Retail News CRM

Category: Electronics

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Electronics news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Panasonic India eyes Rs 12,300 crore revenue in FY2018-19

    Panasonic India eyes Rs 12,300 crore revenue in FY2018-19

    Japanese consumer electronics major Panasonic is aiming for revenues of Rs 12,300 crore in India this fiscal, driven by its refrigerator and TV businesses. Panasonic India reported revenues of about Rs 10,500 crore in the previous financial year.The company also expects its B2B business to contribute almost half of its revenues by FY 2020-21 as it is expanding its presence in the segment. Panasonic also introduced new models of OLED and 4K TVs here to strengthen its presence in the segment.

    “This financial year, we are looking at Rs 12,300 crore revenue overall. Last year we had closed around Rs 10,500 crore,” Panasonic India and South Asia President and CEO, Manish Sharma told news agency PTI.

    This includes Panasonic’s revenue from its step-down firm Anchor Electricals.

    “Our intention is to grow for three years with a CAGR of 20 per cent and this year, we are looking for 30 per cent growth in TV,” he further told PTI.

    “By FY 2020-21, we expect our B2B business to contribute half of our revenue,” Sharma said.

    Panasonic also expects its consumer business to be double in the next three years.

    “Last year, we had Rs 7,800 crore from the consumer business (including Anchor) and we are looking it at Rs 9,100 crore this financial year,” said Sharma who is also Vice President, Appliances Company, Panasonic Corporation.

    “Last year, B2B was Rs 2,300 crore and this year it is expected to be Rs 3,200 crore,” he told PTI.

    In the mobile phone market, where Panasonic is struggling, the company has decided to focus only on the niche segment.“We are looking at Rs 800 crore this year and the strategy in mobile is to focus on niche segment of Rs 9,000 and above,” he told PTI.

    In the TV segment, the company expects its 4K range of televisions to account for around 25 per cent share of sales this fiscal.

    “This year we are looking at 1.2 million units of sales which is 11 to 12 per cent of value share. Market share is currently 9 per cent and next year, we are looking at 11 to 12 per cent,” he he told PTI.

    “From less than one million units last year, we are looking up to 1.5 to 1.6 million unit in next three years” he added.

    The TV market in India is estimated to be around 12.5 million units. It is growing at around 10 per cent every year and is expected to touch 14 million units in 2018.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Grand Senheng opens electronics megastore Kuala Lumpur

    Grand Senheng opens electronics megastore Kuala Lumpur

    Malaysian electrical retail chain Senheng has opened its first megastore, in Pandan Jaya, Kuala Lumpur.

    Set to be a one-stop destination for anything electrical or electronic, the Grand Senheng megastore enhances the customer experience by allowing shoppers to try out products in a unique and exclusive environment.

    “We pride ourselves on bringing great value, better lifestyle and a seamless shopping experience to our customers,” said managing director KH Lim.

    Senheng adopted a seamless business model last year, designed to align in-store, online and mobile shopping activities.

    To mark the opening, 500 units of high-quality electrical products were offered at only RM10 (US$2.46).

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Samsung may launch foldable Galaxy in 2019

    Samsung may launch foldable Galaxy in 2019

    Samsung Electronics may launch a foldable smartphone called the Galaxy X next year as global phone producers struggle to find innovative features to boost their slowing sales.

    Multiple leaks indicate that Samsung will launch the phone soon.

    The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Samsung will introduce the bendable phone “early next year,” while Phone Arena, a media outlet specializing in phone industry leaks, reported that Samsung may unveil its first foldable smartphone at the Consumer Electronics Show 2019 next January in Las Vegas.

    According to the Wall Street Journal, the code name for the prototype phone is Winner.

    Its display is reported to be seven inches diagonally when opened, which is similar to a small tablet. It will bend towards the inside of the device like a wallet. This would allow users to watch videos on a large screen and also carry the phone around more conveniently by folding it. The phone’s diagonal size is expected to shrink to 4.5 inches when folded.

    The U.S. smartphone giant Apple is also working on a foldable phone. It applied for a foldable phone-related patent to the United States Patent and Trademark Office at the end of 2016. Its foldable phone is reportedly 9.7 inches diagonally when unfolded and 5.5 inches when folded.

