Korean mobile games still shut out of China

Five months after the souring of South Korea-China relations over Seoul’s deployment of a US missile defense system, China continues to deny approval to South Korean game companies seeking to publish their mobile games in China. In March this year, China reportedly stopped issuing new service licenses to Korea-made games as part of economic retaliation against Seoul’s preparations to install the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, which China has been vehemently opposing.Months have pass

Aug. 23, 2017

LG V30 to feature Google Assistant in Korean: report

LG Electronics’ upcoming flagship smartphone V30 is expected to feature the artificial intelligence-powered Google Assistant in Korean, according to local news reports Wednesday. The Korean voice service, which was initially slated to start in the fourth quarter, will be available in time for the release of the V30, set to debut on Aug. 31, the reports said. Google Assistant is a virtual personal assistant, providing diverse services such as answering questions, playing music, making reservation

Aug. 23, 2017

Samsung invests W5 bn in Cyworld

Samsung Electronics reportedly invested 5 billion won ($4.4 million) in South Korea’s first-generation social networking service Cyworld as part of efforts to enhance its artificial intelligence business, according to the company on Tuesday.The company confirmed Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, an affiliate on startup investment, recently made an investment in Cyworld, although it declined to reveal the exact amount of the investment.   Screenshot of Cyworld twitter pageAccording to media

Aug. 22, 2017

SKT, Starbucks partner for AI-based coffee order service

South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom said Tuesday it is partnering with Starbucks to launch a voice-activated coffee order service using the company’s artificial intelligence speaker Nugu. Under an agreement, SKT plans to connect Nugu with Starbuck’s Siren order service on its application, allowing consumers to order drinks through voice commands. The two are working together to launch the service by the end of the year.  A model demonstrates how to order a drink with the artificial intelligen

Aug. 22, 2017

How much economic impact has Google’s Android OS had in Korea?

South Korea is one of the world’s most wired countries where close to 90 percent of the population owns a smartphone, with a large number of them made by the country’s tech giant Samsung Electronics. As Samsung’s devices run on Google’s Android operating system, the open source software has undoubtedly had a significant impact on Korea’s digital economy. The question is -- exactly how much economic value has it really generated for local businesses and users?　Google Korea has sought to answer th

Aug. 22, 2017

ETRI’s translation technology adopted as international standard

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute’s translation technology was adopted as an international standard by a French standardization association, the ETRI said Tuesday. The ETRI’s translation technology called Zero UI was adopted as an international standard for the first time in the world during a meeting held by AFNOR, or Association Francaise de Normalisation Standards Organization of France, on July 28. The translation technology allows users who speak different languages

Aug. 22, 2017

Samsung aims to connect all home appliances by 2020

Ramping up efforts to establish a complete smart home environment, Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it would add connectivity to all of its home appliance products by 2020 and provide a control platform. The announcement was made about a week before the South Korean electronics maker is to unveil its major smart home services at the IFA 2017 in Berlin. To increase connectivity, the company has decided to add smart functions based on Internet of Things technologies to all household appliances mad

Aug. 22, 2017

Korea's R&D policy to focus on long-term 'vision'

South Korea is seeking to focus on a long-term vision that can raise the overall competitiveness of the country as it utilizes its research and development budget, the ICT ministry said Tuesday.The plan was announced during a gathering of Ministry of Science and ICT policymakers and President Moon Jae-in. The policy briefing was the first of its kind since Moon took office May 10.In accordance with the goal, the ministry will now have the right to conduct a prefeasibility study related to the R&

Aug. 22, 2017

Samsung to promote 'The Frame' TVs during showcase of flagship

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it will promote "The Frame" TVs during the showcase event for its presumed Galaxy Note 8 slated for later this week.The South Korean tech giant, which plans to unveil its new phablet in New York on Wednesday (US time), said The Frame TVs installed at the venue will display artwork drawn by the Galaxy Note series' exclusive S-Pen. (Yonhap)Samsung said The Frame TVs will display 54 pieces produced by 13 artists through "art mode," which allows the TVs to displa

Aug. 22, 2017

LG releases more teasers for V30

LG Electronics Inc. introduced two 15-second ads for its flagship V30 smartphone slated to be showcased later this month, which apparently targeted Samsung Electronics Co.'s upcoming Note smartphone, industry watchers said Tuesday.One of the clips showed a page being torn apart from a blue-colored notebook with a phrase, "There's a reason to break up with you." The other video showed a pen being broken into two pieces in the shape of a "V."The ads came as Samsung's presumed Galaxy Note 8 is slat

