Samsung announces first OCF certified IoT module

Samsung Electronics said Friday it has won certification for the Samsung ARTIK 05x series of modules from the Open Connectivity Foundation, allowing it to supply the first system-on-modules using the new OCF 1.3 standards for connectivity for the Internet of Things. With the ARTIK 05x series, companies can quickly manufacture Wi-Fi enabled products that meet OCF standards for interoperability and take advantage of connecting with Samsung and other companies’ products with ensured reliability, sa

Dec. 22, 2017

Samsung SDS concludes test on blockchain tech for shipping

Samsung SDS said Thursday a consortium led by the company had successfully concluded a monthslong test on blockchain-powered storage in marine transport, with the expectation that the technology will take the shipping industry to a new level.  (Samsung SDS)Importers and exporters can make transactions of documents, such as a bill of landing and letter of credit, on the decentralized security system, free of forgery and tampering threats, according to the software solution developer arm under Sou

Dec. 21, 2017

S. Korea has third most patents on artificial intelligence after US, Japan

South Korea is witnessing increasing research efforts for artificial intelligence, with the third most patents related to AI technologies after the US and Japan, a survey by a local research institute found Thursday. However, the country’s growth pace and quality of patent applications remain inferior to those of the US and China, the survey added. According to the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Promotion, Korea came in third in terms of the number of AI-related patents th

Dec. 21, 2017

Korea files third-largest number of AI patents in the world

South Korea's state-run information and communications promotion agency said Thursday local companies have filed the third-largest number of patents related to artificial intelligence technology over the past 12 years.The Institute for Information and Communications Technology Promotion said its finding is based on AI-related technologies applied to patent bodies in the United States, Japan, China, the European Union and South Korea from January 2005 to September of this year. (Yonhap)The US ran

Dec. 21, 2017

Tech firms double down on AI-powered home appliances

Korean tech firms Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are betting on home appliances powered by artificial intelligence. In its latest move, LG Electronics announced Wednesday it would adopt its artificial intelligence brand ThinQ into all of its home appliances, consumer electronics and services unveiled next year. ThinQ-powered products and services are able to employ deep learning and communicate with one another, using a variety of AI technologies from other partners as well as LG’s own A

Dec. 20, 2017

[Newsmaker] Success of PyeongChang Olympics hinges on KT

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province – With 50 days until the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, engineers at KT are working hard to ensure a flawless worldwide broadcast of the Olympics.It took 1,000 days for KT, an official telecommunications partner of the Olympics, to establish telecom networks for streaming and broadcasting the games. “In the worst case, if the network for game streaming has some errors, it’s the end of the world, and all games will be stopped,” said Lee Jong-dae, vice preside

Dec. 20, 2017

Samsung overcomes crisis, LG remains in doldrums in 2017 smartphone industry

Samsung Electronics Co. successfully launched new smartphones throughout 2017 to overcome last year's crisis sparked by the suspended production of Galaxy Note 7, while LG Electronics Inc. failed to turn around its handset business, industry watchers said Wednesday.In April, Samsung Electronics released the Galaxy S8 smartphone, which was its first premium device after the production of its phablet Note 7 was removed from the market due to safety issues surrounding the batteries. Despite concern

Dec. 20, 2017

Samsung launches Galaxy A8 with dual front camera

Samsung Electronics announced Tuesday the new mid-end Galaxy A series with the first dual front camera and a new brand number sequence resembling the premium Galaxy S series, in a move to raise the brand’s profile and boost global sales.“With the release of the Galaxy A8 and A8 Plus, we’re bringing our customers’ favorite features from our flagship smartphones, such as the infinity display and our first dual front camera with live focus, to our Galaxy A series,” said Park Jun-ho, vice president

Dec. 19, 2017

LCD TVs wane amid growth of OLED TVs in 2017: WitsView

The global market for liquid-crystal display TVs lost ground this year, while shipments of organic light-emitting diode TVs sharply increased, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by industry tracker WitsView, global shipments of LCD TVs are expected to reach 210 million units in 2017, down 4.1 percent from a year earlier.By company, Samsung Electronics Co. accounted for 42.9 million units, followed by LG Electronics Inc. with 28.3 million units and China-based TCL Corp. w

Dec. 19, 2017

Dyson officially claims LG’s A9 descriptions are misleading

UK-based Dyson Technology Limited said Monday in an official statement that it will actively deal with a legal process against South Korea’s LG Electronics, claiming that the company’s cordless vacuum cleaner is described in a misleading manner.  LG Electronics` cordless A9 vacuum cleaners. (LG Electronics)“Dyson embraces fair competition but we believe advertising and claims should be accurate and true in order that consumers can make informed choices when they select a product,” the company sa

