SOUTH KOREA
Smartphones take over
More than 60 percent of South Koreans now have smartphones despite their belated debut, according to the latest industry figures. Data from three mobile providers quoted by Yonhap news agency showed the number reached 30.03 million on Monday, out of a total of 52.55 million mobile phone users. The tech-savvy nation has more mobile phones than people. The population hit 50 million in June and is one of the world’s most wired societies, with 95 percent of homes using broadband Internet. The nation also has the world’s top Internet download speeds, according to a study by Pando Networks.
ELECTRONICS
LG launches 84-inch HD TV
South Korea’s LG Electronics yesterday began sales of what it claims is the world’s largest ultra-definition television, with a view to expanding its share of the premium TV market. The company released an ultra-definition TV with an 84-inch screen to the local market, with a price tag of 25 million won (US$22,067). Overseas sales will start in Europe and the US next month ahead of releases in Asia and Latin America, it added. The new product comes as global manufacturers seek to drive slowing sales by producing premium TVs with bigger screens and sharper images.
MULTIMEDIA
B&N cuts loss with e-books
Barnes & Noble’s (B&N) fiscal first-quarter loss narrowed, lifted by sales of e-books and other digital content as well as sales of the Fifty Shades of Grey series at its bookstores. For the period ended on July 28, Barnes & Noble lost US$41 million, or US$0.78 per share. This is smaller than the US$56.6 million, or US$0.99 per share, that it lost a year earlier. Revenue climbed 2 percent to US$1.45 billion from US$1.42 billion. Revenue for the retail division — which includes bookstores and its web site businesses — rose 2 percent. Revenue from bookstores open at least a year, a key gauge of the chain’s health, increased 4.6 percent. This performance was buoyed by the liquidation of Borders’ bookstores.
TECHNOLOGY
Windows 8 orders open
The window to upgrade to the next version of Microsoft’s computer operating system is now open. Microsoft Corp began accepting orders for Windows 8 this week. However, the new operating system will not be delivered until Oct. 26. People who own a personal computer running earlier versions of Windows can buy the revamped system for US$14.99 to US$39.99. The lower price is being offered to PC owners who have bought a machine powered by Windows 7 since June 2. Everyone else with a Windows-based computer will have to pay the higher price if they want to upgrade. The chance to upgrade at these prices expires on Jan. 31.
AVIATION
Old Airbuses rack up faults
Airline pilots who fly certain Airbus jets that first came into service more than two decades ago have reported over 50 episodes of multiple electrical failures in the cockpit. The failures knocked out navigation and communication equipment. No accidents have been blamed on the problem, but there have been some scary moments, with planes forced to return to the airport or make unscheduled landings. That is what happened aboard a United Airlines flight in 2008 when the radios went dead on takeoff from Newark, New Jersey. Airbus, the Federal Aviation Administration and European regulators are aware of the problem, and airlines have been told to modify the jets.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last