[MWC] Chinese firms raise presence at MWC

BARCELONA -- Shaking off their copycat reputation, Chinese tech firms are enjoying a growing presence at this week’s Mobile World Congress, previously dominated by Korean and Japanese companies.This year, five Chinese handset makers Huawei, Oppo, TCL, Lenovo and ZTE joined the exhibition at Hall 3, the main MWC area where Samsung, LG and Nokia are also located. The Chinese firms’ rapid advancement was prominent even before the tech congress kicked off Monday. When Huawei launched its new smartph

March 1, 2017

[MWC] How AI can change your next phone, car

BARCELONA -- Artificial intelligence that made headlines last year with Google’s AlphaGo is again in the spotlight at Mobile World Congress by being integrated into daily routines through handsets, robots and cars. Tech firms showcased their latest gadgets at the MWC, which kicked off with the keynote speaker SoftBank Group chief executive Masayoshi Son saying, “Artificial intelligence will be smarter than the human brain within 30 years.”LG Electronics moved into the limelight at this year’s te

March 1, 2017

LG signs on for $250m plant in Tennessee

From left: Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, LG Electronics H&A President Song Dae-hyun and LG Electronics North America President Cho Joo-wan shake hands after signing a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a washer plant in Clarksville, Tennessee, at the state government office in Nashville on Tuesday. LG ElectronicsLG Electronics will construct a washing machine factory with an annual capacity of 1 million units in the US state Tennessee, the company said Wednesday. The announcement c

March 1, 2017

Samsung SDI supplies largest-ever energy storage system to California

Samsung SDI’s 240 megawatt-hour Lithium-ion batteries are installed in 24 containers of an energy storage system run by AES Energy Storage, located in Escondido, California (Samsung SDI)Samsung SDI announced Wednesday it has provided the world’s largest energy storage system, known as ESS, to California, contributing to easing power shortage problems in the region. The company said it has supplied a total of 240 megawatt-hours or 400,000 units of Lithium-ion batteries and associated battery mana

March 1, 2017

[MWC] Global telecom companies join hands for humanitarian aid

Sixteen global mobile telecom companies, including South Korea’s KT and SK Telecom, have joined hands to contribute their big data capabilities to help humanitarian crises.　The GSMA, the organizer of the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, revealed Monday the “Big Data for Social Good” initiative at this year’s MWC.It will “leverage mobile operators’ big data capabilities to address humanitarian crises, including epidemics and natural disasters,” the GSMA said. A booth at the MWC exhibit

March 1, 2017

[MWC] What type of AI-powered device will come from Line-Sony alliance?

A new alliance has formed between Japanese tech giant Sony and mobile messenger operator Line Corp., as they are considering joining hands to develop new digital devices powered by artificial intelligence. 　　During the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, Sony Mobile stated that the two firms are exploring collaborative opportunities on new AI assistant technologies and products.　Sony is looking to merge its Sony Agent Technology adopted in its Xperia Smart Products with Line’s

March 1, 2017

[Graphic News] Men still dominate in global IT firms

A recent survey showed that men still dominate major tech companies.Among the eight leading tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft, none of them had workforces that were more than 50 percent female, according to German-based research firm Statista. The company with the most balanced workforce was PayPal, at which 44 percent of workers were women. This was followed by eBay, Amazon.com and Twitter. Microsoft came at the bottom among the surveyed companies at 26 percent.The imbalance is

Feb. 28, 2017

[MWC] Samsung, Reliance Jio to connect rural India

Samsung Electronics said it will team up with India’s Long Term Evolution mobile operator Reliance Jio Infocomm to build more high-speed wireless communication networks in India’s remote regions as well as major cities.Tapping the rapidly growing telco market in India, South Korea’s tech giant clinched an exclusive deal with Jio in 2012 to supply 4G LTE network equipment. After two years of network building across India between 2014 and 2016, the Indian telco firm launched the service in Septemb

Feb. 28, 2017

Samsung SDI names memory chip veteran as new CEO

Jun Young-hyun (Samsung SDI)Jun Young-hyun, president of the device solution division of Samsung Electronics, has been nominated as the new president of battery maker Samsung SDI, the company announced Tuesday. Executive directors at Samsung SDI tapped Jun, a memory chip veteran, to succeed the current CEO Cho Nam-seong at a board meeting. Cho tendered his resignation, citing personal reasons on the same day. “This nomination is not related to a rumored organization reshuffle before the expected

Feb. 28, 2017

[MWC] 'LG smartphone focuses on basics'

BARCELONA -- LG Electronics, in its newest attempt to seize the global smartphone market, is choosing fundamentals over “unnecessary” innovation, its chief said Monday.　“(The) LG smartphone has so far targeted a niche market for a minority of enthusiasts. However, as the smartphone market has become more mature, it is becoming hard to make new innovation,” LG Electronics chief Jo Seong-jin told reporters Monday at Mobile World Congress, which kicked off in Barcelona on the same day. 　“Instead of

