Hungarian engineers, who came to Korea in November for job training with Samsung SDI, pose outside the company’s plant in Ulsan. (Samsung SDI)At Samsung SDI’s plant in Ulsan, a group of Hungarian engineers have been hitting the books since November. The 81 engineers are here to learn about electric vehicle batteries in preparation for the opening of the firm’s Hungarian plant, which will produce batteries for electric vehicles from 2018. Samsung SDI announced in August that it plans to invest ar

Industry Jan. 22, 2017

Donald Trump campaigned on a detailed and extensive to-do list for his first day in office. A day before his swearing-in, his team was being coy about when and how he plans to cross items off it.As he's assembled his new government, Trump has backed off some of his promised speed, downplaying the importance of a rapid-fire approach to complex issues that may involve negotiations with Congress or foreign leaders. On others issues, he's affirmed his plan, indicating significant policy announcement

World News Jan. 20, 2017

Toshiba’s possible spin-off of its chip business will narrow the technology and market share gap with its bigger rival Samsung Electronics, Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities predicted Friday. Toshiba, which is struggling from massive losses in its nuclear business, is mulling spinning off its lucrative NAND flash unit and selling the stake to its bigger chip rival Western Digital, according to news reports.  (Toshiba)“If the spin-off is confirmed, the financial condition of Toshiba’s chip unit will

Technology Jan. 20, 2017

Korean tech firms and telecom operators are filling in the gap left by flagship smartphones with their low cost products. The next premium smartphones, including Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and LG’s G6, are scheduled to launch after February.Samsung Electronics said it began sales its low cost Galaxy A5 on Thursday for 550,000 won ($467) in Korea. This is around half the price of its flagship smartphone Galaxy S series, which are sold for around 1 million won. Despite the low price, the device still fea

Technology Jan. 19, 2017

Samsung Electronics is expected to adopt the largest panels for its upcoming Galaxy S series to be unveiled in April, according to multiple news reports Wednesday.  (Samsung)Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus will reportedly come with 5.7-inch (14.5-centimeter) and 6.2-inch (15.7-cm) panels, which are larger than their predecessors Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, which came with 5.1-inch (13-cm) and 5.5-inch (14-cm) screens. The larger panels appear to be possible as the new devices will have the tiniest bezels -- th

Technology Jan. 18, 2017

Executives from Korea’s biggest tech firms told top policymakers that they were intimidated by Chinese companies’ improved home appliance technology unveiled at the latest Consumer Electronics Show."We were intimidated to see improved hardware technologies of Chinese firms at the event," said Lee Min, an executive at Samsung Electronics’ television business unit at a briefing attended by the ICT minister and eight tech firms on Monday."Although they are still behind us in terms of providing cust

Technology Jan. 17, 2017

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

Technology Jan. 16, 2017

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

Technology Jan. 15, 2017

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,

Technology Jan. 12, 2017

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.

Technology Jan. 11, 2017

삼성전자가 올해 3분기에 접히는 스마트폰을 내놓을 전망이다. 익명을 요구한 업계 관계자는 “삼성전자는 화면이 밖으로 향하는 스마트폰을 십만 대 이상 시장에 내놓을 전망”이라고 전했다. 이 스마트폰은 펼치면 7인치 태블릿이 된다. 삼성은 지난해 이미 화면이 안으로 향하는 인폴더블(in-foldable) 기기를 개발했으나, 시장성이 없다고 판단하고 8월경 화면이 밖으로 향하는 아웃폴더블 (out-foldable) 기기로 방향을 전환하여 만들기 시작했다. 화면이 안으로 향하게 되면 사용자가 스마트폰을 사용할 때마다 화면을 펼쳐야 하는 불편함이 있기 때문이다. 그는 “삼성이 이미 인폴더블 개발 기술을 가지고 있기 때문에 아웃폴더블 기술을 다시 개발하는 일은 그리 어려운 작업이 아닐 것”이라고 말했다.  하지만, 이러한 기술적 완성도에도 삼성전자는 아직 시장성과 수익성에 대해 확신이 서지 않아 최종 결정을 내리지 않

한국어판 Jan. 11, 2017

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

Technology Jan. 10, 2017