Mobile carrier KT said Monday that it will launch its GiGa Wire service in Boston, Massachusetts, after signing a memorandum of understanding with US internet firm netBlazr and the city of Boston to participate in the Boston Digital Equity Project, a key policy of the city for a better internet environment.  KT CEO Hwang Chang-gyu (left) and Mayor Martin J. Walsh shake hands in Boston after signing a memorandum for the Boston Digital Equity Project in April. (KT)KT’s GiGA Wire offers speeds of u

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to become the world's top chipmaker during the second quarter of this year, a report showed Saturday, beating its traditional rival Intel Corp."Following the rise in number of data centers and expanded demand of solid state drives (SSDs), Samsung is expected to become the No. 1 player in the global chip industry," said Lee Se-cheol, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities Co. (Yonhap)Intel took up 13 percent of the global market in the first quarter of 2016

Emoticons on mobile messengers have pandered to young South Koreans’ taste, becoming an inseparable part of their lives. But in a nation lush with ready-made emoticon packages, which cost some 3,000 won ($2.67) per package, perceptions or reactions to them can differ between generations, sometimes causing communication issues. Bae Hyeon-ji, 27, as many others her age, has a penchant for emoticons she finds “cute and fresh.” Having three to four new emoticon bundles ready for use each year, Bae,

Some are flashy, some move, and some even make sounds. Emoticons have become an inseparable means of delivering feelings and messages for mobile messenger and online users worldwide.Some 92 percent of the world’s online community are estimated to use emoticons, increasingly known by their Japanese name emoji, with over 6 billion of them sent every day, according to the 2015 Emoji Report released by marketing platform Emogi.They have developed alongside wireless telecommunications devices. The or

Like many others here in South Korea, 26-year-old office worker Park Na-young frequently exchanges mobile messages with her friends and colleagues through her smartphone.However, it’s not just text being exchanged. Conversations are taken over by colorful character emoticons -- or virtual “stickers” -- such as a blank-faced bear crying in a puddle of tears or a rabbit blissfully skipping around and blowing kisses.“I think I use them in most of my mobile conversations,” said Park, who owns dozens

Kakao Investment, the venture capital arm of South Korean mobile messaging giant Kakao, has set out to discover and nurture local startups with promising artificial intelligence technologies and support their entry into global markets. 　The Kakao-owned investment company has teamed up with Seoul-based Venture Square and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency to initiate the fifth round of its startup accelerator program “Startup Nomad.” Applications are open until June 30.Initiated by Venture

The Moon Jae-in government’s push to scrap base rates for mobile bills is under criticism, from both consumer activist groups and the telecommunications industry due to conflicts of interests. Abolishment of the mobile tariffs was one of President Moon’s key pledges, which was supported by young and low-income voters who have been suffering high mobile costs.  (Yonhap)However, the Green Consumer Network in Korea said in a statement on Thursday that Moon’s committee on planning national affairs i

South Korea’s mobile carriers are teaming up with home builders in the arena of Internet of Things services, industry officials said Friday. KT, the country’s second-largest telecom firm, said it signed a contract with construction project executor Daewon Plus R&D to apply KT’s GiGA IoT Home Plug to 646 studios in a new office building, to be built by 2019 on Incheon’s Yeongjong Island. Residents will be able to control the entrance door and windows via a smartphone app when away, in addition to

The South Korean government Friday unveiled a road map to develop robot technologies and utilize them in various industrial sectors, the industry ministry said.The plan was a follow-up of the government-led project to upgrade the country's robotics sector set up in November last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. (Yonhap)The ministry and state-run research centers, including the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and the Korea Institute of Robot and Convergence

China’s smart device maker Xiaomi seems about to officially enter the South Korean market as a Korean language-version of its homepage has been launched. Dubbed “Mi Korea,” Xiaomi created the Korean-language website at the end of May. It introduces its flagship products and official sales channels in Korea, but information about smartphones and laptops is not available in Korean yet.  Mi Korea homepage screenshotThe website also has details of the corporation, including profiles of its founders

LG Innotek said Thursday the company’s 10-watt high-power light-emitting diode package was used for the main lights of the Suwon Word Cup Stadium, where the finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea 2017 will be held Sunday. The high-power LED package emits bright light with power consumption of 1 watt or more, providing optimal lighting that will allow players, spectators and TV viewers to focus on the match, the company said. Its color temperature is 5,000 Kelvin and it is used for sports stadiu

Nexon on Thursday announced that it would begin offering its mobile action role-playing game “Dark Avenger 3” next month. The game is slated for official release on July 27.　“Dark Avenger 3” is an action RPG developed by Nexon-owned game development studio Boolean Games, the original creator of the globally popular “Dark Avenger” mobile game series which has racked up more than 35 million downloads worldwide.Nexon Vice President Lee Jung-hun introduces the company’s upcoming mobile action role-p

South Korea‘s leading chemical firm LG Chem was offered financial support worth $12.6 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop its inactivated polio vaccine used to prevent infantile paralysis, the company said Wednesday.　With the funds provided by the foundation, LG Chem will boost its clinical research overseas and expand its vaccine producing facility in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, the company said. LG Chem’s vaccine facility in Osong, North Chungcheong Province (L

Joining forerunners Amazon and Google, new players including Apple enter race of voice-activated speakers

IN MOTION -- A researcher at the Korea Electronics & Telecommunications Research Institute corrects his golf swing posture using “Smart Wear” developed by the institute, which analyzes motions captured by 17 sensors attached to joints in the human body. (ETRI)