Sony launches world’s smallest portable speaker

Sony launched three new additions to its h.ear audio accessory lineup, including the world’s smallest portable speaker h.ear go, in Seoul on Tuesday. The h.ear go, consisting of two 35-millimeter full-range speakers, weighs only 790 grams. Loaded with dual tweeters as well as dual passive radiators at the front and the back, the speaker offers high quality full sound despite its compact size. And the battery life is a whopping 12 hours.  Singer IU, a Korean ambassador for Sony, poses with the h.

April 5, 2016

Samsung extends its lead in DRAM sector

Samsung Electronics, the world’s second largest semiconductor firm, has achieved a breakthrough in the global chip sector by successfully mass-producing a 10-nanometer-class DRAM chip, the company said Tuesday. The new 8-gigabit double-data-rate-4 (DDR4) DRAM chip -- based on 1x nanometer chip design and manufacturing technology -- will place the Seoul-headquartered chipmaker in an unrivaled position, according to the firm. Sams

April 5, 2016

[Photo News] LG 'No Kid Hungry' campaign

LG ‘NO KID HUNGRY’ CAMPAIGN -- LG Electronics on Monday held a fund-raising event to feed children, called “No Kid Hungry,” at the National Building Museum in Washington. The Korean tech giant also offered its latest premium LG Black Stainless Steel Series for the cooking program for participating families. (LG Electronics)

April 5, 2016

[News Focus] Tesla secures upper hand over suppliers

Tesla Motors, upbeat on soaring orders for its new $35,000 full-electric family sedan Model 3, seems to have already secured an upper hand in its upcoming talks with suppliers. Since the much-hyped prototype was unveiled Friday, preorders have surged to 276,000 in just three days. Deliveries will start late 2017 but long lines at Tesla stores were reminiscent of the crowds at Apple stores for early models of the iPhone. Now parts makers, especially those making the key parts such as batteries an

April 4, 2016

Government to invest W100b to develop supercomputers

The Korean government has rolled up its sleeves to develop more advanced supercomputing systems than AlphaGo after the artificial intelligence by Google’s DeepMind defeated the nation‘s human Go master last month.Behind the learning and calculation prowess of AlphaGo are supercomputing systems made of more than 1,400 central processing and graphic processing units and application software.China’s supercomputer Tianhe-2 (Yonhap)The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning announced Monday a p

April 4, 2016

12cm begins smart stamp service at Japan’s FamilyMart

On March 30, the O2O (Online to Offline) service company 12cm (CEO: Jeong Gyoun Han) announced that it recently began offering its smart stamp service at FamilyMart, the well-established Japanese convenience store franchise chain. 12cm’s smart stamp service uses a stamp-type system designed exclusively for use with smartphone touchscreens to connect mobile coupons, tokens, and gift cards with offline stores and conduct promotional events. The service currently being offered “stamps” a coupon int

April 4, 2016

[Photo News] Samsung Activewash gains traction

SAMSUNG ACTIVEWASH GAINS TRACTION -- Samsung Electronics said Monday that sales of its Activewash top-load washing machine, featuring a plastic built-in sink on top for hand-washing fragile items, has surpassed the 2-million mark since its launch in February 2015. The company said the washer was sold every 20 seconds -- the fastest sales pace among Samsung washing machines -- in 33 countries, including Korea and the U.S. 　(Samsung Electronics)

April 4, 2016

[Newsmaker] G5 steers turnaround of LG’s mobile unit

LG Electronics has made diverse new experiments with its smartphones such as the leather-clad G4 and dual-camera phone V10 over the past year. The phones were great but received little acknowledgement from customers.The company has recently come up with another unprecedented phone in the market -- the world’s first modular smartphone G5. But this time the initial market reaction seems quite different, with orders soaring.  According to telecom carriers and retailers, the phone sold more than 15,

April 3, 2016

KT teams up with China Mobile for 5G

Korea’s leading network operator KT Corp. said Friday that it would beef up its partnership with China Mobile for the next-generation network 5G and connected network services.“Global cooperation is especially important to have future telecom technologies in place,” said KT chief executive Hwang Chang-gyu at a workshop held at the head office of China Mobile on Thursday.  KT CEO Hwang Chang-gyu (left) poses with China Mobile chairman Shang Bing after a meeting in Beijing on Thursday. (KT)Hwang m

April 1, 2016

[Photo News] Lezhin webtoon award

WEBTOON AWARD -- The winners of the second World Comics Contest, an annual online comics competition organized by Lezhin Entertainment, pose at the award ceremony held in Seoul on Friday. Cash prizes, worth 150 million won ($130,000), were awarded to 12 or webtoons, including “Killing Stalking,” “Pandora’s Choice” “Maison de Maid” and “Royal Servant.” (Lezhin Entertainment)WEBTOON AWARD -- The award ceremony of the second World Comics Contest, an annual online comics competition organized by Lez

