LG adopts voice-recognition for all air conditioners next year

LG Electronics will adopt voice-recognition technologies for all of its air-conditioners from next year, the firm’s home appliance chief said at the launch event Monday. “We will adopt voice-recognition technology for all of our air conditioners to be unveiled from next year. We are taking into account partnerships with outside technologies such as (Apple’s) Siri or (Amazon’s) Alexa,” said Song Dae-hyun, LG Electronics’ home appliance and air aolutions chief, at the launch of its new Whisen Dual

Jan. 16, 2017

Buzzvil wins patent lawsuits against Yello Mobile

[THE INVESTOR] Buzzvil, a Seoul-based startup that operates a smartphone lock screen advertising platform, said Monday it has won two patent lawsuits filed against Yello Mobile, a startup holding company that runs local mobile commerce service Coocha.Buzzvil had lodged two intellectual property lawsuits in 2016 -- first in January and then February -- against Yello Mobile at the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board, a patent court, claiming that mobile commerce service Coocha infringed B

Jan. 16, 2017

Korea to increase investment related to 4th industrial revolution

South Korea will expand investments to secure a new growth strategy to cope with the fast-paced industrial transformation, dubbed the fourth industrial revolution, the science minister said Monday.The remarks were made during a meeting between officials of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, and executives of major tech firms that participated in the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Korean pavilion at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Jan. 6, 2017. (Yon

Jan. 16, 2017

SsenStone announces partner-centered supply policy

Authentication security fintech startup SsenStone, headed by CEO Yoo Chang-hun, announced Monday that it had hosted “Partner’s Day” on Jan. 10. Held in the event hall on the fourth floor of Seoul 63 Square, the event was attended by SsenStone’s partner companies, which serve as suppliers of SsenStone’s products and services.SsenStone CEO Yoo said, “SsenStone, a small company, has been able to achieve such remarkable progress by having advocated partner policies based on exclusive distribution si

Jan. 16, 2017

Naver’s Line ranks No. 2 in global app sales

Line, the mobile messenger established by South Korean internet giant Naver, was the second-most profitable app in the world in 2016, a new year-end report from Sensor Tower showed Monday.According to the mobile app marketing intelligence firm, global music streaming app Spotify generated the highest revenue in the nongame app category for the Apple App Store and the Google Play app store combined.Line came in second, followed by US-based movie and television show streaming service Netflix, onli

Jan. 16, 2017

[HERALD INTERVIEW] Polaroid Swing expresses the world in movement

Since the moment the camera lens landed on the smartphone, users have been busy snapping the world around them. The market for new ways to capture photographs and make adjustments to them has exploded further with the rise of Instagram and selfies. Despite the saturated market, two former business consultants from London saw a chance to “re-imagine” photographs through a new app called Polaroid Swing. Intrigued by the app’s new take on photography, Polaroid came on board as a shareholding partne

Jan. 15, 2017

LG vows G6 battery safe from overheating

LG Electronics said it is adopting a new technology and conducting tougher tests to improve the safety of its new flagship smartphone G6 to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in February.The reinforced safety measures come on the heels of battery-related explosions of smartphones made by its rivals Samsung and Apple, and safety concerns among consumers. “We will significantly improve the safety and quality of our new flagship smartphones as more consumers seek safe smartphones,” said Lee S

Jan. 15, 2017

Samsung crafts VR content on driving safety

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. has developed a virtual reality (VR) program on road safety in partnership with Austria's automobile association, company officials said Sunday.The Samsung Drive is designed to provide applicants for driving tests and inexperienced drivers with more skills to deal with various traffic conditions, they added. The Samsung Drive virtual reality device in a photo provided by Samsung Electronics Co. (Yonhap)It will be used at driving training sites across Austria

Jan. 15, 2017

Nokia expected to join foldable device market: report

Not only current smartphone leaders Samsung Electronics and Apple, but Nokia, the former top mobile phone maker, seems to be preparing to introduce a foldable smartphone, according to news reports. According to Phone Arena on Friday, Nokia was granted a patent for a foldable device by the US Patent & Trademark Office last September. The company filed the application for the patent three years ago.  (Yonhap)The US organization’s database showed Nokia has a patent for a device with two identical p

Jan. 13, 2017

Naver to test self-driving cars soon

Naver Corp. said Friday that it will test self-driving cars on roads soon, as South Korea's largest Internet portal taps deeper into the Artificial Intelligence sector which is considered a future engine of growth.Naver's autonomous vehicles have already passed a performance test conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and are awaiting permission for test runs, officials said. (Naver Corp.)Naver's unmanned vehicles will be operated on roads exclusively for such vehicles w

Jan. 13, 2017

‘KCC discussing need to regulate online advertising’

KCC Chairman Choi Sung-joon, speaks at a press luncheon at the Gwacheon Government Complex in Gyeonggi Province on Thursday. (KCC)South Korea’s broadcasting and communications authority is discussing the need to regulate online advertisements, according to its chief Thursday. Choi Sung-joon, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, said the commission held a workshop on the issue Wednesday, amid growing calls to regulate massive advertisement profits made by internet portal sites and soc

Jan. 12, 2017

LG to debut next flagship smartphone G6 in Feb.

