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Velociraptor-inspired robot can run almost as fast as DARPA's Cheetah
There's a new robot that's almost matched Cheetah's speed record, but it wasn't designed after another speedy cat. Instead, it takes cues from something more terrifying: a velociraptor. The two-legged machine named Raptor was created by scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, who've even outfitted it with a tail like the extinct reptile's for balance. In its current form, it can go as fast as 28.58 mph (46 km/h), just a bit slower than the famous mechanical cat's max speed of 29.2 mph (47 km/h). Compared to DARPA's robotic cat, though, Raptor's technology is a lot simpler, even using ordinary springs as tendons to be able to run fast more effectively. Right now, Raptor's confined to running on a treadmill like Cheetah's older iterations, but its creators hope to make it more stable so it can run on any surface without a tether. Once that happens, all it'll need is a velociraptor suit for the KAIST researchers to start their own (hopefully safer) Jurassic Park.
Samsung hopes 'respected older generations' will dig its new flip-phones
It may be a tad ageist to presume that some older folks prefer simple flip-phones to souped-up smartphones, but Samsung isn't making any apologies. In fact, the firm's just introduced a new line of clamshell phones in South Korea aimed at "respected old generations." Dubbed "Samsung Master," the class of handsets keeps things tame (and decidedly 2008) with 2G and 3G radios, a 3-inch screen, pedometer and FM radio. Of course, even a feature phone would't be complete without some flair. Not only are the phones available in black, red and silver, but their backs and keypads wear the faux stitched leather that's become a staple in the company's more cutting edge phones, tablets and laptops. If you happen to find yourself in South Korea with 240,000 won (roughly $234) to spare, you can snap up the distinguished-looking flip-phone for yourself.
Playing video games well can get you into a top South Korean university
Chung-Ang University ranks among the top 10 schools in South Korea, and you know what can get you in other than good grades and connections? Being really, really good at video games. Beginning next year, professional gamers can apply for a spot at the university's Department of Sport Science. Since that department's also in charge of students with more traditional sports backgrounds (you know: soccer, basketball, snowboarding etc.), it's safe to say Chung-Ang recognizes the more sedentary players as athletes, as well. While this news might sound like something from The Onion, it's not such a bizarre development for a country where competitive gaming is huge -- players train as hard as any athlete and matches are even shown on TV. In fact, gaming in the country is big enough that US immigration officials (after some convincing, anyway) granted a couple of pro-gamers athletic visas in the past. With a school possibly honing players' skills even more, we wouldn't be surprised if the immigration ends up giving out more pro-athlete visa in the future. [Image credit: y6y6y6/Flickr]
South Korea shuns Huawei over fears that it spies on the US
We've long known that the US government has major security concerns about Huawei, despite the Chinese company's insistence that it's free of Communist Party influence. As a result, Huawei has been barred from taking on infrastructure contracts within the Land of the Free, but it appears this safeguard still isn't enough: According to the Wall Street Journal, the US has now risked further diplomatic awkwardness by asking its key ally in the region, South Korea, to re-route all sensitive communications that involve the US away from any Huawei-built equipment. The State Department has partly denied this report, saying that South Korea has changed its policy out of its own volition, but it follows that there must be some degree of concern that Huawei's systems in Korea are accessible to Chinese spies, and perhaps in turn to North Korean ones, too. The only other explanation is that the US and South Korea are holding a very public and very unfair grudge against a totally innocent company. Who knows what the truth is? Beyond throwing in the obvious pot-kettle metaphor, we're not really qualified to comment.
Microsoft's Kinect guards South Korea's borders against trespassers
Surgeons, mad scientists and sentries guarding the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) now have one thing in common: Microsoft's Kinect. According to Hankooki, the Korean military is currently using Kinect sensors to monitor movements at the border between North and South Korea. Thanks to software developed by Jae Kwon Ko, the sensors can make out the difference between animals or humans, allowing it to notify a nearby outpost if a person is attempting to cross the border illegally. As you'd expect, the South Korean military's keeping most details under wraps, but Ko shared that they're looking to upgrade the system with heart rate and heat detection. [Image credit: Edward N. Johnson/Wikipedia]
Korean carriers to launch broadband-shaming 300Mbps LTE-Advanced network this year
Most of us in Europe and North America try not think about how much we're getting smoked by Asia in terms of internet speeds, but here's another reminder: residents in South Korea will soon enjoy 300Mbps wireless on carriers SK Telecom and LG's U+. That follows a similar effort by CSL in Hong Kong, which achieved the same speed by combining two 20MHz LTE bands. However, SK and U+ will use so-called LTE-Advanced 3-band carrier aggregation tech, marrying three bands to achieve the higher speeds. Before residents there can download the proverbial 800MB movie in 22 seconds, though, 3-band aggregation will have to be standardized globally and adopted by smartphone chip makers (Qualcomm's Snapdragon 805 chip is rumored to support it). While you're mulling that, SK Telecom will actually be showcasing even better 450Mbps tech in February at Mobile World Congress -- so enjoy your 75Mbps max LTE, citizens. Update: According to the Korea Herald, LG U+, the nation's number three carrier, will also deploy 300Mbps speeds along with SK Telecom sometime in 2014. The post has been updated to reflect that.