    Samsung’s local rival, LG Electronics, is also joining the competition. It is waiting for the U.S. patent office to approve its patent application for foldable phones by the end of this month. In August last year, it also applied for a design patent for a foldable phone to the World Intellectual Property Organization. Motorola recently received a design patent for a foldable phone from the World Intellectual Property Organization. The design reportedly includes a long rectangular screen that can be folded to function as a smartphone and unfolded to act like a tablet. China’s Huawei Technologies originally planned to unveil its first foldable phone in November, but the company has likely pushed back its launch date to 2019.

    The global focus on foldable phones is largely due to consumer expectations for changes to smartphone designs, which have been stagnant for some time.

    As today’s premium smartphones now have similar specs, consumers have grown tired of their similar designs and features, and sales growth for many brands has slumped.

    The high expectation for the foldable phones, however, is making electronics companies cautious as they prepare to launch them.

    “Their biggest struggle is to come up with content and a user interface that is specific to a foldable display,” said a source in the display industry.

    The marketability of these products is also another concern. Market tracker Strategy Analytics projects that global foldable phone sales will start at 3.2 million units next year and grow to 50.1 million units by 2022. According to this prediction, even if the foldable phone market expands by roughly 15 times over the course of three years, their sales will only account for 2.5 percent of total smartphone sales in 2022. Industry insiders speculate Samsung’s foldable phone will carry the hefty price tag of $1,500.

    The Wall Street Journal noted that the launch date may change and added that Samsung may not put the phone on sale immediately after unveiling it.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Xiaomi phone comes to Korea

    Xiaomi phone comes to Korea

    Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 5 became the Chinese electronics giant’s first mobile phone to officially sell through Korean mobile carriers on Monday.

    The cost-effective phone, priced at 299,000 won ($265), is the first Xiaomi device launched nationwide through Korean mobile carriers SK Telecom and KT. Unlocked Xiaomi phones have previously been available through other retail channels in Korea.

    Redmi Note 5’s greatest selling point is its cheap price tag. While the phone already costs about a third of the price of Samsung’s Galaxy S or Note series phones or Apple’s iPhones, SK Telecom and KT are offering discounts of up to 200,000 won depending on the phone plans users subscribe to.

    That means that some customers will be able to pick up the phone for as little as 100,000 won.

    But the Redmi Note 5’s cheap price tag doesn’t mean Xiaomi has cut back on the features.

    The 5.99-inch screen phablet comes with a large 4,000mAh battery – larger than both the 3,300mAh battery in the Galaxy Note 8 released last year and the 3,000mAh battery in the Galaxy S9 released in March – and dual rear cameras with a 12-megapixel main lens.

    For enhanced selfie mode, the phone has a 13-megapixel front-facing camera. G-mobi, the Korean distributor of Xiaomi products, said that artificial intelligence has been applied to the camera so it can blur the background to focus on people during a launch event held Monday in Seoul.

    G-mobi also emphasized the beautify 4.0 feature of the camera, which can add effects to peoples’ faces by recognizing each part of the face such as dark circles, nose, eyes and even freckles. The feature enables users to easily fix their looks without editing the photo through special apps or programs.

    Jung Seung-hee, CEO of G-mobi Korea, said the Redmi Note 5 has been gaining better-than-expected feedback during the presales period that began from July 12. The phone is also sold online by CJ and Hi-Mart. Jung did not disclose exact sales data.

    She also declined to comment on an exact sales target for the phone, only saying that the goal for now is to safely land Xiaomi as a smartphone brand in Korea.

    When asked whether Xiaomi plans to establish its own retail shop in Korea, Jung said that is highly desired and a plan is being considered, but the low margin on Xiaomi products makes it a difficult decision.

    With the launch, eyes are now on how much market share the phone can take in Korea, the home turf of smartphone giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics where non-Korean branded phones have rarely survived, with the exception of Apple’s iPhone.

    According to market tracker Strategy Analytics, Samsung phones have accounted for 65.3 percent of the local smartphone market in the first quarter, followed by Apple with 16.7 percent and LG at 12.2 percent. Other foreign brands are struggling to even achieve a five percent market share.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • US formally overturns import ban on ZTE

    US formally overturns import ban on ZTE

    The US government has lifted its denial order against ZTE, finally clearing the way for the vendor to resume major operations.

    ZTE suspended major operations after the US Commerce Department banned ZTE from importing components from US companies in April as part of its investigation into ZTE’s alleged violation of US sanctions prohibiting companies from selling equipment with US components to Iran and North Korea.

    But after US president Donald Trump signified in May that he would intervene to allow ZTE to get back in business, the department struck a deal in June for ZTE to pay a further $1 billion penalty and hire a compliance team chosen by the US.

