The second round of a raging patent war between the world’s top two technology companies, Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc., resumed in a U.S. court in California on Monday. This time, Google’s Android mobile operation system has come into the spotlight, with a celebrated former Google executive ― Andy Rubin, who oversaw the development of the Android operating system ― expected to step up as a witness for both Samsung and Apple.What a coincidence. Two battling companies calling in the same wit

SK Telecom failed to see a significant rise in mobile-service subscribers through Samsung Electronics’ new smartphone Galaxy S5 despite pushing for an early roll-out.As the nation’s largest mobile carrier is due to begin a business suspension on April 5 for doling out excessive handset subsidies, the company reportedly pushed Samsung to move up the release date to March 27 from the initial launch on April 11. However, the launch of the Galaxy S5 did not seem to positively affect sales. The numbe

The chief executive of Korean robot company Robotis hopes his firm will develop the nation’s first humanoid robot capable of disaster relief operations. And THOR-MANG, the Tactical Hazardous Operations Robot, is his biggest hope. The humanoid robot took part in the U.S Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Robotics Challenge in December 2013 as part of a collaboration between Robotis and Virginia Tech, the University of Pennsylvania and Harris Corporation, coming ninth in the semifinals. T

KT, the nation’s second-largest telecom company, is providing diverse telecommunications services at a discounted price for its users to better enjoy KT’s Internet and voice call services. KT said for two months starting in March it will offer free Internet data and a smart set-top box for those who subscribe to “Olleh Internet” and “Olleh TV.”Customers who sign on for a three-year contract with Olleh Internet will automatically receive a three-month free Internet trial service. Those who sign u

LG Electronics on Tuesday unveiled its latest Whisen air conditioner and a dehumidifier to showcase the most up-to-date technology in home appliances.At a press event, LG said the air-conditioning speed of its new Whisen Victory is 20 percent faster than the previous products. The product also has an Ice-cool Power function, which quickly lowers room temperature with winds that are colder than existing models.Ice-cool Power also puts the new Whisen’s air-conditioning speed at 65 percent faster t

LG Electronics, the world’s No. 2 TV maker, is expected to mass produce glasses-free 3-D TVs by 2017, much later than the government’s initial commercialization plan. “It will take at least three years, given the current level of technology,” said Bang Young-woon, the head of LG Electronics’ TV products and planning division after a UHD conference last Thursday. He added that the glasses-free 3-D TVs on the market cannot be called fully glasses-free as they offer 3-D vision only when viewed stra

삼성전자의 갤럭시 S5 국내 출시일이 이번달 말로 앞당겨진다. 24일 SK텔레콤 관계자는 4월 11일로 예정되어있던 갤럭시 S5의 출시일을 3월 27일로 앞당긴다고 전했다. SK텔레콤이 영업을 하는 시기에 맞춰 출시하기 위함이다. 이 SK텔레콤 관계자는 “4월 5일 이후에 출시할 경우, KT와 LG유플러스 만으로는 시장에 대한 영향력이 적다고 판단되었기 때문”이라고 전했다.또한 삼성측 관계자도 “삼성전자가 글로벌 업체이지만 한국을 기반으로 하고 있는 만큼 국내 1위 이통사인 SK텔레콤을 무시할 수는 없다”면서 “이 때문에 SK텔레콤 영업정지가 시작되는 다음달 5일 이전으로 출시일을 앞당기는 방안을 검토 중”이라고 말했다. 업계 관계자는 “갤럭시S5의 해외 출시일에도 영향을 미칠 수 있을 것”이라고 전했다.(코리아헤럴드 신지혜 기자, 김영원기자)<관련 영문기사>Galaxy S5 to be unveiled on March 27Samsung Electronics, the nation’s

LG전자의 무안경 3D TV가 3년 후 양산될 것으로 예상된다. LG전자의 방영운 상무는 지난 목요일 UHD 컨퍼런스가 끝나고 기자와 만나 “현재 기술 수준을 고려할 때 양산까지 3년 소요될 것” 이라며 “현재 시중에 나와있는 무안경 3D TV는 정면에서만 볼 수 있기 때문에 진정한 3D TV가 아니다” 라고 말했다. 정부는 2011년 스마트 미디어 시대에 대비하기 위해 무안경 3D TV, 차세대 스마트TV 등 유망미디어 기술개발에 총 1984억 원을 투자했다. 이 국가과제는 2015년을 상용화를 목표로 2014년에 과제가 종료된다. 무안경 3D TV의 상용화가 늦어진 점에 대해서 미래부 전파정책기획과는 “관련 코덱, 압축 그리고 플랫폼 네트워크 관련 기술은 ETRI를 통해 거의 완성 되었다. 하지만 디스플레이 등 다른 기술이 좀 더 시간이 소요될 것으로 보인다” 라고 말했다. 한국투자증권의 유종우 연구원도 무안경 3D TV의 양산을 위해서는 “매우 높은 수준의 해상도가 필요하다”라

The local office suit developer Hancom purchased the nation’s largest embedded software provider MDS Technology, according to a company statement on Friday.Hancom acquired the software company for 74.5 billion won ($68.9 million) from international venture capital firm STIC Investments, which had bought MDS Technology in August 2010. The company plans to expand its business beyond its conventional office program into embedded software markets. “Considering the expansion of the domestic embedded