Aug. 22, 2017

Kakao Taxi dominates cab-hailing app

Kakao Taxi is the most popular cab-hailing app in South Korea, dominating 98 percent of the market, while the food delivery app sector is fiercely contested by two rivals, according to a survey on Tuesday.Market analysis company Open Survey polled 1,500 smartphone users between 20 through 40 to find out which online-to-offline apps they use the most for specific needs.Kakao Taxi, run by Kakao Corp. that also operates the popular messenger service Kakao Talk, commanded 98 percent of responses for

Aug. 22, 2017

Samsung, LG moving into gaming industry

Korean tech giants, Samsung and LG, are moving into the gaming industry with the aim of seeking a breakthrough in the saturated PC market and testing future display technologies on gaming devices, according to industry watchers. In recent years, Samsung and LG have competitively released gaming laptops and monitors in the market traditionally dominated by Taiwanese firms, including Gigabyte, Asus, Acer and Micro-Star International. Samsung Electronics announced Monday it had launched the world’s

Aug. 21, 2017

Samsung to debut new Notebook 9 laptop next month

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday that it will roll out its new pen-equipped laptop the Notebook 9 Pen that will include Intel's latest eighth generation processor in South Korea next month.Bringing its S Pen technology to the company's notebook lineup, the new model will offer an up to 40-percent speed boost over the previous seventh generation chips, the company said. (Yonhap)The new chips are also designed to operate video clips with 4K Ultra High Definition and other recent innovations suc

Aug. 21, 2017

Samsung to provide HDR 10+ tech for free within year

Samsung Electronics will provide its ultra-high definition technology as an open source for various industry players by the end of the year, hoping the tech to be used not only for premium televisions, but also online video content players and gaming, the company said Monday. The South Korean tech titan has solely developed the High Dynamic Range 10 Plus tech and applied to all lineups of quantum-dot light emitting diode TVs and ultra-high definition TVs launched this year. Known as the HDR 10+,

Aug. 21, 2017

Accumulated payments with Samsung Pay surpass W10tr

Accumulated payments made with Samsung Pay surpassed 10 trillion won ($8.77 billion) in two years since the mobile payment service was launched, Samsung Electronics said Sunday. Use of the mobile pay service nearly quadrupled in a year after reaching 2 trillion won in the first year, the company said. A rapid increase in online payments via Samsung Pay contributed to the growth, which accounted for more than 30 percent of the total payments. (Samsung Electronics)Samsung Pay is currently availabl

Aug. 20, 2017

[Health-tech Korea] Neofect eyes global lead in smart rehabilitation device market

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles highlighting South Korea’s promising startups in the emerging sectors of digital health care and next-generation medical devices. This is the 11th installment. -- Ed.Every year, around 15 million people around the world suffer from a stroke, according to the World Health Organization. Among them, approximately two thirds are said to survive and require rehabilitation.Rehabilitation helps stroke survivors relearn key motor skills that are lost w

Aug. 20, 2017

iPhone 8 unlikely to have curved edge display: source

Apple’s upcoming iPhone 8 is unlikely to have a curved edge display despite rampant speculation that the new device may adopt the design with its organic light-emitting diode panels having a flexible nature. Since the Cupertino-based iPhone maker for the first time decided to use OLED panels for its new flagship smartphone, there has been speculation that the device may sport an edge display like Galaxy S8 offers. Samsung adopted the edge-to-edge display -- where two sides of the device are curv

Aug. 20, 2017

LG CNS becomes first to offer ‘cloud integration’ services in Korea

LG CNS, the internet technology solutions unit of South Korea’s LG Group, has begun offering cloud integration services to interested clients, becoming the first IT system solutions provider to pave this new market in Korea.　LG CNS announced Friday that it is now providing “cloud integration” services that help corporate clients develop and deploy the optimal cloud-based IT system in the most desired, efficient and cost-effective way possible.　Cloud computing refers to computing based on the int

Aug. 18, 2017

[Photo News] LG Uplus showcases new IoT app for monitoring pets at home

　WATCH YOUR PETS -- A new IoT-based mobile app is showcased at the 2017 Seoul Pet Industry Expo held Friday at Coex in Gangnam, Seoul. Developed by LG Uplus, the app allows pet owners to check on the status of their pets via a home camera as well as control home appliances such as air conditioners and lights inside the home. (Yonhap)

Aug. 18, 2017

Details of Galaxy Note 8 leaked in Australia

Australia-based media Ausdroid reported Friday it has obtained marketing material for Samsung Electronics Co.'s presumed Galaxy Note 8, slated to be showcased next week.Ausdroid said it obtained a sales brochure for the South Korean tech giant's upcoming phablet, originally slated to be revealed in New York on Wednesday, which included information on detailed specifications.According to the report, the Galaxy Note 8 comes with a 6.3-inch QHD display and is equipped with IP68 standards for water

Aug. 18, 2017