Korea

News Byte

Samsung Electronics Took in Roughly $40 Billion Last Quarter

Ina Fried in News on April 5 at 9:21 pm PT

Samsung Electronics reported preliminary first-quarter earnings on Thursday, saying that the company took in revenue of about 45 trillion won ($39.8 billion), with operating profit of approximately 5.8 trillion won ($5.1 billion).

News Byte

Samsung Spins Off LCD Business

Lauren Goode in News on February 21 at 5:47 am PT

Samsung, currently the biggest LCD panel maker in terms of sales, will spin off its unprofitable LCD operations on April 1 into a new firm, called Samsung Display Co. As The Wall Street Journal notes, analysts had widely expected the spinoff, as the LCD industry shrinks and the Korean electronics giant focuses more on higher-margin OLED screens for TV sets and tablets.

News Byte

Report: Apple’s A5 Chip Made in Texas

Lauren Goode in News on December 16, 2011 at 8:48 am PT

Reuters reports that, according to sources, the A5 processor used in Apple’s iPhone 4S and iPad 2 is made in a sprawling 1.6 million-square-foot Samsung Electronics factory in Austin, Texas. The Korean electronics giant began supplying the A5 processors to Apple this year from the Austin plant, the story says. Both Apple and Samsung spokespersons declined to comment.

Samsung: We Shipped 300 Million Cellphones This Year, and It’s Not Even Over Yet

John Paczkowski in Mobile on December 12, 2011 at 5:03 am PT

Uh-huh … that’s right.

Voices

Google’s Schmidt Says Android Will Remain Free

Jung-Ah Lee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in Voices on November 8, 2011 at 12:00 am PT

Google Inc. Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said Tuesday that the Internet search giant remains committed to offering its Android mobile operating system for free to its handset manufacturing partners.

Cellphone Etiquette on the Subways of Seoul and Taipei

Ina Fried in Mobile on October 31, 2011 at 4:30 am PT

The wireless signals on public transit in Asia are strong — and so is the responsibility taken on by the region’s citizens to use their digital devices respectfully.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Mall in Seoul (Video)

Ina Fried in News on October 28, 2011 at 4:15 am PT

AllThingsD’s Ina Fried was headed to dinner during her trip to Seoul on Monday when she ran into a crowd of Koreans line dancing. Apparently, this is the Korean political system in action.

How I Spent My Last 12,000 Won on a Hamburger-Shaped iPhone Case

Ina Fried in News on October 27, 2011 at 6:00 am PT

AllThingsD‘s Ina Fried finds one last purchase to make before boarding the first of a pair of flights that will bring her back to the U.S. from Asia.

Is It a Tutor, a Child Monitor or a Toy? No, It’s a Kibot (AsiaD Demo)

Bo Kim in AsiaD on October 19, 2011 at 11:42 pm PT

In a demo live on the AsiaD stage, Korea Telecom unveiled Kibot — a kid-seeking, language-teaching, monkey-looking robot aimed at young children and the parents who want to keep an eye on them.

Voices

With No iPhone 5, Koreans Change View of Apple — And Themselves

Evan Ramstad, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in Mobile on October 5, 2011 at 5:30 am PT

Apple Inc.’s rollout of a new version of iPhone 4 rather than the major redesign that many techies were expecting is being portrayed in South Korea as good news for the country’s big electronics companies.