Regardless of your views on the Everun's level of attractiveness, holding 32GB of SSD between your palms is enough to make any true nerd break out in a sweat. Raon Digital's looking to get quite a few of those kind hot and bothered in South Korea with its Everun S32S Dic. The handheld boasts a 568MHz AMD Geode LX900 processor, 512MB of RAM, a 32GB SSD, 4.8-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, USB connectivity and a built-in SayDic electronic dictionary with text-to-speech support. Apparently Raon's pretty proud of this puppy, as word on the street pegs it at a stiff ₩867,000 ($828).
Better get used to it 'cause wood emblazoned consumer electronics is a trend that's apparently here to stay. This time, it's Burl Walnut (not bamboo) on this N3 which Cowon puts up for sale in Korea on April 28th. We're not sure when deforestation become synonymous with ecological so we'll assume that Cowon's going for recyclability here and involved in some form of sustainable forest management program. Surely this isn't just some marketing ploy. The 2GB DMB with GPS device will cost you ₩419,000 (about $437) -- a $20 premium over the standard 2GB N3.
Aside from planning to axe 400 jobs as part of Sega Sammy's most recent "turnaround efforts," the outfit will also be closing the doors to its Korean subsidiary. Currently, Sega Korea is "handling the domestic distribution and sales of video game software, as well as the operation / sales of amusement facilities and machines," and reportedly, the closure will be executed in the name of "global business optimization." As it stands, there's no set date for the branch's dissolution, but just in case your smile wasn't turned upside-down already, the company also stated that it would discontinue the development of a ginormous $330m arcade complex slated for construction in Yokohama, Japan -- if you couldn't guess, that one's being shuttered so the firm can "focus its efforts on its core business to improve its performance" in short order. Seriously though, what the hell kind of company would spend $330m on arcade, anyway?
Presumably taking a note from Japan, it's being reported that South Korean police are backing a highly controversial plan that would equip each new mobile sold in the nation with a GPS chip. Reportedly, Song Kang-ho, chief of the investigation bureau of the National Police Agency, has stated that the government has "already submitted a related bill to the National Assembly," and the general idea here is to crack down on the rise of kidnapping and various other crimes against children and women (not much different than we Americans having such a chip for E911, really). Granted, there's not a lot of supporting evidence that this is actually set to go down, so until we see it inked in stone, our skeptic hats are remaining in place.
We've seen some pretty shady dealings from disgruntled ex-employees in the past, but this one may have skyrocketed into the upper echelon of tales of corporate deceit. As the story goes, a 49-year old man known only as Jeong felt the need to copy over some 1,182 top secret plasma display technology-related files onto his personal drive before waltzing out of LG's doors for the final time in July of 2005. A few months later, Chinese manufacturer Changhong-Orion PDP-Chaihong welcomed him with open arms and paid him a fat salary of roughly $300,000 a year (not to mention a few perks: free apartment, vehicle etc.), while casually accepting both the aforementioned files and continued insider leaks at LG -- information supposedly valued at over a billion dollars. But despite Jeong's arrest upon his last return home to Korea, Changhong is still apparently on schedule to produce plasma panels based on LG's technology come this December. Can you say: hot water over international trade-secret law?
We haven't heard too much lately about the South Korean government's probe into the Samsung Group's alleged corruption and influence in the government, but the AP is now reporting those bribes were emanating from a $213 million slush fund the company supposedly set for use in swaying government officials. Various executives have been in and out of questioning with special prosecutors, including Samsung vice chairman Lee Hak-soo, top strategic planner Kim In-joo, and the chairman's son, Lee Jae-yong, who is an executive and apparently viewed as the eventual successor to the company when his father, Lee Kun-hee, hangs up his money-stuffed envelopes. Apparently dirty deeds can't be done dirt cheap anymore, but they can still be done when you're the top consumer electronics manufacturer in the world.
Not like we expect anything earth-shattering to emerge from Inkel's South Korean laboratory or anything, but surely it could do better than this. The awkwardly named MU-D (it's for Multimedia Dictionary, supposedly) does manage to include a DMB TV tuner for keeping you busy when not defining your life, but the whole swivel screen approach just seems... forced. Nevertheless, you will find a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 resolution panel, 4GB of internal storage, support for SDHC cards and an undisclosed price tag. Now, if only this thing could play Doom Portal.
Merely days after LG put the brakes on sales of its Z1-AE007 laptop due to suspicions of a faulty battery within, yet another lappie in South Korea is making headlines for its overheating, er, abilities. Reportedly, the battery in a P10 computer, produced in 2002, "melted" after inexplicably emitting smoke during use. The device managed to burn a bed and a certain part of the floor, but thankfully, no "big fire" was started. According to company spokesman James Chung, Samsung is now "checking details of the incident," but the actual manufacturer of said battery has yet to be revealed.