삼성전자가 웨어러블 기기인 삼성 기어2와 기어 핏의 가격을 확정했다. 삼성이 어제 대만에서 공개한 기어2와 기어 핏의 가격은 각각 $295(약 31만원)와 $197(약21만원)이다. 기어2의 가격은 전작인 갤럭시 기어의 $300보다 약간 낮은 수준이다. 삼성전자는 지난 2월 스페인 바르셀로나에서 열린 MWC에서 갤럭시 기어 후속작인 스마트워치 삼성 기어2와 스마트 밴드 기어 핏을 선보였다. 두 스마트 기기는 전 세계에 4월 11일 출시 될 예정이다. 보급형 스마트워치인 스마트 기어 네오의 가격은 아직 확정 되지 않았지만, $200 중반으로 출시 될 전망이다. 또한 삼성전자는 기어2의 새로운 모델인 USIM이 장착된 스마트워치를 출시 할 예정으로 알려졌다. SK텔레콤을 통해 한국 시장에서만 선보일 예정이고, 해외 시장 출시는 아직 미정으로 알려졌다. 한편 갤럭시 S5의 가격은 80만원 초반대로 확정된 것으로 알려져 주목을 받고 있다. 대만의 발표 행사장에서 삼성전자갤럭시 는 S5의 가

Customers in Indonesia will soon have a faster, easier and much more entertaining open market experience thanks to SK Planet, Korea’s leading online and mobile service platform provider.On Wednesday, the company announced the launch of its much-awaited open market Elevenia (www.elevenia.co.id) to make a foray into one of the fastest-growing countries in Southeast Asia.Elevenia was created in partnership with Indonesia’s second-largest telecom operator, XL Axiata. The name was coined from the wor

Protecting personal information has become one of the most important factors in determining corporate competitiveness in the wake of massive data leak scandals a cybersecurity academic has said. “If privacy fears continue, consumers will lose trust in the companies and this can put them in serious trouble,” said Lim Jong-in, dean of Korea University’s graduate school of information security, in an interview with The Korea Herald.  Cybersecurity issues have been growing in Korea over the last few

Shinsegae, one of the nation’s largest department store franchises, is contemplating expanding further into the electric vehicle charging station market, according to industry sources on Monday.The company is considering setting up charging stations at Shinsegae department stores in Seoul on top of deploying them at its retailer Emart.Last week, Shinsegae said it would establish EV charging stations at 60 of the Emart locations that it operates. Emart is currently the biggest discount store bran

Korea Communications Commission’s chair-nominee Choi Sung-joon vowed to eliminate excessive, illegal smartphone subsidies in the nation’s telecom market on Saturday. “The vicious cycle causing users to run out and buy cheaper smartphones at dawn should end. I will put the utmost effort into eradicating excessive smartphone subsidies with several policies,” Choi, a former judge, told reporters on his way to work in Gwacheon city. His remark came one day after his nomination by President Park Geun

U.S. retail sales bounced back in February after suffering a steep decline during a bitterly cold January. Shoppers spent more on autos, clothing and furniture.The Commerce Department says seasonally-adjusted retail sales rose 0.3 percent in February. Spending had fallen 0.6 percent in January and 0.3 percent in December.The increase suggests that consumer spending has started to recover after being tempered by snowstorms and freezing temperatures that blanketed much of the country.Auto sales ro

Local software provider Rsupport signed a deal with Japan’s leading mobile phone operator NTT Docomo to launch a joint entity named “Mobidoors” on March 25, Rsupport said Wednesday. “Rsupport’s specialized services and NTT Docomo’s global business experiences are expected to create synergy in technology, sales and brand power,” said Seo Hyeong-soo, CEO of Rsupport. Through Mobidoors, Rsupport aims to sell its remote operation and support systems for smartphone users to global mobile carriers in

Official figures show the unemployment rate in Greece increased to 27.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 as the economy struggled to emerge from a protracted recession.Thursday's figures from the statistics agency showed the jobless rate increasing from 27 percent in the third quarter of 2013 and from 26 percent in the same three months of 2012.Greece, a country of about 10 million people, has 1.36 million people out of work, the figures showed. Young people are the most severely affected,

An inter-Korean panel on the arbitration of legal disputes discussed details of arbitration procedures and rules at its meeting held on Thursday, the unification ministry said.The meeting at the jointly run factory park in the North's western border city of Kaesong is the first of its kind since 2000 when the rival Koreas adopted a deal on solving legal disputes through arbitration.The two sides had substantial discussions on the arbitration rules to be applied once the panel starts its business

Japanese police have arrested an engineer who allegedly leaked Toshiba trade secrets to South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix, reports said Thursday.Yoshitaka Sugita, 52, was taken into custody over allegations that he copied sensitive research data for Toshiba's NAND-type flash memory and handed it to the rival firm, major Japanese media including public broadcaster NHK reported.In 2008, Sugita was working for Toshiba partner SanDisk where he copied the sensitive data about Toshiba's key technology -

German automaker Volkswagen is raising its dividend after turbocharged earnings from its Porsche luxury line offset a slip in revenues from mass-market cars.The automaker said Thursday that 2013 operating earnings, which don't count tax and one-time charges, rose slightly to 11.7 billion euros ($16.3 billion) from 11.5 billion euros last year. That was enough for it to raise the dividend to 4 euros per ordinary share, from 3.50 euros.Porsche, maker of the 911 sports car and Cayenne sport-utility