Media, Entertainment and Gaming
ò Sony announced the launching of its own virtual universe and another 3-D game built almost entirely by players. Called Home, the virtual universe is a real-time, networked world for the PlayStation 3 in which players create human-looking characters called avatars. They can buy clothing, furniture and videos to play on a virtual flat-screen television in their virtual apartments. Industry observers see the concept as similar to Linden LabÆs Second Life, a Web-based phenomenon with nearly 4.5 million residents.
ò Nintendo announced its second quarter lineup for the North American market, with the focus on Pokemon Battle Revolution, the first Wii game that will take advantage of the console's online capabilities. Aside from being the first online title, Pokemon Battle Revolution when released will mark the first game to feature Wii and DS connectivity. Through this feature, users not only have the option of importing saved characters from the upcoming Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl, but they can also use the DS as a makeshift controller. Pokemon Battle Revolution has already been available in the Japanese market since last December, but will be released for North American audiences on June 25th. Other upcoming Nintendo titles for the Wii include Super Paper Mario in April, Mario Party in May, and Big Brain Academy in June.
Hardware
ò Hitachi announced that it will sell business personal computers made by Hewlett-Packard under the Hitachi brand in Japan. The latest deal is seen as enhancing the longtime cooperative ties with the American PC and software company, which includes Hewlett-Packard providing Hitachi Ltd. with servers. Hitachi, which sells about 350,000 business personal computers a year, said the HP-made computers will replace those currently sold by Hitachi, called Flora, as well as the consumer line called Prius will continue with products manufactured by Hitachi.
ò Sony, Matsushita Electric Industrial and Lenovo Group are among seven computer and electronics makers being sued by 3M on claims they infringed patents used for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. 3M, which makes products from Post-it Notes to road signs, filed the patent-infringement lawsuit in the U.S. The suit also asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to block US imports of the batteries or products such as notebook computers containing them. 3M is also seeking unspecified damages in the dispute over battery cathode materials, a market the firm estimates at $700 million. The suit, which claimed the patented inventions made the batteries last longer and less likely to overheat, came after Sony said it would spend $440 million to replace 9.6 million lithium-ion cells that were fire hazards, the biggest recall in consumer-electronics history. 3M and Batteries Com are also included in the suit, while Hitachi is part of the suit for batteries used in a cordless screwdriver. Matsushita and its Panasonic Corp unit were named for the "Revolithium" batteries in cordless power tools.
Korea
Internet
ò According to the survey conducted by BBC/Reuters Media Center, about one third of South Koreans or 34 percent consider the Internet as their primary source of news. The figure is considerably higher than the 9 percent world average. Among countries polled were the United Kingdom, the United States, Egypt, Germany, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and South Korea. About 56 percent of those surveyed said TV news is the most important sources of news. Newspapers came second with 21 percent, followed by the Internet and radio with 9 percent, respectively. Among online sources, blogs got the smallest percentage of trust, with South Korea coming in as the exception with about 17 percent saying they trusted blogs as their main news source compared to the 3 percent of all respondents who consider blogs are their main news source. When asked which media is the most important news source, 41 percent of South Korean respondents chose television, followed by the Internet with 34 percent, the highest proportion of the 10 countries. Newspapers followed with 19 percent, then radio with 4 percent in South Korea.
ò According to NHN, the amount of knowledge search database at Naver surpassed the 60 million milestone just three months after it reached the 50 million mark last October. NHN says it looks to the database posting bigger growth. Currently, NHN is by far the largest Internet company in the nation with its market capitalization amounting to W6 trillion ($6.3 billion), compared to Daum Communication, Naver's closest competitor, with its W800 billion ($843.2 million).
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
ò The chairman of Time Warner Inc. announced the plans of the company plans to launch Korean language broadcasting of CNN and a mobile digital video broadcast service. The company said the move is part of its plan to expand its business in South Korea.