Dec. 18, 2017

LG Uplus partners with Naver to enter artificial intelligence speaker market

LG Uplus, South Korea’s third-largest mobile carrier by revenue, on Monday announced its entry into the growing artificial intelligence speaker market in partnership with the country’s No.1 search engine Naver in order to take on bigger players SK Telecom and KT. Naver’s AI platform Clova-based speaker Friends Plus edition will connect to LG Uplus’ set top box for Internet Protocol TV and home Internet of Things services, enabling users to control the mobile carrier’s services with voice command

Dec. 18, 2017

Korea to embrace next key technology trends for growth

South Korea will step up investment in the next key technology trends to create quality jobs and improve an industrial structure heavily reliant on large conglomerates and the manufacturing sector, the commerce ministry said Monday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy submitted the industry development plan to parliament, which aims to create over 300,000 jobs with increased investment in innovative industries by 2022."The industrial structure's heavy dependence on certain industries, com

Dec. 18, 2017

Stepping into the webtoon world, literally

Reading a webtoon, or digital comics, has long been a passive experience. We read the story by scrolling down the screen of a smartphone. But this is on the verge of change in tech-forward South Korea, where the marriage of cutting-edge technology and web comics is creating a unique and interactive storytelling model that invites the reader into the picture -- in a literal sense.　Leading the push is Naver Webtoon, Korea’s biggest webtoon platform, operated by portal website Naver. It recently pa

Dec. 17, 2017

Korea’s internet business body regrets US decision to kill net neutrality

South Korea’s representative internet business body on Sunday expressed regret over the US Federal Communications Council’s landmark decision to repeal net neutrality rules that had required internet service providers to offer equal access to all web content without discrimination.The Korea Internet Corporations Association released a formal statement citing “deep worries” over what they called negative consequences that the US FCC’s decision is expected to have on the global internet industry,

Dec. 17, 2017

UK-based Dyson to announce official stance on legal dispute with LG soon

UK-based electronics maker Dyson will soon announce its official stance on the ongoing legal process involving South Korean rival LG Electronics, according to industry sources Sunday. Dyson recently filed an injunction with a Seoul court to ban advertisements of LG’s flagship hand-held stick cleaner Cordzero A9, as market competition intensifies.“It is unprecedented that Dyson’s headquarters filed such legal action in any country,” an agency official in charge of public relations on behalf of th

Dec. 17, 2017

[Health-tech Korea] Anesthesia made easier, quicker with rapid-cooling technology

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 15th installment. - Ed.ULSAN — Putting a needle through any part of the body is an unwelcoming experience. And the thought alone of injecting a sharp needle into an eyeball would make most people squirm.　 However, this is how doctors typically deliver anesthetic medicine into the eye before an intravitrea

Dec. 17, 2017

Samsung to start sales of limited Galaxy Note 8 case

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it will start sales of a smartphone case exclusively designed for the flagship Galaxy Note 8 next week in South Korea.Samsung said if users place the Galaxy Note 8 inside the case, a special theme will automatically be applied to the smartphone, displaying a unique skin in the background. The case is jointly produced by 99AVANT, a local design firm. (Yonhap)The South Korean company said only 99 units of the case will be available for sale, which kicks off Tues

Dec. 15, 2017

Gov't mulls introducing punitive damages to tech extortion

The South Korean government is considering a string of measures, including a punitive damages system, to resolve the technology extortion issue as part of its efforts to root out the unfair business practice by large corporations, officials said Friday.There have been persistent reports of big companies stealing technology from their subcontractors that have little means to fend off unfair business practices for fear of losing supply contracts. "Relevant parties, including the Ministry of Small

Dec. 15, 2017

Samsung, LG to debut new laptops

Samsung Electronics Co. and its smaller rival LG Electronics Inc. debuted their latest laptops on Thursday.Samsung Electronics' latest product is a follow-up to a pen-equipped laptop, the Notebook 9 Pen, that was released earlier this year.Bringing its S Pen technology to the company's notebook lineup, the new model will include Intel's latest eighth generation processor, the company said. Like the previous Notebook 9 series, the model has a 360-degree hinge with a touch screen and includes Sams

Dec. 14, 2017

Facebook Korea to stop using Ireland tax avoidance scheme

Facebook is slated to begin reporting taxes to the South Korean government by 2019, in line with its newly adopted tax policy under which the social networking giant will pay taxes in the country where sales are made, instead of booking all revenue in Ireland.Facebook announced this week that it will move toward a “local selling structure” in countries where the company operates offices to support sales to local advertisers, addressing growing calls for greater transparency by governments and po

Dec. 14, 2017