[Tech column] From jet packs to talking cars: How fiction can inspire consumer tech

Shawn DuBravacOrder up a digital movie selection at home and you may see cars autonomously careening down highways (“I, Robot”), artificial intelligence (“AI”), robots that cook, clean and cater to our every whim (“Iron Man”) or augmented reality cityscapes serving up advertisements tailored to our individual wants and needs (“Minority Report”). But how far off, really, are these Hollywood sci-fi creations? Here’s a look at some of the game-changing, next-generation tech leaping from the movie s

July 22, 2015

Marriott makes big push for IT services

International hotel chain Marriott is making a big push for IT-oriented services aiming to increase customer convenience and renew its brand image in the digital era. The company recently launched a new mobile app, Meetings Imagined, which allows event planners around the world to better communicate and inspire one another. The app, with a sister website, aims to mimic the successes of popular services like Instagram and Pinterest as it offers latest meeting trends and hundreds of inspirational

July 22, 2015

Just Juice for a day: a detox review

Endorsed by celebrities and health nuts around the world, the juice cleanse has become the latest trend in today’s era of fitness and organic eating. What exactly does it entail? The idea is to flush out unwanted toxins from your body and to pump in raw, easily absorbable nutrients in juice form. Though variations exist, the most common method is fasting for one to three days, drinking nothing but juice every three to four hours. To experience its effects firsthand, I decided to take up the chal

July 22, 2015

Samsung heir pledges support for start-ups

Samsung Group heir apparent and Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jay-yong on Tuesday visited the group’s start-up incubation centers in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province to discuss future support plans. The centers opened last year, joining a government-led initiative that aims to nurture start-ups and venture companies across industries. Lee attended the opening ceremony of each center together with President Park Geun-hye.During the visit, Lee, the de facto leader of South Korea’s large

July 21, 2015

LG CNS, Sonnedix sign $112m solar power deal

LG CNS, a leading Korean information technology solution provider, said Tuesday it has secured a 130 billion won ($112 million) project to build a 33-megawatt solar power plant on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Together with the latest deal, the company has won three solar power projects in Japan, with their combined power capacity reaching 43 megawatts.  The company said the plant will be located in the city of Imaichi, Oita Prefecture. Its construction will take about two years. Its sister compa

July 21, 2015

Samsung to unveil new flagship smartphones on Aug. 13

South Korean smartphone-maker Samsung Electronics has finally set the launch date and venue of its upcoming smartphones ― the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus ― for Aug. 13 in New York, according to news reports.A Samsung official was quoted by a local news outlet as saying that “the Korean firm has sent invitations to its customers and partners for the New York unveiling event on Aug. 13.” Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 4. SamsungIt had been rumored that the launch event would be advance

July 21, 2015

NCSOFT, NVIDIA team up to develop multiplatform game

South Korean online game developer NCSOFT said Tuesday it would beef up its partnership with U.S. chipmaker NVIDIA to complete the development of its upcoming role-playing game “Lineage Eternal.”Lineage Eternal (NCSOFT)In order to deliver vivid and immersive visual effects, NCSOFT said it would deploy the latest computer graphics technology from NVIDIA. The Korean game developer has been collaborating with the U.S. graphics chipmaker for many years. Most recently, the companies held a test run o

July 21, 2015

[Photo News] New Samsung budget smartphone

NEW SAMSUNG BUDGET SMARTPHONE -- South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics released its low-end, selfie-oriented Galaxy J5 smartphone in the domestic market on Tuesday. The smartphone which is fitted with a 5.0-inch super AMOLED display and a 5MP front-facing camera allows users to take 120-degree wide-angle selfies. Samsung NEW SAMSUNG BUDGET SMARTPHONE -- South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics released its low-end, selfie-oriented Galaxy J5 smartphone in the domestic market on Tuesday.

July 21, 2015

[Photo News] LG Display seeks coprosperity

LG DISPLAY SEEKS COPROSPERITY -- LG Display chief executive Han Sang-beom (second from left, front row) and Ahn Choong-young (second from right), chairman of the Korean Commission for Corporate Partnership, pay a visit to a production line of Osung Display, one of LG Display’s partners, in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. LGD

July 21, 2015

LG Chem CEO warns of global uncertainties

South Korea’s leading chemical and materials firm LG Chem has called on all executives and employees to brace for “uncertainties” in the global economy, despite the marked improvement in its business.“LG Chem has made improvements in businesses during the first half compared to the same period last year as executives and employees have made concerted efforts to achieve our goals,” CEO Park Jin-soo said at a meeting with them at the firm’s plant in Naju, South Jeolla Province, on Monday.“Let’s pr

July 20, 2015

Expats jump into Asia's tech hubs

Asia is currently the world’s fastest-growing region, and foreigners are beginning to spot opportunities to found their start-ups in Asian countries.“What I’m seeing is a real increase in entrepreneurship and a real increase in mobility, especially among younger entrepreneurs,” said Peter Wall, cofounder of Hubud, a coworking space in Bali, Indonesia.However, it is not easy to set up a foreign start-up across the region. While some hubs, like Singapore, are keener to globalize and attract foreig

July 20, 2015

[Newsmaker] KakaoTaxi expansion gets mixed reactions

Outside the headquarters of Daum Kakao in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday, two groups clashed over the Korean search giant’s hot-selling taxi-hailing service, KakaoTaxi. One group, representing chauffeur service companies nationwide, protested against the company’s possible entry into a market that is crowded with smaller players, while the other group, representing their drivers, urged it to enter and solve the industry’s unfair treatment of drivers. “It is true that we are working on the

July 20, 2015

[Photo News] Samsung unveils Galaxy Tab S2

SAMSUNG UNVEILS GALAXY TAB S2 -- South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics unveils its new tablet PC, the Galaxy Tab S2, on Monday. The tablet comes in 9.7-inch and 8.0-inch displays and features 32 or 64 GB of internal storage, an octa-core application processor and a fingerprint scanner. The new device will be roll out in global markets from August. SamsungSAMSUNG UNVEILS GALAXY TAB S2 -- South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics unveils its new tablet PC, the Galaxy Tab S2, on Monday. T

July 20, 2015

[Photo News] Mid-tier Galaxy smartphone

MID-TIER GALAXY SMARTPHONE -- South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics starts to receive preorders for its mid-tier smartphone, the Galaxy A8, from Tuesday through Wednesday through mobile carrier SK Telecom in the domestic market. SKT MID-TIER GALAXY SMARTPHONE -- South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics starts to receive preorders for its mid-tier smartphone, the Galaxy A8, from Tuesday through Wednesday through mobile carrier SK Telecom in the domestic market. Samsung MID-TIER GALAXY SM

July 20, 2015

[Photo News] LG 3G handset

LG 3G HANDSET -- South Korean electronics giant LG Electronics will roll out its mid-range 3G smartphone, the Bello II, in Latin America and India this month, followed by other markets including Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States throughout the third quarter this year. The device with a 5.0-inch display sports a 5MP front-facing camera and a removable 2,540mAh battery.　LGE LG 3G HANDSET -- South Korean electronics giant LG Electronics will roll out its mid-range 3G smartphone, the

July 20, 2015

Samsung speeding up leadership transfer

Samsung Group’s leadership transfer to the next generation is speeding up on the heels of Friday’s shareholder approval of the crucial merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries. The merged entity, set to be launched on Sept. 1 as Samsung C&T, will become the de facto holding company of South Korea’s largest conglomerate. The merger marks a watershed moment for Samsung’s restructuring that started in 2013 to increase the influence of Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jay-yong, the heir appar

July 19, 2015

[Photo News] New Pantech

July 19, 2015