LG Electronics Inc. said Thursday it will unveil its next flagship smartphone, the G6, at an annual technology fair in Spain next month, as it struggles to revive its money-losing smartphone business. In a teaser video released earlier in the day on its YouTube and Facebook accounts, LG hinted that the new smartphone would be released in February. The date means that LG will unveil the new smartphone at the Mobile World Congress show next month, an LG official said. The 40-second video asks seve

Jan. 12, 2017

LG’s 14-inch Gram laptop sets new Guinness World Record

LG Electronics said Thursday its ultralight laptop has secured its place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The company’s 14-inch (35.6 centimeters) ultralight Gram, which was launched early this month, weighs 860 grams. “Guinness World Records confirmed LG’s new ultralight Gram is the lightest in the world after measuring around 70 models of 14-inch laptops being sold in 25 nations,” a LG Electronics official said. This is LG Gram series’ second title in the Guinness Book of World Records,

Jan. 12, 2017

Samsung launches first gaming laptop Odyssey

Samsung Electronics on Thursday launched a 15.6-inch premium laptop specialized for game playing featuring Intel’s seventh generation Core processors and Nvidia’s newest graphic card. Named “Odyssey,” the laptop is the first game-specialized product by the No.1 electronics maker in South Korea.  Odyssey (Samsung Electronics)The Odyssey offers optimized conditions for gamers, equipped with Intel’s latest seventh generation Core i7 and i5 processors, the newest GeForce GTX 1050 graphic card, a 256

Jan. 12, 2017

KT takes global lead in fighting disease using big data

KT, a leading South Korean telecommunication business, said Wednesday it joined the LEAD Company under the United Nations Global Compact to help fight contagious diseases through global partnership. The LEAD Company is an organization of about 40 companies. It calls for businesses leaders around the world to help achieve the UN sustainable development goals.  KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu (right) holds hands with Lise Kingo, executive director of the UNGC on Tuesday. (KT)KT has proposed a project

Jan. 11, 2017

SKT to invest W11tr in AI, IoT and 5G

SKT CEO Park Jung-ho delivers a New Year’s speech at the company’s headquarters in Seoul on Jan. 2. (SKT)SK Telecom will invest a total of 11 trillion won ($9.2 billion) over the next three years in laying the groundwork for the Internet of Things and a fifth generation wireless network, the company announced Wednesday. Five trillion won has been added to SKT’s annual investment plan, as the company decided to enhance its focus on the “New ICT ecosystem,” a fully open environment connected by a

Jan. 11, 2017

Samsung likely to unveil foldable phones in Q3: source

Samsung Electronics is highly likely to unveil foldable smartphones in the third quarter of this year, according to sources familiar with the matter. “Samsung is expected to roll out more than 100,000 units of fold-out devices in the third quarter,” a source told The Korea Herald. The smartphone, whose panels face outward upon folding, may be used as a 7-inch tablet when unfolded, he said. Samsung, had initially completed the development of fold-in phones that tuck the screen inside when folded.

Jan. 11, 2017

Samsung, LG’s OLED dominance may last at least 5 years

The dominance of organic light-emitting diode panels by South Korean display makers Samsung Display and LG Display is expected to last for at least the next five years, despite aggressive investment by Chinese and Japanese firms, Korean analysts said Tuesday.Amid growing demand for OLED panels from global smartphone makers -- including Apple, Huawei, Oppo and Vivo -- due to their flexible nature, Chinese and Japanese firms are making heavy investments in the market dominated by the two Korean fi

Jan. 10, 2017

SKT to collaborate with US chipmaker Nvidia on autonomous cars

South Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom said Tuesday it has agreed to collaborate with leading US-based graphic chip maker Nvidia for the development of new platform technologies for autonomous vehicles.“We will merge Nvidia’s autonomous driving technology with SK Telecom’s ‘T Map’ navigation program and SK C&C’s cloud computing technology to develop our own self-driving platform technology,” a SKT spokesperson told The Korea Herald.The SKT-Nvidia partnership was first publicized by SKT’

Jan. 10, 2017

LG’s G6 will have wider, clearer Quad HD display

LG Electronics’ upcoming flagship smartphone will have a 5.7-inch (14.5 centimeters) Quad HD liquid crystal display panel with a ratio of 18:9, LG Display said on Tuesday. LG Electronics confirmed it will be the G6 smartphone slated for launch next month.The new display panel, dubbed “QHD+,” will be the world’s first 18:9 QHD LCD, according to LG Display.  LG G5 (LG Electronics)The 18:9 ratio will provide users with greater immersion than previous displays and allow consumers to multitask by usi

Jan. 10, 2017