LS Cable & System said Thursday it will buy a power plant located in North Carolina from LS Corporation's subsidiary Superior Essex with an investment of $24.6 million.“As Superior Essex has less experience in power cable business, it would be more efficient for LS Cable & System to acquire and operate the unit,” said Myung Roe-Hyun, chief of LS Cable & System in the company’s statement.(Yonhap)“By securing the business base in the US, LS Cable & System is also expected to prepare for the US pro

Industry March 31, 2017

Samsung Electronics has finally unveiled its flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone, the tech giant’s first premium phone since the embarrassing recall of its fire-prone Note 7 last year. The new features of the much-awaited smartphone -- artificial intelligence assistant Bixby, a bigger display and facial recognition -- did nothing to dispel the notion that the tech giant excels on hardware but is relatively weaker with software compared to its Western counterparts.Smart voice assistant Bixby, which had

Technology March 30, 2017

Today, everything seems to be smart. We see a flood of new smart home devices coming out from global and small tech players. Software giants Google and Amazon are competitively unveiling advanced voice-activated speakers while hardware behemoths Samsung, LG, GE and Philips are churning out the newest smart appliances and electronics. Small tech players are also showing off various smart gadgets such as bulbs, cameras, locks and lighting. Despite the companies’ efforts to push out a plethora of s

Technology March 29, 2017

Samsung SDI is expected to make a turnaround this year due to the increased battery supply for Samsung’s flagship smartphone Galaxy S8 alongside revenue generated from the polarizing film business, analysts said Wednesday. Last year, Samsung SDI posted an operating loss of 926 billion won ($831 million), mainly because of its money-losing battery business that accounts for 65 percent of total sales. The battery unit posted an operating loss of 451 billion won due to slowing market demand, the No

Technology March 29, 2017

Analysts have mixed views about Samsung Electronics’ ambitious artificial intelligence assistant Bixby, ahead of the company’s flagship smartphone Galaxy S8 debut this week. Bixby is Samsung’s new Al assistant following its acquisition of the US tech startup Viv Labs. Samsung plans to integrate Bixby with its home appliances and it also plans to open the platform to third-party developers in the future to allow them to easily make their applications and services Bixby-enabled.The hardware giant

Technology March 27, 2017

Samsung SDI’s lithium batteries will be used for 3,000-ton submarines that are to be developed with Korean technologies for the first time, according to the state arms procurement agency. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said it had a critical design meeting Thursday to review whether lithium batteries are suitable for the submarines Chang Bogo-III and Batch-II. The critical design review is a meeting to determine whether making a prototype is feasible.  (Yonhap)Chang Bog

Technology March 24, 2017

LG Electronics’ online video promoting its new flagship smartphone G6 has gone viral on YouTube, according to market data Thursday. According to data released by video analytics company Visible Measures, LG’s video titled “G6 x Dance” was the most viral video from March 7 to 14, as it has spread rapidly through online sharing. “G6 x Dance,” which drew 29 million views last week, is a 74-second video clip featuring a Parkour athlete learning dance from a hip-hop dancer. Parkour is a type of physi

Industry March 23, 2017

LG Electronics’ mobile payment service LG Pay will be available in its new flagship smartphone G6 in June in partnership with the US payment solution company Dynamics, the company said Wednesday. LG Pay, which will be available through a software update, will use wireless magnetic communication technology Dynamics developed in 2007.  Models pose with the LG G6 in this photo released by LG Electronics Inc. in a shop in Seoul on March 12, 2017. (Yonhap)“Dynamics is (LG’s) strategic partner securin

Technology March 22, 2017

Samsung Electronics’ vice president said the company’s upcoming artificial intelligence technology Bixby will be applied to all of its appliances and will also be opened to third-party developers to make applications. Bixby is Samsung’s new voice assistant and will make its debut in the company’s upcoming flagship smartphone Galaxy S8.According to a statement released by the Korean tech giant’s Executive Vice President Rhee In-jong on Tuesday, a subset of preinstalled applications will be Bixby-

Technology March 21, 2017

Samsung Electronics unveiled several new display technologies at the private room during this year’s Mobile World Congress, including its development of OLED without polarizer, a source familiar with the matter said.“Samsung exhibited new technologies, including force touch, OLED (organic light-emitting diodes) without polarizer, VR (virtual reality) headsets with high resolution and blue-less OLED. They are expected to be launched within one to two years,” a source who attended the private room

Technology March 21, 2017

SK Telecom’s research and development head said the company plans to open its artificial intelligence platform in June to solidify its lead in the smart home appliances market. “We plan to open the application program interface of NUGU’s AI platform for third-party developers at the end of June. We will make it an open platform like Amazon’s Alexa,” Choi Jin-sung, SKT’s head of corporate research and development, said in an interview with The Korea Herald. Launched in September, NUGU is SKT’s vo

Industry March 20, 2017

LG Chem, a major battery maker in South Korea, said Sunday it plans to invest 2.7 trillion won ($2.3 billion) in capital expenditure, a 40 percent increase on-year, with the aim of advancing its business structure and strengthening research and development.The company said its base material unit aims to be in the global top three by expanding the production capacity of elastomer to 290,000 tons by 2018. Elastomer is a high-value-added synthetic resin that features both rubber and plastic. The fi

Industry March 19, 2017

Samsung Electronics is looking to allow viewers at home to feel in real time as if they are at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics through virtual reality headsets. “We plan to offer virtual technology so that, let’s say, viewers with a VR headset in Seoul can enjoy the sports game as if they are at the scene,” Samsung Electronics Mobile Marketing Director Cha Young-tae told The Korea Herald following a meeting with the ICT Ministry on Tuesday. “We are in discussion with the International Olympic Comm

Industry March 15, 2017

Samsung SDI said it showcased a new lineup of its ESS solutions at the Energy Storage Europe 2017 event held from Tuesday in Dusseldorf, Germany.During the exhibition, the Korean battery maker unveiled its new ESS products, high capacity E2 and high-power P3 models. The E2 model is a high-capacity ESS battery that substantially increases the number of cells integrated in a container. The company said it dramatically raised the intensity of space in the ESS container by upgrading its module desig

Technology March 14, 2017