South Korean court rules against Samsung, won't ban iPhone and iPad
The latest development in Apple and Samsung's patent battle is a new court ruling in the latter's home country, and it's going against Samsung. The Washington Post and Reuters report that in a case covering three Samsung patents, and Apple products including the iPhone 4s, iPhone 5 and iPad 2 Judge Shim Woo-yong ruled against a sales ban and threw out Samsung's request for damages. The Post reports the patents cover things like multitasking, message notifications and how a device can display multiple messages from the same sender. This follows a ruling from late last year in the same court, where Apple was found in violation and ordered to pay Samsung $35,000 in damages, while Samsung was ordered to pay about $24,000 for its own patent overstepping. Samsung is of course considering an appeal of this latest ruling, ensuring that these two deep-pocketed tech giants will keep tying up courts around the world for the foreseeable future.
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.
Pantech adds another fingerprint-scanning handset to its Vega Secret line
Pantech's latest secret has just been revealed in the form of this 5.6-inch smartphone that's packing similar gear to the company's Secret Note. Like its predecessor, the new Vega Secret Up boasts a fingerprint sensor, LTE-Advanced data connection and a 13-megapixel rear camera. Based on the slightly reduced specs, however, it sounds like a less costly version of its older sibling, ditching the stylus and sporting half (16GB) of the internal storage and 2GB, instead of 3GB, of RAM. Inside the device, which works on WCDMA/GSM bands, you'll find the same 2.3GHz MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 chip and a 3,150 mAh battery. The company won't divulge pricing or availability, but we imagine it'll come in under the price of the Vega Note, which goes for $839 in South Korea.
iOS commands 14% of market share in Samsung's home country
Industry analysis firm Flurry has disclosed a fascinating little morsel of information: in South Korea, the home of Samsung, Apple's iOS devices account for one out of seven -- 14 percent -- of all mobile devices used in the country. Why is that number so surprising? South Korean manufacturers have long had an advantage in their home country, and even now Samsung tops the market with 60 percent of all smartphones and tablets sold in the country. Two other Android device manufacturers based in South Korea -- LG and Pantech -- account for another 25 percent of the market. Apple comes in at 14 percent, while all other Android manufacturers account for just a tiny 1 percent sliver of the market. Flurry's data show some other interesting facts. The company found that phablets -- larger than a smartphone, but smaller than most tablets -- were quite popular in South Korea, accounting for 41 percent of device sales. In the rest of the world, phablets only make up 7 percent of the market. [via Apple Insider]
Pantech Vega LTE-A gains fingerprint-based mobile payments
Want to find a nifty use for the fingerprint sensor on the Pantech Vega LTE-A? Well, thanks to the hard work of two South Korean companies, it's picking up the ability to pay for goods by authenticating with your fingerprint. This news comes from Danal, a mobile payment provider, which tapped the fingerprint technologies of Crucialtec to create the BarTong app. While the concept of fingerprint-based payments isn't entirely new, it's claimed to be an industry first for the mobile phone. The BarTong app is currently exclusive to South Korea, but its creator is looking to expand the payment service into the US and China. Naturally, Danal may want to hold off until fingerprint readers become more widespread in smartphones, but we certainly won't fault the company for being ambitious.
Details of Civilization-based MMORPG emerge, you may not get to play it
Sure, you've controlled minions and vast armies in the Civilization games, but here's your chance to actually be one of those underlings -- at least if you live in South Korea. Civilization Online, announced late last year, is an in-development MMORPG title set in the Civ universe, and Massively has learned some of its finer details from the folks at XL Games and 2K Games (the companies crafting it in CryEngine 3). At the start, players will join one of four societies, and all will have to work together to expand across the sandbox environment and progress through the ages. Unlike most MMOs, there will come a time when one civilization achieves certain goals and effectively "wins," at which point the world will reset. Although combat is a part of the game, societies will also need to research, build and do various other things to become number one, much like the traditional strategy titles. Head to the source link for more info on the specifics, but don't get too excited -- Civilization Online will be launching first in Korea, and there are currently "no plans for a North American release." Not used to things being out of your control, are you?