April 1, 2016

Vietnam needs advanced medical wastewater treatment technology

Following is a contribution by AIC Company General Director Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan. – Ed.Currently, Vietnam has nearly 13,700 medical facilities, including 1,260 hospitals; 1,037 prevention medical facilities; 100 training institutions; 180 pharmaceutical production facilities and more than 11,100 medical centers at the ward and commune level. The total amount of medical wastewater from hospitals and medical facilities is around 125.000-150.000 m3/day and night.Medical wastewater of hospitals

April 1, 2016

Blizzard CEO bets on human in StarCraft match against AI

Following the historic Go match last month, which ended in a 4-1 victory for the artificial intelligence software AlphaGo, the AI software’s developer Google DeepMind has said that its next target could be real-time strategy game StarCraft. Blizzard CEO Michael Morhaime (right) takes part in a media interview in Seoul, Friday. (Kim Young-won/The Korea Herald) Over the past weeks, top officials from DeepMind, an

April 1, 2016

[Newsmaker] Samsung’s semiconductor chief becomes highest-paid CEO

Samsung Electronics vice chairman and semiconductor business division chief Kwon Oh-hyun was the highest-paid Korean CEO last year, with total earnings of 14.95 billion won ($13 million). His pay has soared nearly 60 percent over the past year, largely driven by the chip division’s robust sales. The division posted a record 12.79 trillion won in operating profits last year. Samsung Electronics vice chairman and semiconductor business division chief Kwon Oh-hyun speaks at a shareholders meeting o

March 31, 2016

LG Innotek unveils upgraded wireless charging modules

Korean electric component maker LG Innotek has unveiled its new wireless charging modules with a charging speed that is three times as fast as its conventional peers. LG Innotek’s new modules are capable of delivering 15 watts of output power, the same as wired charging modules. But they can be charged three times faster than existing 5-watt wireless charging modules.  A model poses with a wireless smartphone charger pad installed with LG Innotek’s 15-watt power-receiving modules. (LG Innotek)Th

March 31, 2016

Xiaomi steps up marketing in Korea

Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi on Thursday pledged to expand its presence in Korea by offering a wider variety of products. At a media event in Seoul on Thursday, the company showcased a diverse lineup that included flat and curved ultra-high definition TVs, a water dispenser, self-balancing electric scooter NineBot, air purifiers, and fitness bands. Lee Joon-sok, the chief executive of KomaTrade, one of the official Korean sales partners of Xiaomi, speaks at a press event in Seoul on Thursday.

March 31, 2016

[Photo News] G5 hits stores

G5 HITS STORES -- Korea’s three main mobile carriers, SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus, started selling LG Electronics’ G5 marquee smartphone in Seoul on Thursday. (LG Uplus)

March 31, 2016

Samsung launches superpremium fridge

Fridges are not just for storing food anymore. They now have features that allow consumers to order groceries online, watch TV shows and listen to music. 　Samsung Electronics released Wednesday a top-of-the-line refrigerator, called Family Hub, which has features that include voice control, screen mirroring and digital payment for online shopping. Samsung Electronics’ home appliance chief Seo Byung-sam poses with the firm’s Family Hub refrigerator, which features a 21.5-inch touch screen, in Seo

March 30, 2016

Samsung to post better-than-expected earnings for Q1: analysts

Global smartphone giant Samsung Electronics Co. is anticipated to post better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter following the better-than-expected performance of the Galaxy S7 series, industry analysts forecast Wednesday.South Korean analysts and industry watchers expect the first-quarter operating profit of the tech giant to reach 6 trillion won (US$5.14 billion), in line with 5.98 trillion won posted a year earlier. Samsung Electronics headquarters in Seoul (Yonhap)Analysts earlier

March 30, 2016

Xiaomi files patent for Xiaomi Pay in Korea

Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi is ramping up efforts to infiltrate the Korean market, the home turf of tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.Xiaomi’s budget air purifiers and ultra-high definition TVs are poised to hit the domestic market this week. The Chinese company has also filed a patent for its mobile payment service Xiaomi Pay -- also known as Mi Pay -- in Korea. Lei Jun, the chief executive of Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi. (Yonhap)There is speculation that Xiaomi’s upcom

March 30, 2016

[Photo News] LG G5 hits Korean market

LG G5 HITS KOREAN MARKET -- LG Electronics said Wednesday that its flagship smartphone G5 will soon hit 200 global markets, starting from Korea on Thursday. LG’s first modular phone, priced the same as Samsung Electronics’ 32-gigabyte Galaxy S7 at 836,000 won ($723), is compatible with the LG Friends lineup that includes a 360-degree camera and a portable audio system. (LGE)

March 30, 2016