Feb. 28, 2017

[From the scene] Virtual reality headlines MWC

BARCELONA -- It looks like a tiny ride at an amusement park: a rider wearing three-dimensional goggles is shaken upside down, left and right, while bound to a chair.What may appear amusing and even a little funny to bystanders is actually an incredible journey for the user who is experiencing a simulated world of space, made real by virtual reality.The ride named Astro Ship by Samsung Electronics is one of the most sought-after rides at the Mobile World Congress held this week in Barcelona, Spai

Feb. 28, 2017

Kakao Navi emerges strong one year after launch

One year into its launch, Kakao’s mobile navigation app Kakao Navi has hosted 730 million trips totaling a combined distance of 20.6 billion kilometers, the South Korean mobile messenger giant said Tuesday. This distance is equivalent to circumnavigating Earth 515,000 times, Kakao said as it laid out the app’s notable records and achievements to mark its first anniversary.Kakao Navi was born through Kakao’s acquisition of the operator of local car navigation app Kim Gisa, or Driver Kim, last yea

Feb. 28, 2017

Autofactory enters IoT-based smart farm business

Autofactory, headed by Lee Jae-wook, announced Tuesday that it recently entered the Internet of Things-based smart farm business, alongside its automotive data service business. A startup company that provides services in the “connected car” industry, Autofactory possesses several types of IoT-based technologies, including LoRa -- long-range, low-power -- telecommunications technology and object search technology. The company has now applied this technology to its new smart farm business. Based

Feb. 28, 2017

[Newsmaker] LG mobile chief confident about G6

BARCELONA -- Technical finesse, practicality and sincerity seem to be the main elements that LG Electronics are betting on for its new flagship smartphone, the G6, which the tech giant hopes will bring a long-sought-after turnaround in its handset business. Looking to continue the hype created by its unveiling of the phone Sunday, LG’s mobile chief held a press conference, expressing his confidence that the new device would record strong sales and stressing its focus on the basics.LG Electronics

Feb. 27, 2017

[MWC] KT pledges to be world’s first 5G provider by 2019

Hwang Chang-gyu, CEO of mobile carrier KT, pledged to make his company the world’s first to commercialize the next generation wireless network by 2019 in an address to global telecom providers on Monday. At an opening ceremony of the Mobile World Congress that kicked off in Barcelona, Spain, Hwang delivered a keynote speech aimed at expressing KT’s ambition to be a leader in establishing the fifth generation telecommunication network. It is the second time that Hwang addressed at the MWC after h

Feb. 27, 2017

Local researchers develop 3D cargo inspection technology

A local group of researchers successfully developed technology for three-dimensional inspection of container cargo that would greatly reduce inspection time and cost, the oceans ministry said Monday.The Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering is the first in the world to develop the technology after nearly nine years of study totaling 25.3 billion won ($22.36 million) in research money, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. (Yonhap)A 3D inspection would cut the needed time

Feb. 27, 2017

[MWC] Biggest mobile tech show kicks off in Spain

BARCELONA -- The biggest tech event of the year, the Mobile World Congress 2017, kicked off Monday in Barcelona, Spain. With the theme of “The Next Element,” around 2,200 tech firms are showcasing their new devices and technologies to the estimated 100,000 visitors during the four-day event. With Apple not joining the MWC as in previous years and Samsung delaying the launch of the Galaxy S8, this year’s event started off with less hype, though it also offered more opportunities for rivals to ste

Feb. 27, 2017

[MWC] SKT boasts most advanced LTE technologies at MWC

SK Telecom on Monday announced it successfully tested the highest level of Long Term Evolution network technologies in collaboration with Samsung Electronics and Ericsson. Named “LTE-A Pro,” SKT demonstrated three technologies -- LTE-Advanced five-band carrier aggregation, tri-band carrier aggregation applied with 4x4 multiple input multiple output and Licensed Assisted Access -- at the Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona, Spain.  A model promotes the successful demonstration of LTE-A five-b

Feb. 27, 2017

[MWC] Samsung SDS showcases AI-powered training chatbot for retailers

Samsung SDS, the Internet technology solutions unit of South Korea’s Samsung Group, is showcasing its artificially intelligent chatbot training solution for retailers at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.　Samsung SDS said Monday that it will showcase its “Nexshop Training” solution for retailers at this year’s MWC taking place from Feb. 27 to Mar. 2. Samsung SDS presents its new AI-powered training solution for retailers "Nexshop Training” at the MWC in Barcelona on Monday. (Samsung SDS)Its

Feb. 27, 2017

Teaser shows Samsung will debut Galaxy S8 on March 29

A teaser video released by Samsung Electronics Co. showed Monday that its new flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone will be unveiled on March 29 in New York. Announcing the date of the new smartphone at the annual Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Samsung also said the S8 smartphone will offer a high-quality earphone featuring Harman's AKG technology. The earphone would become the first cooperative project between Samsung and Harman since the Korean electronics giant acquired the US audio and au

Feb. 27, 2017