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Samsung and SK Telecom reveal world’s first smartphone with quantum security tech
The Quantum Random Number Generator makes it much harder to hack some services.
Now 'League of Legends' star Faker is a part-owner of his esports team
Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok has been an esports superstar and key member of the T1 League of Legends team since 2013, and a new three-year contract with the squad adds "part owner" to his title. As first reported by ESPN, while the talented mid laner has said he received "blank check" offers from teams outside of South Korea, the 23-year-old will remain with the only pro team he's ever known. The three year deal is the longest contract allowed under League maker Riot's rules, and according to T1, "Faker will assume a leadership role within the organization after his playing career and will help facilitate global operations." CEO Joe Marsh said in the accompanying statement that "Since T1's inception, Faker has been the cornerstone of our team's success and his undying passion for this organization will continue to drive us forward now that he is a part owner of T1 Entertainment & Sports. Even after Faker's retirement – whenever that may be – he will begin the next chapter of his legacy in a leadership role with T1, helping to mold the next generation of elite esports athletes."
Samsung and SK Telecom partner to build a 5G-capable 8K TV
The race to develop the world's first 8K TV with 5G speeds is heating up. Samsung announced today that it is partnering with SK Telecom to develop and commercialize the world's first 8K-5G TV. The end product would be a TV with an ultra-high resolution screen that is also capable of extremely fast connection speeds, enabling users to download VR and other data-heavy content.
Microsoft will test xCloud game streaming in Korea next month
Microsoft will test its Project xCloud game streaming service in South Korea this October. The company has announced a public preview that will allow "selected" SK Telecom customers to test the platform over a 5G connection. Testers won't need an Xbox One console to test the service -- like the upcoming Google Stadia, all games will be streamed to their phone from a datacenter somewhere. That's in stark contrast to the console streaming feature that Microsoft announced at E3 a few months ago. That capability, which also goes live in October, will turn your Xbox One into a personal server that's capable of streaming games to other devices.
The 5G Galaxy S10 is coming to South Korea first in April
MWC attendees were among the first in the world to get their hands on Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G, but some of the company's biggest fans won't have to wait too much longer to buy one. The company has already publicly said that its 5G flagship would go on sale in Q2, but people familiar with the matter provided Engadget with a little more insight: In Korea at least, the S10 5G will go on sale in April.
Samsung brings Korea's elderly a new flip-phone with dual screens
Samsung's Master range of flip-phones for the elderly only launched in May, and already the company is ready with a follow-up. The new Master Dual's biggest new feature is, unsurprisingly, the addition of a 2.2-inch display above the clamshell that complements the 3-incher that's tucked inside. In every other respect, we're looking at a pretty basic device, with a 3-megapixel primary camera, GPS and 2G radios. On the upside, it does have a peace-of-mind feature if you're concerned about your folks, since the phone will alert relatives if it hasn't been used in a set period of time. If you're in Korea and have 300,300 won in your back pocket (around $280) then you can grab one of these from your local branch of SK Telecom.
Korean smartphone also-ran Pantech goes up for sale
If we asked you to think about a (South) Korean tech company, it's highly likely that the names "Samsung" or "LG" would be the first to spring to mind. That's one of the reasons that Pantech, the country's third biggest manufacturer, is putting itself up for sale. Being sat behind two of the world's biggest smartphone outfits has hurt the comparatively small business, which has recorded losses for six consecutive quarters. According to ZDNet Korea, the company decided to put itself up for sale because it's worth a lot more as a going concern than it is being broken up and sold-off for scrap. Ouch.
