We wrote earlier in the year that Samsung and Pantech will compete in the smartphone and tablet marketplaces in 2013. The decision comes as a surprise and may raise some eyebrows among analysts and investors who say that Pantech doesn’t have much to offer Samsung in terms of technology or software capabilities: it was confirmed today that Samsung invested in $47.6 million in Pantech, the third largest mobile device manufacturer in South…

원문: A wakeup call for the app economy — mobile consumers want privacy 이 글은 앤드류 버드(Andrew Bud)의 기고문입니다. 그 동안 사용자 정보는 모바일 앱 산업의 커다란 성장 동력으로 자리매김해왔다. 사용자들은 어느새 디지털 콘텐츠를 구매하는 대신, 자신의 이름이나 이메일 주소, 브라우저 선호도, 위치정보 같은 개인 정보를 교환하는 경우가 많아지고 있다. 비즈니스 모델 자체는 전혀 문제될 것이 없지만, 이 모델이 장기적으로 유지되기 위해서는 이와 같은 가치 교환의 투명성을 보장할 수 있는 모든 이해관계자의…

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index has also been surging over the past three days as of Thursday morning, moving up 5.80 points to 1941.38. Also, other indexes have shown South Korea is and remains as an attractive business destination, with foreign direct investment reaching $3.39 billion in 2013 Q1. This is a whopping 45% increase from 2012. The president explained her “creative economy” mantra will also apply to foreign businesses who she…

현재 중국에서 어떤 분야가 뜨고 사람들에게 새롭게 조명 받고 있는지에 대한 ‘트렌드’를 알려면 현대사회를 살아가는 사람들과 뗄레야 뗄 수 없는 관계에 놓인 어플리케이션에 집중해야 한다. 13억 인구의 중국, 세계 최대 스마트폰 소비국으로 떠오르는 중국이라는 겉만 보고 중국 시장에 무작정 발을 들여 놓는다면 ‘차이나 드림’의 꿈은 조각조각 날 것이다. 그렇다면 현재 중국 어플리케이션 시장에서 사람들의 관심을 한몸에 받는 분야는 어디일까?

미국 샌프란시스코에 본사를 두고 있는 디지털 광고 플랫폼 운영기업 ‘Marin Software’에서 얼마전 공개한 2013년판 모바일 검색 광고 글로벌 보고서를 살펴보았다. 한국 시장과 관련된 보고서는 아니지만, 최근의 서비스 환경이 주로 ‘플랫폼’이라는 세글자로 요약되는 상황에서 결국 다시 검색의 중요성이 높아질 것으로 생각되어, 해당 보고서를 통해 작년 한 해 동안 모바일 검색과 관련된 시장 흐름을 간략히 체크해 보고자 한다.

Recently, Samsung Venture Investment led a Series E investment round totaling US$ 22.5 million with a software provider, Open X Software Ltd, the creator of Samsung’s private mobile exchange platform. The investment aimed to enable ‘the global expansion of the company’, especially into mobile, as it competes with rivals such as search giant Google.

Jimmy Lim (CEO of K-Cube Ventures) and Bum-Su Kim (Chairman of Kakao Talk) have invested 500M KRW in a new mobile gaming startup, Dryad January 31 2013. Dryad have not yet got round to setting up a website, such is the speed of their ascent.

LG U+, Korea’s third-largest mobile carrier, will release the nation’s first unlimited-data plans for customers using LTE networks. From Jan. 31 to April 30, customers who switch from another provider will be eligible for the free plan, fueling the intensifying battle for new LTE customers.

The creator of “Between”, VCNC (CEO: Jaewook Park) recently received a whopping 3 billion KRW (approx. 3 million USD) investment from four investors.

Qualcomm will be investing $23 million in Pantech, the company ranked 3rd in the mobile industry in South Korea. Who is Pantech? Will there be a shift in dynamics? Will there be significant changes made in the industry? Why is Kanye West relevant in all this? beSUCCESS answers these questions.

It’s no news that LG Display competes with Samsung for the title of the world’s largest LCD maker. At the same time, LG is also seeking to expand its manufacturing lines to meet heavy demands for their tablets and smartphones. Meanwhile, Samsung will invest more in the home appliance industry such as fridges and robot vacuum cleaners. This can be seen as their attempt at strengthening their home appliances portfolio that is considerably weak compared to LG’s.

beSUCCESS investigates how LG will spend its 19 billion USD investment.

As mobile phone fraud cases are increasing, SK Telecom, KT, LG U+ and organisations such as Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) and Korea Association of ICT Promotion have meeting discussing prevention measures for mobile loan fraud schemes.

South Korea’s smartphone users have reached 30 million in August 2012 and there is a noticeably quick shift from web-based to mobile-based games in the gaming industry. Recently, the Ministry of Equal Opportunity and Family offered a very vague regulation guidance for a ‘shutdown’ law and has faced criticism due to its ambiguity. South Korea’s government has tried to battle gaming addiction after a series of cardiopulmonary-related deaths and a game-related murders. But many people criticize the measure and question in which the policy prevents young gamers from addiction.