its own smart TV in cooperation with Google and Intel this fall.
No doubt the race is a matter of survival for the electronic firms. But it is a boon to consumers around the globe as smart TVs are to revolutionize living room entertainment. That’s why the Korean manufacturers and their competitors are using such catchphrases as “smart life,” “intelligence” and “sophistication” to steal the spotlight at the IFA.
A smart TV is an Internet-connected television built on an operating system that allows its users to not only watch TV programs but also surf the Web. In short, the new product is a multimedia device combining television with laptops, smartphones and other mobile applications.
Any electronics makers cannot emerge as a leader in the smart TV market without providing a variety of software, content and applications. That is, hardware-making prowess alone cannot guarantee success any more in multimedia products that have become smarter than ever before.
Samsung and LG know this better than anyone else. They are now endeavoring to overcome their weaknesses in software capability and content delivery. They face an uphill battle with Sony, Apple and Google which boast of their up-to-date software programs and excellent content-providing services.
For this reason, the Korean firms are seeking to forge partnership with movie studios, television networks, entertainment firms and other content providers at home and abroad. They must bear in mind that they cannot win a “digital war” unless they combine multimedia technologies with cultural products.
Concerns are growing that the nation, once lauded as an IT powerhouse, may be relegated to a ``colony of information and content” if it continues to focus on hardware while neglecting software. President Lee Myung-bak stressed the importance of producing creative content, marking Broadcasting Day, Thursday.
The government needs to provide more support for content-making industries when the nation is fast moving to put broadcasting and communication together to maximize their synergy effects. It remains to be seen whether Korea Inc. will survive the intensifying digital war.