With most of South Korea's people already hooked on mobile phones, one operator has found a new market — helping fishermen locate their catches.
SK Telecom has introduced a service using a float-shaped ultrasonic transmitter, which is connected to a phone on one end and a fishing line on the other.
"This service needs an additional device costing 120,000 won (NT$4,305)," SK Telecom spokesman Lee Kyo-Hyuk said. "It shows the location of fish and the depth and temperature of the water."
PHOTO: AFP
It is the latest in a series of fresh services developed by South Korean firms to attract increasingly sated clients.
In 2004 SK Telecom became the first to introduce a service using ultrasonic waves to repel mosquitoes. Now all other local firms provide similar services.
"The mosquito-chasing service has helped our company attract more than 10,000 new clients every year," Lee said.
SK telecom attracted rather different publicity earlier this year when an irate customer returned his handset. The customer had made 16 calls to a support center complaining that his new handset didn't work. He'd also made two visits to the company headquarters with the same complaint.
The final straw was when an SK Telecom employee suggested that the handset should be replaced with a different model, since the original was out of stock. The customer drove his car through the door of SK Telecom's headquarters.
(Catherine Thomas, staff writer with agencies)
隨著大多數南韓人的生活與手機息息相關,一家電信業者找到了新市場︰幫釣魚者追蹤魚的方位。
鮮京電信已引進一套利用浮標狀超音波傳輸器的服務,可將傳輸器的一端連到手機,另一端連到釣線。
「這項服務需搭配售價十二萬韓幣(新台幣四千三百○五元)的額外裝置,」鮮京電信發言人李喬赫(音譯)說︰「它會顯示魚的位置、水深與水溫。」
這是南韓各家電信業者為吸引逐漸飽和的顧客,所推出一系列新穎服務的最新一波。
二○○四年,鮮京電信率先推出超音波驅蚊的服務。現今南韓其他電信業者也紛紛起而效尤。
李喬赫說︰「驅蚊服務每年幫公司吸引了一萬多名新客戶。」
鮮京電信今年初因一名憤怒的消費者退回手機,引起另一種關注。那名消費者打了十六通電話向客服中心抱怨他的新手機不能用,也兩度為此事親臨總公司申訴。
鮮京電信的一位員工建議更換另一款手機給他,因為原款手機已經斷貨了。這成為壓垮駱駝的最後一根稻草,那名顧客遂開車衝撞鮮京電信總公司大門。
(綜合外電/翻譯︰賴美君)
Huge stretches of coral reef around the world are turning a ghostly white this year amid record warm ocean temperatures. On April 15, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed the world’s fourth mass global bleaching event is underway — with serious consequences for marine life and for the people and economies that rely on reefs. WHAT ARE CORALS? Corals are invertebrates that live in colonies. Their calcium carbonate secretions form hard and protective scaffolding that serves as a home to many colorful species of single-celled algae. The two organisms have evolved over millennia to work together, with corals providing shelter to algae,
Taiwanese cuisine boasts a rich culture of thick soups, with various options available at street vendors or high-end restaurants. In English, this style of dish is typically called “thick soup.” Western cuisine typically uses flour, cream, or mashed vegetables to create a creamy consistency, while in Taiwan, thick soups are made by simply incorporating food starch into the soup and creating a smooth and silky texture. Tutuo fish in thick soup is such a soup with fried tutuo fish chunks, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and wood ears. 台灣羹品飲食文化豐富,無論是巷口小店或是高檔餐廳,都有提供羹料理。羹在英文稱作「濃湯」,西式濃湯是以麵粉、鮮奶油、蔬菜泥等達到濃稠的口感,台灣的羹湯用太白粉即能做出濃稠絲滑的湯頭。土魠魚羹就是在勾芡的羹湯中加入炸土魠魚塊、香菇、竹筍、木耳等食材的料理。 boast (v.) 擁有(令人驕傲的事物) consistency (n.) 濃稠度 chunk (n.) 厚塊,大塊 wood ear (n. ph.) 木耳 The star of this
In Taiwan, a quick stop at a local convenience store allows you to grab a hot dog whenever you want. But have you ever wondered how this popular snack got its unique name and became a leading light of American cuisine? First, the name “hot dog” is actually a combination of different ideas. Vendors called the sausages “red hot” to get customers to buy one fresh off their grills. As for the “dog” part, it’s a playful joke to compare the meat of the sausage to that of a dog—specifically , a dachshund. This small, long dog breed was
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