Wirelessly-charged electric buses start public route in South Korea
Wireless charging might seem perfectly suited for smartphones and tablets, but the city of Gumi, South Korea is putting the tech to use with something a little larger: buses. A pair of Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) motorcoaches, which recharge by driving over specially-equipped asphalt, are now running a public transportation route in the city, and it's said to be the first network of its kind open for regular use. Rather than stopping periodically to jack in, coils on the coaches' underside pick up power through an electromagnetic field created by road-embedded wires. Currently, the vehicles have a roundtrip journey of 24km (roughly 15 miles) when completing their stops. Since the system operates so long as 5 to 15 percent of the path is electrified, there's no need to rely on a completely rigged-up highway. What's more, the solution is only triggered by passing OLEVs, which means that normal cars can share the same street. If this all sounds familiar, that's because the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has been hammering away at the technology for several years. Now that it's made it this far, the city has plans to add ten more buses to its fleet by 2015.
Pantech Vega LTE-A flaunts fingerprint recognition, 5.6-inch 1080p display
Few phones can take advantage of South Korea's freshly-launched LTE-Advanced networks, but Pantech's just given speed demons a new option: the Vega LTE-A. Though full details haven't trickled out from overseas just yet, the available specs paint an impressive picture. A 5.6-inch full HD display graces the front of the handset while a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor helps the device run Android 4.2.2. What's more, it's toting an area for fingerprint recognition on its back. Come mid-August, folks in the hardware maker's homeland will be able to pick up the handset for use on SK Telecom's network. If the LTE-A variant of the Galaxy S 4 doesn't strike your fancy, Pantech's newest piece of kit might just be worth a look.
Tentative Samsung smartwatch design unearthed in Korean patents
While Samsung hasn't been shy about its desire to build a new smartwatch, we've had few clues as to what that wristwear could look like. However, Moveplayer has uncovered a trio of Korean design patents that, combined, could represent a design template. Registered between March and May, the patents show a watch with both Android-style controls in the middle and a prominent flexible display. The device looks plausible, but we wouldn't leap to conclusions -- companies frequently patent designs that won't necessarily ship. There's also no clear connections to a previously filed Gear trademark associated with wearable technology. If Samsung ever releases a watch in this mold, though, it will at least seem very familiar. [Thanks, JunK]
South Korea's FTC finds Google not guilty of antitrust measures
Google has been acquitted of the anti-competitive allegations brought to it more than two years ago by South Korean search operators NHN and Daum Communications, the Yonhap News reported today. Back in April 2011, the two firms accused the Mountain View company of having an unfair advantage by making its own search engine the default on the Android operating system. After a couple of raids and a lengthy review process, the local Fair Trade Commission has finally decided that Google doesn't hurt NHN's or Daum's competitive chances at all. FTC officials said that both companies presently enjoy a healthy chunk of the domestic search engine market -- NHN's portal maintains a good 70 percent share, for example -- and that users could easily download NHN and Daum apps onto their phones as alternatives. Chalk this one up as at least one victory in the search giant's seemingly never-ending battle with authorities.
LG U+ launches LTE-Advanced network, sets sights on SK Telecom
Not long after South Korea's SK Telecom launched the world's first LTE-Advanced network, its homegrown rival, LG U+, will be rolling out LTE-Advanced to its customers as well, according to Yonhap News. There's no word on what phones the new network will support, though we won't be surprised if LG's own Optimus G successor will be one of them. Now pardon us as we figure out a way to move to South Korea, as that's the only place to get a taste of the zippy speeds right now.
Samsung ships its 55- and 65-inch 4K TVs to Korea on July 6th
If you're one of the lucky 100-plus Koreans who pre-ordered one of Samsung's F9000-series 4K TVs this June, you'll be glad to know that you're getting your reward very soon. The company has just announced that both the 55- and 65-inch F9000 sets should ship to Korea on July 6th. As before, the series is a more affordable yet functionally similar alternative to Samsung's 85-inch behemoth -- customers get the Ultra HD screen resolution and Evolution Kit support at relatively modest prices of 6.4 million won ($5,670) for the 55-inch TV and 8.9 million won ($7,913) for its 65-inch cousin. We're still twiddling our thumbs waiting for a launch on this side of the Pacific, but those who need something to tide themselves over can read Samsung's translated press release after the break.
Daily Update for July 1, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
South Korea, Apple reportedly in iPhone talks
The Korea Times is reporting that Apple has been talking with South Korean based SK Telecom about the possibility of introducing an iPhone that would support its recently introduced LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network. "SK Telecom is approaching Apple to put our LTE-A technology on the upcoming iPhone 5S. We are in the middle of negotiations," said an SK Telecom executive, requesting anonymity. ... Because Korea has recently seen a huge demand for devices supporting high-speed networks, Apple intends to use Korea as the litmus test to gauge the marketability of LTE-A technology before making inroads into China, according to industry sources. The report notes that Samsung recently introduced an LTE-A-compatible Galaxy S 4 device in South Korea and that SK Telecom anticipates a number of other LTE-A-compatible devices to hit the market over the next few months. Now as for how fast LTE-A is, well let's just say that it's blazing. SK Telecom said that its LTE-A network can support data transfer rates of up to 150 Mbps, about twice as fast as LTE speeds in the US and 10 times as fast as 3G.