Nokia and Korean carrier demo LTE fast enough to transfer 5GB of data in just 11 seconds
File this under "science for science's sake." At least for now. A team of researchers at Nokia and Korean carrier SK Telecom have demonstrated a super-fast LTE network running at 3.7Gbps -- that's speedy enough to transfer a 5GB file in just 11 seconds. To put that in context, most LTE networks deliver up to around 150 Mbps, and even the most cutting-edge of cutting-edge LTE-Advanced networks tap out at 300 Mbps. Sounds like a pretty big improvement, eh? Well, this is where that proof-of-concept thing comes in: No phone on earth is currently capable of these speeds, nor are most modems, for that matter. So, it could be a while before your handset is actually capable of downloading a full-length movie in 11 seconds. Still, good to know the technology's there, right? Image credit: Shutterstock
Daily Roundup: $200 Micro 3D printer, Xbox One now shares to YouTube, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Samsung reportedly working on a SIM-equipped watchphone
The Gear 2 isn't even out, but we're already seeing rumors about something else that's lurking in Samsung's R&D labs. The Korea Herald is reporting that the company is working on a SIM-enabled watchphone that'll make calls without the aid of a smartphone, just like LG's old Watch Phone and Samsung's own SPH-WP10. Of course, if a model does exist, it's likely to be an exclusive for Korean network SK Telecom in the same way that local users get first dibs on Samsung's Exynos-powered Galaxy phones. Considering the power needs of such hardware, however, it's likely going to gain a few pounds like the hefty Neptune Pine and chunky XS-3, so maybe we're better off waiting for version two... or three.
South Korea may get a Galaxy S 4 Active with LTE-A, processor and camera upgrades
South Korea's SK-Telecom already has a variant of the GS4 to surf its LTE-Advanced waves, and now it appears Samsung will release a version of the Galaxy S4 Active that plays nice with the carrier's next-gen network. A flyer posted on a Korean-language website revealed the handset and detailed its specs, listing a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, a healthy horsepower boost from the original's 1.9GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600. What's more, the smartphone now sports a 13MP camera -- which matches that of the vanilla Galaxy S4 -- and its storage has doubled to 32GB. Besides shaving off a few grams in weight and nabbing a white color option, the device retains the rest of its predecessor's features, all the way down to its 5-inch 1080p display and 2,600mAh battery. It's not clear if a revamped GS4 Active will make its way to other territories sans LTE-A, but adventurous (and clumsy) souls can keep their hopes up for a more powerful incarnation of the ruggedized phone.
The Summoner's Guidebook: The real hero of the LoL World Championships
If you watched or heard anything about the League of Legends World Championships, it's almost certain that you heard about Faker. Perhaps the best mid-laner in the world, Faker was the star of the show at the World Championships. With his incredible midgame plays, he distinguished himself as "Faker the playmaker" early in the tournament. But in most of the games where he dominated, Faker didn't do it alone. In fact, a good many of the other world-class mid-laners gave Faker a run for his money. He often did poorly in the laning phase, largely due to counter-picks and targeted bans. But even with the picks and bans against him, SK Telecom T1 had a secret weapon -- their jungler bengi. Before Faker would get the ball rolling, bengi would arrive from the most unexpected locations and often with perfect timing, giving Faker the early game advantage. Throughout the mid and late games, bengi would be everywhere, always at the right moment to win the match for his team. While Faker had an impressive highlight reel, it was really bengi's constant coverage that pushed the team to the top.
On the ground at the League of Legends World Championships
It was about 1 p.m. at the Staples Center on Friday, and there was already a crowd. Five hours later, the mass of people would swell to many times the size, as security officers struggled to cram people into the building. At first glance, one could confuse the fans flooding the street as normal sports fans, but then you notice the cosplayers, the Intel-sponsored jerseys and an enormous Tryndamere statue. The Staples Center was packed to the gills with fans all eager to watch one thing: the final matches to determine who would walk away with the Summoner's Cup and the title of League of Legends World Champions.
Apple 'in negotiations' to launch new iPhone with LTE-Advanced in South Korea
This will come too late to be a world first, if it happens at all, but an unnamed insider at SK Telecom claims his company is in talks with Apple to bring out a South Korean version of the "upcoming iPhone 5S" with support for LTE-Advanced. The official, who was quoted by The Korea Times, makes it clear that SK Telecom made the first approach, but says the two parties are now "in the middle of negotiations", implying Apple was receptive to the idea. An LTE-A iPhone could theoretically double the download speed of a regular LTE iPhone 5 in ideal conditions, thanks in large part to carrier aggregation technology that enables downloads over multiple radio channels at the same time. The Korea Times also mentions that Apple might use Qualcomm to deliver LTE-A, but that would likely mean a Qualcomm modem specifically, rather than the Snapdragon 800 used in the South Korean Galaxy S 4, since these days Apple prefers its processors to be homegrown.
