First complete dinosaur skeleton found in S. Korea

A complete skeleton of a small carnivorous dinosaur has been found in southern South Korea, the first such discovery in the country, a state think tank said Monday.   The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage said the fossil was discovered in a Mesozoic geologic formation in Hadong, a county some 470 kilometers south of Seoul, with the skull and the lower jaw intact.   Theropods, or "beast-footed" dinosaurs, are of the same family as the Tyrannosaurus, one of the largest land carnivor

Nov. 24, 2014

No. of S. Korean patents increases, but quality declines: report

The number of South Korean patents has risen sharply in the past four years, but the overall quality of the patents has declined, a government report showed Sunday.According to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP), the number of patents registered in the country reached 14,151 in 2013, up 207 percent from 4,599 in 2009.The number of overseas patents secured by locals stood at 1,270 last year, up from 675 tallied four yea

Nov. 23, 2014

Samsung Electronics loses market share in mobile phones, TVs

Samsung Electronics Co.'s global presence in mobile phones and high-end TVs declined in the third quarter while its market share in DRAMs and displays rose, industry data showed Sunday.Analysis of quarterly reports released by the tech company showed Samsung's market share in the IT mobile sector dipping 1 percentage point to 23.9 percent in the July-September period compared to the first half of this year.The numbers based on findings by Strategy Analytics, a global research and consulting firm

Nov. 23, 2014

Samsung wins more than half of mobile DRAM market on Apple supply

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics dominated more than half of the global market for dynamic random access memory chips in the third quarter this year, data showed Friday, apparently helped by the resumption of its supply to Apple Inc. Samsung’s revenue in mobile DRAM products came to $1.75 billion in the July-September period, up 18.4 percent from the second quarter, the data compiled by industry tracker DRAMeXchange showed, expanding its market share to 50.7 percent from 45.4 percent in the Apr

Nov. 21, 2014

Samsung, AMD to roll out FreeSync Ultra HD monitor

Samsung Electronics Co. and U.S.-based Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Inc. said Friday they have agreed to jointly produce new Ultra HD (UHD) monitors that prevent "screen tear" by adopting the FreeSync technology.Under the agreement, Samsung will apply the technology to five models set to be released in the first half of 2015 and eventually use it in its entire UHD monitor lineup.The FreeSync feature aims to provide clear resolution by eliminating any screen distortions, "delivering frames at int

Nov. 21, 2014

LG Display tops global UHD panel market in October

LG Display Co., South Korea’s top maker of liquid crystal displays, outpaced its Taiwanese rival in ultrahigh-definition TV sales in October, taking the top spot for the first time, a report showed Thursday. LG Display shipped a total of 578,000 units of UHD TVs last month, accounting for 28.1 percent of the market, according to the latest report by market tracker DisplaySearch. That compares with the 24 percent share of Innolux Corp., which sold 494,000 units in the cited period. In January, th

Nov. 20, 2014

S. Korea approves commercial use of indigenous aircraft tracking system

The South Korean government said Thursday that it has authorized the sale and use of the country's indigenous radar system that can pinpoint the location of aircraft by up to 12 times faster than conventional tracking systems.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said the new Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) system has met all the requirements under aviation safety regulations.Unlike conventional radar systems, which can check the location of aircraft every 5 to 12

Nov. 20, 2014

LG Chem, Siemens plan closer cooperation on battery storage system

South Korea's LG Chem Co. and Siemens, a German electrical engineering and electronics company, have agreed to collaborate more on development and marketing of industrial battery storage systems (ESS), LG Chem said Thursday. The two companies signed a preliminary deal at Siemens' German headquarters in Erlangen, Bayern to cooperate on several major ESS projects over the next few years. Under the agreement, Siemens, Europe's largest engineering firm, will supply the converters and controllers for

Nov. 20, 2014

Facebook’s newest app unbundles Groups feature

Facebook is launching a new free mobile app for its popular Groups feature that lets users create and interact with communities on the site, whether they’re based on hobbies, geography or culture.More than 700 million of Facebook’s 1.35 billion members use Groups, according to the company. It says the site hosts hundreds of millions of groups, which people use talk to others who share their religion, to plan holiday dinners, or to discuss hobbies or health issues. The new app is meant to make ac

Nov. 19, 2014

Netflix heading for Australia, New Zealand

Netflix on Tuesday announced that it would debut its film and television show streaming service in Australia and New Zealand early next year as it continues expanding internationally.A Netflix library of television shows, films, documentaries and original content will be available when the service launches in March.Netflix did not disclose what it plans to charge for subscriptions in the countries but promised a “low monthly price.”Subscribers will be able to watch Netflix shows using tablets, s

Nov. 19, 2014

WhatsApp encrypts user messages following moves by Google, Apple

Facebook’s WhatsApp is adding encryption so messages cannot be deciphered when stored or traveling between devices, boosting efforts by technology companies to thwart snooping by hackers and government spies. WhatsApp, which was acquired by Facebook for $22 billion this year, is working with startup Open Whisper Systems to enact the change, the companies said today. Open Whisper Systems said in a blog post that it has been working on encryption with the mobile-messaging service for the past six

Nov. 19, 2014

Samsung's NAND flash market share at over 2-year low

Samsung Electronics Co.'s global share in the NAND flash market declined to below 30 percent in more than two years, data showed Wednesday, as the tech giant is struggling to retain its top spot against rivals amid a profit slide. The South Korean tech behemoth posted US$2.45 billion for NAND flash revenue in the third quarter, up 8.2 percent from three months earlier, according to the data compiled by e-commerce site DRAMeXchange, which also does market research on memory chips. That is equival

Nov. 19, 2014

Jinju meteorites found to be 4.6b years old

South Korean scientists said Tuesday four meteorites discovered in the southern part of the country earlier this year are estimated to be as old as the solar system.In early March, residents in Jinju, a city some 434 kilometers south of Seoul, found the space rocks that weighed 34 kilograms in total, a rare discovery in the country. Some 312 grams were donated by the owners for analysis.Announcing the results of its months-long analysis, the Korea Basic Science Institute said the rocks appear to

Nov. 18, 2014

Samsung to focus on handset price competitiveness next year

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it plans to focus on beefing up price competitiveness of its handsets next year, apparently as its foothold in the global market has been challenged by new players from China.In an investors’ relations meeting held in the United States, Samsung said it plans to work to bolster its price competitiveness and also reduce its number of smartphone models.Samsung Electronics took up 24.7 percent of the global smartphone market in the third quarter, pl

Nov. 18, 2014