Cellphone addiction shows similarities to compulsive buying and credit card misuse, a study by marketing researchers at Baylor University in Texas found.Addiction to cellphones and to text messaging are driven by materialism and impulsiveness and can be compared to other consumption pathologies, the researchers said."Cellphones are a part of our consumer culture," Baylor marketing Professor James Roberts said. "They are not just a consumer tool, but are used as a status symbol. They're also erod

A tuition-free software school is accepting applications from prospective students from Nov. 28 through Dec. 12, with the academic center slated to open in March, according to NHN officials on Wednesday. Named “NHN Institute for the Next Network,” the software school, supported by the operator of the country’s largest portal Naver, is expected to become a cradle of “the next software culture,” its officials said.The institution registered under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy aims to nurture t

STOCKHOLM (AFP) ― Swedish telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson said Tuesday that it was suing South Korean rival Samsung in a U.S. court for violating patents.“Ericsson has today filed a lawsuit in the United States against Samsung for infringing its patents, after nearly two years of negotiations failed to reach an agreement,” a statement said.“The dispute concerns both Ericsson’s patented technology that is essential to several telecommunications and networking standards used by Samsung

Three out of four Apple Inc.’s mega hit tablet computer iPads are equipped with liquid crystal displaypanels manufactured by South Korea’s LG Display Co. amid the heated patent row between Apple and Samsung Electronics Co., industry data showed Monday.According to data by research firm DisplaySearch, the global shipments of 9.7-inch LCD panels used for Apple’s fourth-generation iPad and iPad 2 came to 5.92 million units in October.The number of 9.7-inch panels produced by LG Display reached 4.25

KT Corp. said Friday that it will spin off its satellite business division into a separate firm.Company officials said the plan was endorsed at a shareholders’ meeting in Seoul on Friday. The new satellite firm, tentatively named “kt sat,” will start out on Dec. 1 with 50 billion won in capital, the company said. KT will wholly own kt sat, and the present KT Corp. Center chief Kim Il-yung will head the new firm. Focusing on satellite service business, kt sat reflects KT’s strategy to expand its

SK Telecom, Korea’s biggest telecom company, is most likely to merge two of its subsidiaries ― SK Planet and SK Marketing & Company ― as a means to beef up its mobile business, industry sources said.The telecom giant will move forward with the merger and acquisition plan after it acquires SK Innovation’s 50 percent stake in SK M&C for a 100 percent controlling equity.SK Telecom will likely make SK Planet the surviving entity through a statutory merger with SK M&C, which will dissolve after the M

SK Telecom, Korea’s biggest telecom company, is most likely to merge two of its subsidiaries -- SK Planet and SK Marketing & Company -- as a means to beef up their mobile business, industry sources said.The telecom giant will move forward with the merger and acquisition plan after it acquires SK Innovation’s 50 percent stake in SK M&C for a 100 percent controlling equity.SK Telecom will likely make SK Planet the surviving entity through a statutory merger with SK M&C, which will dissolve after t

The sales of Viagra, formerly the nation’s best-selling drug to treat erectile dysfunction, have dropped by more than half in the five months since local generic drugs entered the market, market research company IMS Health Inc. said on Thursday. IMS said that the sales of Viagra dropped continuously after the drug’s patent expired in May. Between January and April, before its patent expired, Viagra had marked average monthly sales of 2.1 billion won ($2 million).In September ― only four months a

Big-box retailers are confronting their Internet competition head-on this holiday season.As the peak shopping period kicks off this week, Target and Best Buy will be leading the charge against Amazon and other Internet rivals by matching prices that shoppers find online.“The holiday is evolving,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group. “It’s a paramount issue and retailers had to respond.”The first-time offer is a reaction to the practice known as “showrooming,” in which consume

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Samsung Electronics Co.’s smartphone shipments will likely exceed 60 million units in the fourth quarter of this year, proving its prowess in the world’s mobile phone market despite its ongoing patent war with Apple Inc., an investment bank said Wednesday.UBS estimated that Samsung Electronics will sell 61.5 million units of smartphones in the October-December period, up 5 percent from an estimated 58 million in the previous quarter. The number could reach as high as 63