SK Telecom's Atti learning robot hands-on (video)
SK Telecom was at Mobile World Conference last year with some early concepts of a learning robot -- aka, angry Beaker with a top hat -- which seems to have led to this year's final product: Atti. Atti is Korean for buddy or friend and judging by how he (or she?) and Brad got along we'd suggest robo is aptly named. Using a phone snapped into the top of the head, the robot reacts to your interaction with it via camera and a wand attachment that sits in Atti's hand while not in use. Educational games are another focus here using Qualcomm's Vuforia tech allowing youngsters to point the handset at printed words and get tips on pronunciation, multimedia examples and the like. Atti was developed with the help of the Utah State University to help develop the edutainment content and expects to see this hit retail in overseas markets sometime in the first half of the year. Unfortunately we didn't have any preschoolers on hand so we used our own Brad Molen to put Atti through its paces. The end result? Brad nails a high score and gets a star. Video and gallery are just below the fold.
Refresh Roundup: week of October 8th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Via Licensing assembles an LTE supergroup to share standards-essential patents
Dolby spinoff Via Licensing has shone a signal into the night sky and assembled some of the world's biggest telecoms players to form a patent supergroup. AT&T, NTT DoCoMo and Telefonica are some of the names that'll pool their standards-essential LTE patents to prevent getting embroiled in litigation over FRAND licensing. While there are some notable holdouts to the team, we suggest company president Roger Ross coax them over by hiring Michael McCuistion to write them a rockin' theme song.
Pantech Vega R3 packs Snapdragon S4 Pro, 5.3-inch screen into one hand
If there's one thing that defines the phablet, it's not hand portability -- what's on the market usually demands something of a stretch. Pantech wants to keep our grip at least slightly in check through its imminent Vega R3. The Android phone's 5.3-inch, IPS-based LCD isn't what we'd call modest, but it's framed by an extra-thin bezel that Pantech claims is still comfortable in one hand. The R3 will be powerful, no matter how you hold it. It touts the same quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro we just saw in the LG Optimus G along with 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel camera and a 2,600mAh battery that can top up 100 minutes. South Koreans can pick up the Vega R3 from one of their three major carriers on September 25th. Sadly, we're not expecting an American variant of the design given an emphasis on cheaper and smaller Pantech models in the US.
WSJ: 2012 iPhone to support global 4G LTE
Now we're intrigued. It's a common (if unconfirmed) belief that the next iPhone will support LTE-based 4G, but the Wall Street Journal now understands through the ever-present "people familiar with the matter" that Apple is taking 4G worldwide. Where the current iPad only supports two LTE frequencies and drops to HSPA+ outside of the US and Canada, the new iPhone will supposedly cover parts of Asia and Europe as well. The exact countries haven't been outlined, although it's easy to imagine Apple going for those countries where 4G speeds matter the most: there's been rumblings of talks with KT and SK Telecom in South Korea, but we could also see France, Germany, Japan and Scandinavian countries in the mix. The rumor hasn't been confirmed, of course. That said, the iPhone was already purported to be using a new cellular chipset -- and a number of carriers, most often in the US, have long said they won't carry new smartphones unless LTE is part of the package. We'll know the full scoop on Wednesday.
Korea's SK Telecom, KT in talks with Apple about LTE service
In what could be yet another hint that the next iPhone will support 4G LTE, officials with two Korean cellular operators -- SK Telecom and KT -- told the Korea Times that their respective companies are in talks with Apple to have the new phone support the 1.8 GHz network frequency. SK Telecom is rolling out a Multi Carrier (MC) network, which will make LTE available in 23 cities by the end of 2012. This network allows devices to switch between the 800 MHz and 1.8 GHz LTE frequencies easily, easing the way for people traveling to Korea to use their 4G smartphones and tablets. One challenge that faces Apple is supporting all of the 4G frequencies around the globe. In the U.S., for example, Verizon uses the 700 MHz frequency, while AT&T's LTE network operates on both 700 MHz and 2.1 GHz. Apple ran into issues with global 4G support with the new iPad, which was advertised in many countries as a 4G device even when it did not support the specific frequencies used in those countries. Qualcomm has a universal LTE chip called the MSM-8960 shipping now that supports seven different frequency bands. It's not known if Apple will be using this chip, although Qualcomm states that the first devices using the chip should be in stores by year's end. Whether or not SK Telecom and KT have enough clout to get Apple to change the design of any future phone is another question, but Apple needs to address the question of the current confusion of network frequencies soon. [via The Next Web]
