South Korea's tech giants are set to lock horns at the U.S. Consumer Electronics Show opening on Tuesday, struggling to take the lead in new technologies, such as quantum-dot television, that are set to emerge as the next growth engines in the near future.
The four-day CES, one of the world's biggest technology fairs, will open in Las Vegas and run through Friday. Around 3,500 technology firms are participating in the annual event that first opened in 1967.
Some 40 South Korean firms will join the event, including big-names such as Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc., Hyundai Motor Co. and LG Display Co., as well as smaller ventures like Handysoft Co. and 3L Labs Co.
While South Korean tech firms raced to roll out TVs with curved displays in last year's CES, industry watchers expect "quantum dot TVs" will become the new key word at this year's event.
A quantum dot refers to a semiconductor nanostructure that improves brightness, visibility and power efficiency of displays.
LG Electronics Inc. said it plans to showcase 55-inch and 65-inch Ultra HD (UHD) TVs that have applied the quantom dot technology at this year's CES.
While Samsung did not make official announcements, industry watchers said it is also highly likely that the tech giant will roll out quantum-dot TVs, as the company has applied for copyrights in the "QDOT TV" brand in South Korea, Australia and the United States last year.
Samsung had introduced a test edition of the world's first full-color display using quantum dots in 2011, but Chinese players were faster in commercializing the technology, showcasing quantum-dot TVs last year in the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) trade show.
A data compiled by market researcher DisplaySearch showed the world's shipment of quantum-dot TVs is set to reach 1.95 million units in 2015.
The two South Korean giants will also battle for operating systems of smart TVs at the CES, with Samsung set to unveil its new Tizen-powered TV. Tizen is an open source operating system for smart devices being promoted by Samsung, Intel, Huawei and other global tech players.
Samsung rolled out Tizen-based digital cameras and wearable smart watches in 2014 but has yet to offer smart TVs and smartphones with the Tizen OS.
LG Electronics will also promote its Web OS 2.O system, which has upgraded features from its first edition, at the CES.
While the South Korean giants will hold off their full-fledged battle in the smartphone sector for the Mobile World Congress scheduled in March, where Samsung is expected to showcase the next Galaxy smartphone, LG will showcase its new flexible handset at the CES.
The G Flex 2, an upgrade of its sister, the G Flex, showcased in last year's CES, is said to run on the 3band long-term evolution advanced (LTE-A) network.
South Korea's three mobile carriers, SK Telecom Co., KT Corp., and LG Uplus Corp., will also join the CES, focusing on the Internet of Things (IOT) sectors and expanding ties with Samsung and LG.
The IoT is a concept in which all tangible objects are connected to the Internet and can identify themselves to other devices to exchange necessary data for improved efficiency and convenience.
Other South Korean firms will also set to boast their technologies in the emerging industries, with Byrobot Co. introducing a system that enables the control of a drone by smartphone.
HyVision System Inc. and Rokit will also lock horns with global players in the 3D printing sector, which has also been cited as one of the most-watched tech industries around the world. (Yonhap)
