Tag Archives: mobile

Rules Suppressing Mobile Payment, Games to Be Rewritten

Slipping Into Smartphone-Driven World

Rules Suppressing Mobile Payment, Games to Be Rewritten

By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter

Smartphones are intelligent, and South Korean government officials are finally accepting that they shouldn’t be made retarded by the country’s aging Internet regime.

via koreatimes.co.kr

I really hate the first sentence here. What was this writer thinking? It sounds like a 3rd grader introducing the topic, specifically his use of “retarded”.

However, with that said, this is a pretty good article. I think some points are a little off (real name requirements are older than a year), but it’s a nice overview on what’s being done.

Naver (NHN) Concerned about Fair Competition in Mobile

NHN concerned about fair competition in mobile search market

By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) — The head of NHN Corp., operator of South Korea’s most-visited search engine, expressed on Monday concerns about fair competition, arguing that users should be given a choice for a variety of search engines in smartphones, an increasingly popular gateway to the Web.

via english.yonhapnews.co.kr

Normally, I’d heckle the poor Naver exec crying about fairness in the marketplace, but I won’t this time….other than laughing at the hypocrisy LOLOLOLOLOL!!! (ok, got that out of the way)

He’s got a great point here. There’s not even a way to change default search to Naver (or Daum or other Korean site) on iPhone (as far as I know) and I doubt there is on just about any other non-Korean phone (and probably not on Korean smartphones either). Microsoft is just implementing forced choice on its OS in Europe for a similar problem, is it too far afield to say that dominant mobile OS’s are guilty of the same? I’d say he has a case and, given the fact that he’s likely got some “friends” in the government, he’s likely going to pursue that case successfully. I’ll be interested to see what happens.

What iPhone apps do you use? (Korea) – I’d love to know what others are using. I’ll provide a list of ones that I use (not just download)

What apps do you use?
March 02, 2010

In just three months after the Apple iPhone went on sale here in December, some 300,000 units have been sold. Part and parcel with the device’s dominance in hardware is its strength in mobile applications, reflected in the iPhone App Store.

Since knowing users’ app preferences makes the difference between a major hit and just another junk download, Digieco, a management research institute affiliated with KT, the Korean mobile carrier that supports the iPhone here, recently looked into which ones users download most. They found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that apps for public transit routes and maps were very popular, along with social networking and scheduling software.

The average Korean iPhone user has 86 apps on his or her handset and spends 5,800 won ($5) on apps purchases every month, according to Digieco.

via joongangdaily.joins.com

I’m interested to see what other people are using in the way of iPhone apps. Here are some that I actively use (at least once a week).

1. Google Apps

2. TweetDeck

3. Facebook

4. Foursquare

5. Daum maps

6. Jihachul

7. Lingopal (Korean phrases)

8. SugarSync

9. Diigo

10. Ustream (broadcaster/viewer)

11. Kindle

12. Asphalt 5 (free) – driving game (3 yr-old son loves it and so do I)

13. Shrek Kart (free) – driving game (3 yr-old son loves it)

14. Jungle Crash

15. Waterslide

16. Pandemica (not great, but cool idea)

17. Feed Me! (game for pre-schoolers)

18. Skype (almost forgot that)

Of course, this doesn’t count all the apps that came pre-installed, which I use every day, including: iPod, Safari, Contacts, Calendar (Google sync), Camera, Mail (Gmail), Clock (as alarm).

What about you? Anything you’d recommend?

Mobile Operators Prodded to Create Unified App Store

Mobile Operators Prodded to Create Unified App Store

By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter

There is no love lost among Korea’s three mobile telephony carriers ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Telecom ― as they continue to claw and punch their way into messy market battles.

So when these bitterest of enemies say they will play together to create a massive, open marketplace for mobile applications, one they claim will be seamless and resourceful for consumers like Apple’s App Store, it’s hard to suppress skepticism.

via koreatimes.co.kr

This very well could happen, but I certainly don’t see it as a competitor to Apple’s App Store. These guys might agree to standardize, but they are not going to release control easily. They will not want to allow people outside of their walled gardens. This is still the business model of the carriers and they will hold on to it like the music companies held on to CDs.

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