Four-day event features high-tech products, solutions


The World IT Show 2012 kicked off on Tuesday, with the advanced technology products unveiled ranging from the latest OLED television and smartphones to online games and fourth generation network solutions.

Participated in by local and global IT firms such as Samsung and LG Electronics, SK Telecom, KT, Nokia Siemens and Qualcomm, the IT show will be held for four days at the COEX Convention Center in southern Seoul.

The event is jointly organized by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the Korea Communications Commission, the Culture Ministry and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.

The exhibition space is divided into five different categories ― mobile, telecommunications and broadcast, cloud computing and smart work, software and digital contents, IT convergence and industrial home appliances.

Samsung Electronics showcased its full lineup of 2012 smart TVs, including the 75-inch smart TV as well as the light-emitting diode and plasma display panels TVs, along with its 5.3-inch smartphone Galaxy Note and tablet PC Galaxy Tab.

Its rival LG Electronics, on the other hand, displayed its new 55-inch 3-D enabled OLED TV, receiving the presidential award in multimedia technology at the IT fair.

Introduced for the first time at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier in January, it was unveiled for the first time in Korea during the show.

The firm also featured its full lineup of 3-D TVs, 3-D laptop and 3-D monitors and its new flagship smartphone Optimus LTE 2.

KT, the country’s largest fixed-line service provider, also took part in the event, exhibiting the next generation solutions and contents including Ustream, Olleh electronic book and smart work space.

“We aimed to focus on how content could transform society, with KT becoming the global media distributor in the future,” said a KT official.

SK Telecom, the country’s top mobile carrier, also emphasized its latest 4G technologies ― Long Term Evolution multi carrier and the carrier aggregation ― at the WIS, while showing off the firm’s hybrid network and smart robot demonstrations.

It also unveiled the popular online game Diablo 3 of Blizzard Entertainment to the public, being marked the first global game firm’s game launch event at a local IT show.

Located on the third floor of the exhibition space, the company will give out free tickets for the visitors to play the game for an hour at a nearby PC room, according to its officials.

The Korea Communications Commission also held the international broadcast and telecommunications conference on the sidelines of the WIS 2012, with KT chairman Lee Suk-chae making a keynote speech on the need of network investment.

“Data explosion is occurring with the introduction of smartphones, triggering wireless video traffic and we will inevitably run into risks if we don’t prepare for network transition,” he said.

“We will be hit with a disaster without network investments which is the way to prepare for the future.”

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)