    ZTE has also been instructed to deposit $400 million into an escrow account that will be forfeit in case of future violations.

    Now the ban has formally been lifted after ZTE complied with all the requirements of the deal, as reported.

    But some US lawmakers, including junior senator for Florida Marco Rubio, are seeking to introduce legislation to reinstate the ban due to national security and other concerns.

    ZTE had already agreed to pay an $892 million penalty imposed by the Commerce Department during the initial investigation into the alleged sanction violations, but the department imposed the ban after accusing the vendor of failing to comply with the terms of the initial settlement.

    The development comes in the midst of the escalating tariff war between the US and China.

    Lees ook:

  • Samsung’s Note 9 stresses power of stylus

    Samsung’s Note 9 stresses power of stylus

    Samsung Electronics’ next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note9, will hit the Korean market on Aug. 24, according to sources.

    The phablet, scheduled to be unveiled in New York at 11 a.m. on Aug. 9, can be preordered starting Aug. 14 and will be shipped on Aug. 24, around three weeks earlier than its predecessor, the Note8, last year.

    Samsung is advancing the release date to chalk up some sales before Apple launches its next flagship phone in three versions in September.

    In an online invitation to the so-called unpacking event for the Note9, Samsung emphasized its S Pen stylus, indicating its features will become more varied.

    Last Thursday, a Galaxy fan renowned for leaks who goes by the user name Ice Universe tweeted a photo presumed to be the Galaxy Note9’s official poster. An image showed a yellow S Pen lying on a blue Note9. The S Pen is rumored to be able to remotely play music and set timers on the smartphone over Bluetooth.

    The image of the Note9’s rear shows a fingerprint scanner and heart rate module underneath dual camera lenses.

    Lees ook:

  • Xiaomi shares fall in Hong Kong trading debut as US-China trade war deter equity investors

    Xiaomi shares fall in Hong Kong trading debut as US-China trade war deter equity investors

    Xiaomi, the first company to raise capital under Hong Kong’s overhauled listing rules for pre-revenue start-ups or companies with multiple classes of stock, sputtered during its trading debut on the city’s exchange when investors spooked by the US-China trade war refrained from buying its shares.

    Shares of the Beijing-based company, offered a week ago at HK$17 each in what was once billed as the world’s biggest initial public offer, fell by as much as 5.9 per cent in an advancing market to HK$16, before recovering to end their first trading day at HK$16.80.

    “Investors are no longer that crazy about so-called new economy IPOs, as many of them have quickly fallen below their offer prices,” said Edmond Hui, chief executive for Bright Smart Securities.

    “It’s no longer a guarantee of making money.”

    The lacklustre debut was a blow for the world’s fourth-largest smartphone maker, which had taken a mere seven years to grow from a start-up to surpass 100 billion yuan (US$15 billion) in sales. Founded by serial entrepreneur Lei Jun in 2010, Xiaomi was the first blockbuster IPO under the new listing rules that Hong Kong’s securities regulator and stock market operator pushed through last year.

    “Xiaomi’s listing signals the Hong Kong market has entered a new phase,” said the city’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, speaking in Cantonese during a ceremony marking Xiaomi’s trading debut. “I believe [Hong Kong’s listing reform] will prompt more innovative technology companies to raise funds in Hong Kong, so our market can better serve the real economy.”

    The size of Xiaomi’s fundraising – originally aimed at US$10 billion – was trimmed by bad timing, coming after the US and Chinese governments fired the first salvoes of their trade war.

    Net proceeds from the IPO were HK$23.98 billion (US$3.1 billion), after deducting underwriting fees and other relevant expenses, Xiaomi said. The company priced its stock at the low end of a price range of between HK$17 and HK$22 each.

    That values the company, whose name is the Chinese phrase for millet, at US$54.3 billion, about half of the US$100 billion it had originally sought, which would’ve made Xiaomi the world’s largest IPO this year. Instead, that honour has gone to Siemens Healthineers, which raised US$5.17 billion in Frankfurt in March.

    “Although the macroeconomic conditions are far from ideal, we believe a great company can still rise to the challenge and distinguish itself,” Xiaomi’s founder and chief executive Lei Jun said in a brief speech at the start of trading. “From day one, innovation has been an integral part of Xiaomi’s DNA,” he said, adding that the listing would be “a brand new start for Xiaomi.”

    It plans to use 30 per cent of the proceeds for research and development, 30 per cent to expand and strengthen its capability into the internet of things business, 30 per cent for global expansion, and the remainder for working capital and other corporate purposes.