First things first -- Americans can keep dreaming on this one, as we're looking at yet another curious creation that probably won't wander far beyond the borders of South Korea. MyRacer's MF101 handheld can certainly play nice with a few audio / video formats -- AVI, MP3, WMA, WAV, JPEG and BMP, for starters -- but the control pad flanking each side of the 2.4-inch 320 x 240 resolution display gives away its true calling. Reportedly, it sports a Flash-based interface that enables users to sort through titles on their SD card or the 1GB of internal memory, but details are fuzzy on what games it'll actually play. Still, doesn't seem like a half bad investment for ₩99,000 ($104) if you're in the area.
Remember that elegant looking conglomerate we peeked in December of last year? Turns out, said device finally has an appropriate name and price, but sadly, it still isn't apt to head stateside. Nevertheless, the TG Favicon reportedly features a 532MHz Freescale CPU, TPEG navigation, dual DMB / PIP functionality, 4GB of internal storage space, an SD expansion slot and a 7-inch WVGA display. So, just how much coinage will you be asked to fork over to snag this beauty next time you're in Seoul? Around 422 US dollars, that's all.
We know, Valentine's Day 2008 has come and gone, but if you've managed to hold on to your SO through the Hallmark-inspired holiday, chances are you won't need these services anyway. For those waking up solo, however, you should probably listen up. South Korea's KTF has launched a seductive new service -- rightfully dubbed Love Detector -- for its subscribers which will actually "analyze voice patterns to see if a lover is speaking honestly and with affection." In an interesting twist, the data is actually only shown to the customer who coughs up ₩1,500 ($1.58) per month (or less per call), so don't expect to secretively find out if your lover has another lover waiting next door via voice analysis.
Yeah, we've seen wristwatches that did their duty with nary a hand in sight, but few have looked as striking (or peculiar, we can't decide) as this one. Truthfully, the Matrix M6001 is arriving to the oversized watch face party a tick too late, but we're almost willing to forgive the tardiness thanks to its clever method of telling time. Atop the face sits the hours, while minutes (in increments of five and a single 1-4 slot) are listed beneath; put simply, bars on the LCD are lit above the corresponding number(s) as the day whisks away, leaving those freaked out by perpetually moving sticks with nothing to fear. 'Course, you won't find this thing for sale on US soil just yet, but it can be had in South Korea for ₩69,000 ($74). Now, if only it played Pong...
According to disheartening news out of Korea, the country's Aerospace Research Institute is reporting that they've lost contact with its first multipurpose satellite, the Arirang 1. The satellite, which was launched December 21st, 1999, is suspected of having encountered a mechanical malfunction or misalignment which would have affected power generation. "If the satellite loses proper alignment, its solar panels cannot generate power that is vital for the machine," said an "expert" -- which the source material suspiciously won't name -- which further reinforces our belief that the satellite was appropriated by an alien lifeform, for use in a bizarre mating ritual.
iubi's H80 isn't the firm's first Bluetooth-enabled portable media player to make us momentarily wish we were in Seoul, but it is the newest. Set to take South Korea by storm in green, silver and orange hues, this unit will boast a built-in speaker, integrated e-dictionary, a DaVinci chip and an internal HDD with 30GB / 60GB of space. If you're in the right place, you can call one your own for ₩360,008 ($384) or ₩410,008 ($437), depending on model.
We're still trying to decide whether or not we've become acclimated to Raon Digital's Everun, but regardless of where it sits on the scale of unsightly devices, it's still a fairly potent handheld. For those parked in South Korea, you've got another reason to lust after it, as the firm is cranking out a WiBro-enabled version and dubbing it the S60H WiBro. From what we can tell, this iteration remains identical to the prior version save for the added connectivity, and should be available soon for around ₩799,000 ($853).
We haven't heard too much lately about the South Korean government's probe into the Samsung Group's alleged corruption and influence in the government, but the AP is now reporting those bribes were emanating from a $213 million slush fund the company supposedly set for use in swaying government officials. Various executives have been in and out of questioning with special prosecutors, including Samsung vice chairman Lee Hak-soo, top strategic planner Kim In-joo, and the chairman's son, Lee Jae-yong, who is an executive and apparently viewed as the eventual successor to the company when his father, Lee Kun-hee, hangs up his money-stuffed envelopes. Apparently dirty deeds can't be done dirt cheap anymore, but they can still be done when you're the top consumer electronics manufacturer in the world.
Merely days after LG put the brakes on sales of its Z1-AE007 laptop due to suspicions of a faulty battery within, yet another lappie in South Korea is making headlines for its overheating, er, abilities. Reportedly, the battery in a P10 computer, produced in 2002, "melted" after inexplicably emitting smoke during use. The device managed to burn a bed and a certain part of the floor, but thankfully, no "big fire" was started. According to company spokesman James Chung, Samsung is now "checking details of the incident," but the actual manufacturer of said battery has yet to be revealed.