Software
ò DIOTEK, a leading developer of mobile software, announced its release of SmartCJK - Korean support for Smartphone WM5, the first Korean language enabling software for Smartphone running Windows Mobile 5.0. With the device, the users can read Korean text in e-mails, web pages and document files on a Smartphone with English OS such as Samsung Blackjack and Motorola Moto Q. DIOTEK is a mobile software developing company based in Korea mainly developing handwriting recognition, mobile dictionary, note-taking software and language supporting software solutions.
ò Axium Technologies, Inc. announced the completion of a licensing agreement with Samsung Techwin for its Maximum Software and the Software-Based Network Video Recorder Products. Under the terms of agreement, Axium will create versions of the Maximum Software and the Network Video Products that specifically operate with the Samsung Techwin suite of Digital Video Recorders. The initial delivery of products is scheduled for 4th quarter of 2007. When the integration work is completed Axium will retain industrial and intellectual property rights for the products. Axium Technologies, Inc is a provider in surveillance security systems software and hardware. The company maintains its corporate presence in Pasadena, CA and its Research and Development Facility in South Korea.
Hardware
ò Samsung Electronics Co. announced that it has secured a deal to build an LCD module production plant in the Slovak Republic, with an initial investment of W147.4 billion ($155.4 million). The company, however, did not specify the total amount of the investment and other details, including the plant's production capacity. Samsung said it looks to the LCD module plant as giving it a foothold in European markets for its flat panel business. Samsung Electronics Co. also said it has signed a deal to supply a 3G mobile communications system to an Indonesian telecom operator in a bid to bolster its presence in the Southeast Asian market. The deal is valued at some $373 million with PT. Mobile-8 Telecom called for Samsung Electronics to provide the CDMA 2000 system including base stations required to install the 3G telecommunications platform in Indonesia over the next five years until 2011.
ò Government sources said that South Korea's digital electronics exports posted an 8 percent growth in February from a year earlier. The report pointed the strong overseas demand for semiconductors and displays as one of the main reasons for the surge. The countryÆs Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said in a monthly report that overseas shipments of digital electronics goods reached $9.1 billion last month, compared with US$8.4 billion posted a year ago.
Semiconductors
ò Samsung Electronics, a leader in advanced semiconductor technology, announced that it has initiated the mass production of its new, broad 256-channel display driver IC (DDI) for plasma display panels (PDP). The company said the new DDI offers a lower power consumption rate over conventional PDP driver ICs, and creates greater cost efficiencies by reducing the number of DDIs per panel. According to the market forecast firm Display Search, the demand for 40 inch and larger PDP screens is expected to grow at 20 percent, from 12.2 million units in 2007 to 18.8 million units in 2010.
Information Technology
ò The countryÆs Ministry of Information and Communication released a report indicating a 6 percent growth in South Korean exports of information technology products in February from a year earlier. The report ascribed the growth to brisk sales of semiconductors and flat panels in overseas markets. The report said South Korean companies sold US$8.9 billion worth of IT goods last month, with their imports posting a 0.4 percent rise to US$4.5 billion.
Ventures/Investments
ò Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. (AMEC), an emerging Asia-based developer of proprietary innovative semiconductor processing technology and equipment, announced that it has raised US$8 million from Samsung Venture Investment Corp. (SVIC) and other investors. The new funding represents the second and final closing of AMEC's Series B effort, which secured a total of US$43 million. Under the terms of its investment, SVIC will hold board observer rights. The first closing of AMEC's Series B round was announced in October 2006, with the amount secured at that time posted at $35 million. The investors include: Walden International, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs, Redpoint Ventures, Interwest Partners, Bay Partners, Global Catalyst Partners and KT Venture Group. Samsung Venture Investment Corporation manages investment and investment- related activities for the Samsung Group. The investment mandate for Samsung Venture Investment Corporation tracks closely to the strategic priorities of Samsung Electronics' and other Group companies' core operating divisions and encompasses investments in semiconductors, displays, telecommunications, and consumer electronics. Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. (AMEC) is an emerging Asia-based semiconductor equipment company with a portfolio of proprietary wafer fabrication solutions designed to advance technology, increase productivity and reduce manufacturing costs for leading global semiconductor manufacturers.
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