    Four of the five biggest tech IPOs in Hong Kong since September are now trading below their offer prices.

    Lei, who founded Xiaomi in 2010 and currently holds nearly one third of the company’s stock, has been presenting Xiaomi as an internet company rather than a hardware maker, saying it should be valued as hybrid of Apple and Tencent because it is “driven by innovation”.

    Companies billed as manufacturers, like tech giant Apple, tend to achieve much lower valuations than those categorised as internet firms, for example China’s Tencent.

    Investors were not the first to question Lei’s categorisation. In mid June, the company shelved a plan to issue Chinese depositary receipts (CDRs) in Shanghai after the market regulator demanded answers to 84 questions, including why Xiaomi positioned itself as an internet firm.

    The smartphone maker has tapped several Hong Kong and Chinese tycoons as investors, including Li Ka-shing of CK Hutchison, Pony Ma Huateng of Tencent and Jack Ma Yun, founder of Alibaba Group Holdings and owner of this newspaper.

    Xiaomi’s seven cornerstone investors have agreed to acquire US$548 million worth of shares with a six-month lock-up period, according to the prospectus.

    US chip maker Qualcomm has committed US$100 million, the only foreign company among the cornerstone investors. China Mobile, the country’s biggest telecom operator, will also invest US$100 million, while CICFH Entertainment, a state-backed industrial fund, will be the biggest cornerstone investor with a US$192 million stake.

  • Apple and Samsung duke it out in South Korea

    Apple and Samsung duke it out in South Korea

    South Korea’s capital Seoul is one of the world’s most technologically advanced, known for its rapid Internet speeds and advanced infrastructure.

    It was one of the first to introduce city-wide free Wi-Fi, and 5G will be introduced commercially in 2019. It is the home of global tech titans Samsung and LG. But in one way Seoul lagged behind other cities.

    Apple announced the opening of their first retail stores in May 15, 2001. Four days later, on a Saturday, the first ever Apple stores opened in Maclean, Virginia, and Glendale, California. “The Apple stores offer an amazing new way to buy a computer,” said the late Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO at the time.

    Over the years more stores opened, going on to stock the iPod, the Macbook Air, and the iPhone. Tokyo got its first Apple store in 2003. London a year later. Beijing in 2008. And the Middle East in 2015 with Dubai’s Apple store.

    But South Korea, the 11th largest economy in the world and one of the most technologically advanced, saw its first Apple store open on January 26, 2018.

    In the Apple outlet is located in Garosu-gil,we see a fashionable street in trendy Gangnam-gu, popular with tourists and chic locals. Inside the pristine and meticulous store, lined with four potted trees at its entrance, were a busy amount of people.

    Ju-Won Shin, 38, an accountant, was sitting down at a table looking to buy an iPhone SE, while already owning an iPhone 6S and iPad Pro. What does he think of Apple? “Their products are easy to use, refined, and have a good vibe,” he said. Shin preferred Apple to Samsung because “they’re constantly trying hard to make good quality products.”

    Another store wanderer was So-ri Lee, 22, a waitress at a cafe, who was browsing phone cases. So-ri had an iPhone 8 and had been using it for two years. Before that she owned a Samsung Galaxy Mega. She said she preferred iPhone because she loved the design– “it’s pretty and easy to use, and now I’m used to iOS,” she said.

    Lees ook:

  • Samsung’s streak of record profits comes to an end

    Samsung’s streak of record profits comes to an end

    Samsung Electronics set records with its last seven quarterly operating profits, but its hot streak has come to an end.

    The tech giant said in its second-quarterly earnings guidance Friday that its operating profit fell by 5.37 percent from the previous quarter of 2018 to an estimated 14.8 trillion won ($13.3 billion).

    Its revenue also dwindled by 4.23 percent from last quarter to 58 trillion won. Analysts believe disappointing sales of Galaxy S9 smartphones and reduced profits from its display business were the main factors behind the sluggish results.

    The operating profit for the April-June period was lower than analyst’s earlier consensus of 15.27 trillion won, which was compiled by market information provider FnGuide.

    The guidance provides averages for the range of operating profit and revenue for the quarter, Samsung will release confirmed figures by business sectors three weeks from now.

    When compared to the second quarter of 2017, operating profit was up by 5.19 percent, but revenue fell by 4.92 percent.

