LG Electronics’ new marquee smartphone, the G3, is expected to be well received in the global market as it got off to a solid start on its home turf, according to industry watchers. The phone sold over 250,000 units in 25 days since it launched in May in the domestic market ― the pace is two times faster than its predecessor the G2, mobile carriers said. The LG G3 also topped the list in an online survey of 3,000 consumers done by local phone review website Cetizen last week. The G3 took the fir

Industry June 23, 2014

Samsung Electronics’ vice chairman Lee Jay-yong will reportedly meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to South Korea from July 3-5, according to industry sources. On his developing itinerary, Xi plans to visit Samsung Electronics’ headquarters, located in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, accompanied by Lee, sources said. Samsung heir-apparent, Lee will take China’s State President on a tour of the Samsung Innovation Museum, which opened at the Suwon site last April. Regarding Xi’s vis

Industry June 22, 2014

KT Corp., the nation’s largest telecom firm, is readying to usher in “GiGAtopia,” a mobile environment connected through superfast gigabit technology, as it marks the 20th anniversary of providing the first Internet service in South Korea. Since KT provided KORNET for the first time in the nation in June 1994, South Korea has grown into a country with the highest percentage of Internet users. The Internet speed has also increased 10,000-fold to 100Mbps from 9.6Kbps in 1999. KT was also the natio

Industry June 19, 2014

The Korea-Mongolia Greenbelt Forestation Project aims to plant some 3,000 hectares of trees to combat drought and desertification in Mongolia.The state-run Korea Forest Service signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Environment and Green Development of Mongolia in July 2006 as part of efforts to support the Mongolian government’s 30-year Greenbelt program, which aims to make the landlocked country greener. The move followed former President Roh Moo-hyun’s visit to Mongolia to

Industry June 18, 2014

LG Electronics’ first smartwatch, the LG G Watch, is expected to feature its mobile messenger service to help manage LG home appliances and electronics, according to industry sources on Tuesday. “We plan on using the HomeChat service for the LG G Watch to control smart home appliances from LG Electronics,” said a source from LG Electronics, who declined to be identified. The HomeChat service was first unveiled in April, allowing users to communicate with home appliances and electronics. When use

Industry June 17, 2014

The 2014 FIFA World Cup is expected to spur domestic sales and help companies withstand dampened demand in the wake of the Sewol ferry sinking.The global sports event is a good opportunity for consumer electronics companies to increase TV sales. Sales in World Cup years are usually 30 percent higher than the previous year. Though Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are not official sponsors of the 2014 tournament, they expect to reap similar benefits, and step up related marketing to make the

Soccer June 13, 2014

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics said on Friday it has formed a partnership with U.S. entertainment giant Marvel in an effort to promote its new tablet PC Galaxy Tab S.The partnership was announced at a launch event in New York City for the Galaxy Tab S. The two firms will cooperate in the development and marketing of digital content for Galaxy Tab S users. ‘‘Under the strategic partnership, Galaxy Tab S users will be able to access over 15,000 Marvel Comics for three months with free

Industry June 13, 2014

Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 4, expected to be unveiled in September, may adopt touch ID fingerprint sensors, a source said. “Samsung Electronics is considering fingerprint sensors on its Galaxy Note 4 that may be area-type sensors instead of Galaxy S5’s swipe-type sensors,” said the industry watcher, who declined to be identified. The comments were in line with earlier plans from Galaxy S5’s fingerprint sensor provider Synaptics, which said it would be unveiling a small area-type scanner in

Industry June 12, 2014

The vice mayor of Vienna, Austria, said the city plans to support creative Korean start-ups seeking to set up businesses in the capital.“We now have a few Korean start-ups in Vienna, but I hope to see more promising Korean companies in the city,” said Vienna’s Vice Mayor Renate Brauner in an interview with the Korea Herald in Seoul. “Seoul and Vienna have many things in common. Both cities have a combination of tradition and modernity, and a rich cultural heritage, which is a good base for innov

Industry June 11, 2014