The Korea Herald

Glide set to change landscape of mobile messaging industry

Jan 21, 2015

Glide’s communications head Chaim Haas (right) demonstrates the video messaging app Glide at the International CES last week in Las Vegas. (Kim Young-won/The Korea Herald)LAS VEGAS ― Shoot videos and send them to your friends with a smartphone, or just broadcast the beautiful mountainous or coastal views you are now seeing in real time. Such mobile video messaging is currently garnering attention, posing a challenge to the text-based mobile messaging services including Kakao Talk and Line. Spear
MS Korea launches cloud-based predictive analytics service

Jan 21, 2015

Microsoft Korea launched the cloud-based predictive analytics service Azure Machine Learning in South Korea on Wednesday.The new MS service, which uses highly sophisticated data analytics algorithms, helps users to make predictions on a wide variety of managerial or social issues, such as economy, fraud detection and crime rates.“The Azure Machine Learning will be able to help not only data scientists but also decision makers at businesses to sift through structured and unstructured data and mak
Samsung to debut latest low-end smartphone on home turf this week

Jan 21, 2015

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it will start sales of the Galaxy A5, the latest in its low-end smartphone lineup, at home Thursday, as it seeks to expand its footing in the low-end sector.The 5-inch Galaxy A5, equipped with a metal frame, will cost around 484,000 won ($445.26) at home, the company said. It is equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera with a 2,300 mAh battery capacity.Samsung said its 5-megapixel front camera also allows users to take better selfie
Samsung expands low-end smartphone lineup

Jan 21, 2015

Samsung Electronics Co. is set to add two more models to its low-end lineup later this month as it struggles to shore up its presence in the global smartphone market amid the rise of Chinese rivals, industry watchers said Wednesday.The world's No. 1 maker of smartphones is expected to release the Galaxy A5 in the South Korean market Thursday, about two weeks after it launched the 5.25-inch Galaxy Grand Max at home, the sources said. It will also launch the Galaxy A7 later this month.The models c
LG Chem pushes to reinforce R&D

Jan 20, 2015

LG Chem, the chemical, battery, and electronics materials business unit of LG Group, said it would beef up its research and development capabilities for next-generation businesses throughout this year. In line with the effort, the world’s leading chemical firm has recruited former Seoul National University professor Lee Jin-kyu, a renowned expert of inorganic nanomaterials, as the research chairman. The new chief researcher received a doctoral degree under the guidance of Nobel Prize laureate in
Samsung mobile chief denies BlackBerry acquisition rumor

Jan 19, 2015

Samsung Electronics’ mobile business unit chief Shin Jong-kyun officially denied the rumors of Samsung’s takeover plan of Canadian smartphone-maker Blackberry.Shin Jong-kyun, the president of Samsung Electronics` mobile buisness unit. (Yonhap)“The recent reports of the BlackBerry takeover are false,” said Shin at the annual Samsung Group dinner gathering at Hotel Shilla in Seoul on Monday.Despite Samsung’s denial of the takeover rumors, some news outlets have continued to report that Samsung is
Merck to display smart window technology at German trade fair

Jan 19, 2015

Merck, the world’s leading chemical and materials firm, said Monday that it would participate in the BAU 2015 exhibition, an international architecture, materials and systems trade show being held from Monday through Saturday (local time) in Munich. At the trade fair, the firm will showcase its state-of-the-art materials technology including Liquid Crystal Windows, smart windowpanes that can control the amount of sunlight penetrating the glass to reduce energy consumption.“We believe the liquid
LG Uplus, Nokia team up for 5G network tech

Jan 19, 2015

LG Uplus executive vice president Kim Sun-tae (right) and Andrew Cope, head of Nokia Networks’ Korean office, pose after signing an MOU for R&D collaboration for the fifth generation networks. (LG Uplus)South Korea’s smallest mobile carrier, LG Uplus Corp., said Monday it has agreed with Nokia to join hands in developing the fifth-generation network technologies, which is set to emerge as the new industrial standard in the near future.Under the memorandum of understanding, LG and Nokia will coop
Korea posts first surplus in cosmetics trade last year

Jan 19, 2015

South Korea’s cosmetics exports last year jumped more than 50 percent to $1.92 billion, giving the country its first annual surplus in the sector, the customs office said Sunday.South Korea had been in the chronic red in the cosmetics trade because of customers’ preference for already established import brands from countries like the United States, France and Japan.Records from the Korea Customs Service showed the trade deficit in the segment had ranged between $400 million-$600 million since 20
Samsung aims to sell 30m Tizen TVs in 2015

Jan 19, 2015

South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. plans to sell 30 million units of Tizen-powered quantum-dot TVs in 2015, an industry source said Monday, as it fights to keep its top spot in global TV sales that it has maintained since 2006.The outlook came as the source with knowledge of inside matters said the company has planned to have Tizen models take up 50 percent of its combined TV sales for 2015, which are estimated at 60 million units.Tizen is an open-source operating system for smart
Korean beer ranks No. 3 in Iraq

Jan 19, 2015

Korean beer exports to Iraq are gaining traction, helping local breweries that are moving to diversify their target markets to bolster growth, data showed Sunday.Exports of Korean beer to the country reached 6,384 tons, or $4.48 million, last year, putting South Korea as the country’s third-largest beer supplier. The biggest exporter was Hong Kong with 55,484 tons, followed by China with 20,112 tons, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service.The latest data compared with four years ago,
Hyundai-Kia’s EU market shares shrink in 2014

Jan 19, 2015

South Korea’s No. 1 automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. both shed market share in Europe in 2014, despite having sold more cars on-year, official data showed Sunday.The two automakers’ market shares in the region slipped 0.1 percentage point each for the whole of 2014, coming to 3.3 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, according to the data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. Their total number of cars sold in Europe, however, move
Samsung’s budget smartphones poised for Korean market debut

Jan 18, 2015

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone-maker by sales volume, is scheduled to release a series of mid- to low-end Android-based smartphones, including the Galaxy A5 and A7, in Korea this week in an effort to maintain its grip on the global smartphone market.Boasting Samsung’s first fully metal smartphone body, the A5 features a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, along with a 5-inch high-definition super AMOLED display, 1.2 GHz quad-core processor and 2,300 mAh battery, industry source
Google’s self-driving car to be equipped with LG battery

Jan 16, 2015

LG Electronics Inc. said Thursday it will supply battery packs to the self-driving cars to be launched by Google, a move that will certainly help South Korea’s No. 2 tech giant tap deeper into the automobile industry.“We have been conducting various projects with Google as a strategic partner. Our automotive technology will now be applied to Google’s self-driving cars,” an LG official said. A battery pack is a set of any number of individual battery cells. Google said it will also partner with U
Google's self-driving car to be equipped with LG battery

Jan 16, 2015

LG Electronics Inc. said Thursday it will supply battery packs to the self-driving cars to be launched by U.S. Google Inc. a move that will certainly help South Korea's No. 2 tech giant tap deeper into the automobile industry."We have been conducting various projects with Google as a strategic partner. Our automotive technology will now be applied to Google's self-driving cars," an LG official said. A battery pack is a set of any number of individual battery cells.Google said it will also partne