    “Operating profits at all of the business sectors at Samsung for the second quarter are forecast to fall, except for semiconductors and consumer electronics,” said Lee Soon-hak, an analyst at Hanwha Investment and Securities. The ongoing supercycle in the chip industry is still boosting Samsung’s earnings, he added.

    In the first quarter, Samsung’s semiconductor division posted 11.55 trillion won in operating profit, the best result in the company history. Analysts project the profit from the division amounts to more than half of Samsung’s entire second-quarter operating profit.

    The IT and mobile division, which is in charge of smartphones, is projected to have made only around 2.5 trillion won in operating profit, down more than 2 trillion won from the 4.6 trillion won it made in the second quarter of last year.

    Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S9 smartphone, launched in March, has underperformed relative to market expectations. The phone is expected to be Samsung’s least popular Galaxy S model since 2012’s Galaxy S3.

    Eugene Investment and Securities lowered its shipment estimate for the Galaxy S9 in the second-quarter from 15 million to 9.5 million units. It also decreased its expected total 2018 shipments for the S9 to 31 million units, down 19.5 percent from 2017’s S8, which shipped 38.5 million units.

    Some other brokerage houses are also revising their yearly sales estimates for the S9 to below 30 million. Consumers and experts say the phone lacks unique features compared to its predecessor.

    Samsung shares ended 2.29 percent lower at 44,900 won on Thursday, an all-time low closing price since the company’s shares were split 50 to 1 at the end of April. Ever since the split, Samsung stocks have fallen by 15.3 percent. But according to analysts, Samsung shares may have hit rock bottom, given that concerns over second-quarter earnings have been sufficiently reflected.

  • Microsoft opens up a flagship store in Taiwan, the 9th in Asia

    Microsoft opens up a flagship store in Taiwan, the 9th in Asia

    Microsoft has opened its ninth Surface store in Asia, its first in Taiwan.

    The new outlet is located in the Xinyi District of Taipei, and like the others in the slowly growing international Surface store network, it ranges Microsoft’s touchscreen Surface PC series and peripherals along with Xbox gaming console and related software and peripherals.

    The 70sqm store is the 14th worldwide. In Asia-Pacific it follows five outlets in Japan and one each in Singapore, China and Australia.

    Microsoft says sales of its Surface range have been growing by between 10 and 20 per cent annually since it launched there five years ago and the opening of a dedicated Surface store underlines the value of the market to the US tech giant.

  • Samsung Pay no longer on cheaper phones

    Samsung Pay no longer on cheaper phones

    Samsung Electronics recently stopped embedding its mobile payment system, Samsung Pay, in budget smartphones, industry watchers said Sunday, apparently to save costs by excluding the feature, which has been less popular among teens and senior users.

    Among 10 smartphones released by Samsung Electronics in Korea this year, only three – the Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9 Plus and Galaxy A8 – supported Samsung Pay. Other models with prices lower than 700,000 won ($628) did not come with the payment tool.

    In contrast, the Galaxy J5 and J7 smartphones, released last year with prices below 400,000 won, had the Samsung Pay program.

    Samsung Pay is a mobile payment tool that works on traditional credit card machines based on magnetic secure transmission (MST) technology and also supports the near field communication (NFC) technology.

    Industry watchers said Samsung apparently sought to cut production costs of budget smartphones, which mainly target teens and senior users who are less familiar with mobile-based credit card payment systems.

    Lees ook:

  • Xiaomi retail share offer 9.5-times oversubscribed

    Xiaomi’s highly-anticipated initial public offering in Hong Kong drew nearly ten times more applications for share purchases than what it made available for retail investors, after the Chinese tech giant priced at the bottom end of its target range.

    The company received applications for more than 1bn shares, about 9.5 times the 108.9m shares the company made available under its IPO in Hong Kong, according to a regulatory filing.

    That came after Xiaomi, touted as the biggest tech listing since 2014, was valued at just half its original $100bn ambition with its shares offered at HK$17 (US$2.16) each. The offering implies a market capitalisation of $53.9bn, compared with a $45bn valuation at its last private funding round in 2014. Shares in the lossmaking company start trading in Hong Kong on Monday.

  • Dell becomes public company five years after buyout

    Dell becomes public company five years after buyout

    Dell, the onetime leader in personal computers and tech industry stalwart, said Monday it will become publicly traded five years after a contentious private equity buyout.

    The company announced a stock swap deal with its software subsidiary VMware that will result in a reorganized tech giant that returns to the stock market, with founder Michael Dell retaining control as chairman and chief executive.

