The Korea Herald

Kakao denies MAC address collection

Jun 27, 2013

Kakao, which runs mobile messenger “Kakao Talk,” said on Wednesday that its PC version does not gather MAC addresses, a type of hardware identification for computers. Rumors had spread among users that the company’s forthcoming PC version of Kakao Talk will collect sensitive information from users without prior consent. “Kakao does not collect MAC addresses,” a Kakao official told The Korea Herald. “We allow users to authenticate as many as five different PCs and the method is based on LAN cards
Samsung widens lead in Western Europe smartphone sales

Jun 27, 2013

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest smartphone maker, increased its dominance of the Western Europe smartphone market in the first quarter of the year, data showed Thursday.Samsung sold 14.3 million units in the region during the January-March period, taking up 45 percent of the market, according to the data compiled by market researcher IDC.The first-quarter figure compares with the 39 percent market share a year earlier, it showed.On the other hand, Apple Inc. saw its sales fall to 6.
Korea may cut tax benefits for high income earners, big firms

Jun 26, 2013

SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea might consider scaling down tax benefits available to high income earners and large businesses as part of its efforts to raise more tax revenue to meet growing fiscal demand from expanded welfare programs. The expectation is growing as the state-run Korea Institute of Public Finance earlier made such recommendations to the government for its policy related to temporary tax cut and exemption programs. The tax benefit programs have been provided temporarily for s
Virtual goods new opportunity for telecoms: KT chief

Jun 26, 2013

KT chairman Lee Suk-chae urged global telecommunications firms to swiftly jockey for the position in the virtual goods marketplace. Delivering a keynote speech at the Mobile Asia Expo 2013 in Shanghai on Wednesday, the head of the nation’s leading mobile carrier said there is no future if they only cling to services they are providing now.Telecoms should jump into the global market for distribution of virtual goods as early as possible to keep up with the fast-changing market trends, he added. A
Hydis gathers ammunition with e-paper displays

Jun 26, 2013

Hydis Technologies is not what one would call a big company, but for Korea, it has a symbolic meaning. It was one of the firms that foreign capital gobbled up, only to spit out after stripping it of vital assets and technology.Now, Hydis, owned by Taiwan-based E Ink Holdings, is out to get back on the map with the production of e-paper displays, the main element for e-books. Starting in July, Hydis expects to start rolling out electronic paper displays, an area that E Ink is a global leader in.H
SKT launches world’s fastest mobile network

Jun 26, 2013

Korean mobile carrier’s LTE-Advanced network is first in the world
SK Telecom launches world's fastest mobile network service

Jun 26, 2013

SK Telecom Co., the country's leading mobile carrier, introduced the next-generation mobile network on Wednesday, offering speeds twice as fast as the existing long-term evolution (LTE) network. SK Telecom is the first mobile operator in the world to launch the so-called LTE-Advanced network service, which is 10 times faster than the old 3G network service, it said. With the use of the LTE-Advanced network, an 800 megabyte file takes some 40 seconds to download, compared with 80 seconds with
[Graphic News] Smartphone penetration rate

Jun 25, 2013

According to data compiled by Strategy Analytics, Korea had the highest level of smartphone ownership in the world last year backed by rising demand for the device and faster Internet networks.
Intel envisions ‘re-creation of laptops’

Jun 25, 2013

As the concept between a laptop and a tablet PC is becoming increasingly blurred by the constant innovation in technology, Intel Korea on Tuesday revealed its renewed strategy, which it said would best correspond with its vision of the “re-creation of laptops.”By teaming up with the renowned Korean illusionist and magician Lee Eun-gyeol this year, the world’s No. 1 semiconductor chipmaker expects to fundamentally change the concept of future computing, the company said. “Just as magic evolves ov
Samsung trumps Apple in Japan patent fight

Jun 25, 2013

TOKYO (Yonhap News) ― A Japanese court said Tuesday that Apple Inc.’s patent infringement claim against Samsung Electronics Co. is invalid, giving the upper hand to the South Korean tech giant in a series of legal battles over patents, a Japanese news agency reported.Upholding a lower court’s verdict, the Intellectual Property High Court ruled that Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, did not infringe upon Apple’s technology on transferring media content from computers to smartphones a
Galaxy S4 twice as fast as iPhone 5: report

Jun 25, 2013

Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S4 is the fastest smartphone among the best-selling brands in the market, according to a test by U.K.’s watchdog released on Tuesday.The organization named ”Which?“ used a speed-testing system called Geekbench to evaluate the processing and memory speed of seven representative cell phone brands.Galaxy S4, ranked at the top, scored 3,188 points while Apple’s iPhone5 scored 1,664, ranking at the bottom with its score barely reaching half that of Samsung.“If a phone has
Kakao Talk collecting MAC address stirs controversy

Jun 25, 2013

Kakao Talk, the nation’s top mobile messenger, is generating controversy over its PC version, which collects the MAC addresses of users’ devices, according to IT sources on Tuesday.The beta version of the Kakao PC platform was released on June 20 and users can download and install the program on their desktops after going through a sign-up and authentication process. MAC, or media access control, is an alpha-numeric address assigned to each PC connected to the Internet. Collecting MAC address co
Tokyo high court upholds Samsung win against Apple

Jun 25, 2013

A Tokyo high court has upheld a lower court's ruling that Samsung did not infringe on Apple's patent for synchronizing music and data across devices.Apple asked for 100 million yen ($ 1 million) in damages, but the Tokyo District Court ruled in Samsung's favor last August. The Intellectual Property High Court in Tokyo upheld that decision Tuesday.This appeal case is one of many legal battles between the technology giants. The court decision comes after Apple won a separate patent infringement ca
Samsung unveils Ativ Q, Galaxy S4 Mini in London

Jun 21, 2013

The Galaxy S4 Mini and the Ativ Q tablet were among the smartphones and tablet PCs that Samsung Electronics unveiled in London on Thursday, the company said. The main attraction was the new 13.3-inch convertible laptop Ativ Q with dual-booting technology allowing users to operate on both Windows 8 and Android 4.2.2 operating systems. Data can be synced and shared between the two, while the flexible hinge allows users to convert the Ativ Q from tablet mode to laptop mode and position the screen a
Tokyo court backs Apple against Samsung on patent

Jun 21, 2013

Apple Inc. has won a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co. in a Japanese court, one of dozens of legal battles around the world between the technology giants.The Tokyo District Court issued a partial verdict Friday in favor of Apple. Damages were not announced. The court said in a summary that further examination is needed to determine if Samsung must pay compensation, and if so, how much. A final verdict is expected later.Apple and Samsung are embroiled in similar battles