    The move comes after a 2013 private equity buyout led by Michael Dell aiming to revive the company that fell behind when consumers turned to mobile devices instead of PCs.

    “I am proud to lead this great company into its next chapter as we continue to evolve and grow to the benefit of our customers, partners, investors and team members,” Michael Dell said in a statement.

    “Unprecedented data growth is fueling the digital era of IT, and we are uniquely positioned with our portfolio of technologies and services.”

    The new Dell is far from the maker of personal computers that helped ignite the personal computer market in the 1990s.

    It acquired the data storage group EMC in 2016 for a whopping US$67 billion (RM271 billion) and is a major player in software, security and cloud computing in addition to its PC business.

    Michael Dell, who currently owns 72% of Dell Technologies common shares, struck a deal with the private equity firm Silver Lake to take the company private in 2013 in an effort to reorganize without pressure from public shareholders.

    The move came amid fierce opposition from some shareholders led by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who called the plan a “giveaway.”

    Dell will trade on the New York Stock Exchange after completion of the deal, expected later this year, the company said.

    Lees ook:

  • Korean cell phones mark 30th year

    Korean cell phones mark 30th year

    Sunday marked the 30th anniversary of the launch of the first mobile phone in Korea, which kick-started an industry that would redefine the country’s economy.

    Korea Mobile Telecommunications, which later changed its name to SK Telecom, launched the Motorola DynaTAC 8000S on July 1, 1988. It worked using a method called advanced mobile phone service, the first-generation mobile communications technology, which was initially introduced to car phones in 1984.

    The first weighed 771 grams (1.69 pounds), as heavy as about four of today’s 5.5-inch smartphones, and was nicknamed the “brick phone.” The device cost 4 million won ($3,593) on top of a service installation fee of 600,000 won. The Motorola cost as much as renting an apartment on a two-year contract in some areas of Seoul.

    Mobile phone usage quickly gained momentum ever since. The number of mobile phone plans in Korea was only 784 as of 1988, but it exceeded 100,000 in 1991 and reached 50 million by 2010, surpassing the Korean population for the first time. As of April, there were 64.6 million mobile phone subscriptions in Korea.

    Over the course of the past three decades, mobile service has evolved as well. Code-division multiple access (CDMA), a second-generation, or 2G, technology was launched in 1996. It was followed by 3G, or WCDMA, in 2003. In 2011, today’s most common mobile standard, 4G LTE, was commercialized. As early as March next year, mobile service operators in Korea are set to debut a 5G wireless standard with data transmission speeds as fast as 20 gigabits per second, up to 20 times faster than LTE.

    “The past 30 years that came alongside the progress of the nation’s mobile communication industry has been hugely meaningful to us,” said Yoon Yong-chul, head of communications at SK Telecom. “The future of mobile communication will create value beyond what we can imagine on the back of 5G.”

    With all major mobile operators worldwide scrambling to adopt 5G technology, market researcher IHS Markit projects that the new wireless standard will generate $12.3 trillion in global economic output by 2035.

    SK Telecom will host a special exhibit on the past 30 years of mobile service in Korea at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in central Seoul from July 9 to 31.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • LG takes the wraps off of X2 budget phone

    LG takes the wraps off of X2 budget phone

    LG Electronics on Thursday unveiled its budget LG X2 smartphone, which comes with a 5-inch HD screen and will be distributed through local mobile carriers.

    The company said the LG X2 will come with a price tag of 198,000 won ($176) and have an Auto Shot feature that automatically recognizes faces when taking selfies.

    The smartphone will have an 8-megapixel camera on the back along with a 5-megapixel camera on the front. Its battery capacity will be 2,500mAh.

    LG Electronics, which has been suffering from losses in its mobile business, claimed that the release of the new budget model will help the company reach out to a wider range of consumers.

    The company released its flagship LG G7 ThinQ model earlier this year, along with the LG V30S ThinQ, which came with stronger artificial intelligence features.

    In 2018, LG also introduced the LG X4 and LG X4 Plus with more affordable price tags, along with the LG X5, which has a large battery capacity of 4,500mAh. The company released the LG Q7 and Q7 Plus, too.

    The company said it aims to continue rolling out various smartphones with strong durability and improved features.

    LG’s mobile operations have effectively posted operating losses for 12 consecutive quarters as of the January-March period this year. It did manage to report an operating profit in the first quarter of 2017 through an adjustment by reflecting returns from its accessories business. LG originally said it posted a loss for the period.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook: