Telenor hopes for early solution to investment issues in India (India, Norway)
Wireless operator Telenor is hopeful that it would be allowed to carry out its operations in India as well as re-bid in the new 2G auctions, following positive talks between the prime minister’s of the two countries.
According to reports, Telenor’s executive vice president & Asia head Sigve Brekke said that in the backdrop of the encouraging PM-level discussions between India and Norway in Seoul, they expect a solution to emerge and remain invested in India. He added that since the Norwegian government owns 54 percent of Telenor, they are hopeful of an early solution.
Brekke added that they are yet to receive a specific assurance from the Indian government, but are hopeful the 2G auction and their licence expiry dates will be aligned, paving the way for Telenor to particpate in the airwaves auction.
The company has earlier announced that it will end its partnership with Unitech Wireless and will sought out a new partner for a joint venture.
Samsung to launch the Galaxy S3 on May 3 (South Korea)
South Korean manufacturer has confirmed that it will be releasing the Samsung Galaxy S3 on May 3. The smartphone was announced by the company at the Mobile World Congress 2012 held in Barcelona and is expected to be promoted as the official smartphone of the 2012 Olympic Games, as per reports.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 will be launched simultaneously in New York, Seoul and Dubai. As per rumours doing the rounds regarding the successor of the Galaxy S2, the S3 is expected to be powered by Google Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) and a quad-core 1.5 GHz Exynos processor.
Further the phone is said to have a 4.65” AMOLED SuperPlus HD display, with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The S3 would boast of a 1 GB RAM with 32 GB storage capacity. There are two cameras in the phone, a 2 megapixels camera in front and a 8 megapixel rear camera offering HD recording. Reports reveal that the phone will be compatible with the LTE network as well.
The launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S3 will be held at Earl’s Court in London, on May 3.
North Korea accused of interfering with South Korean mobiles
Mobile phone users in South Korea have found that their phones were unable to connect to GPS services last Friday and in some cases found network based clocks were being reset at irregular times. According to reports, the problems started on Friday afternoon and were traced to GPS jamming coming from North Korea.
As per South Korean officials, the jamming signals had been traced to North Korea’s military facilities in Haeju and Gaeseong and are thought to be an attempt to interrupt an ongoing joint military exercise between South Korea and USA.
The signals were claimed to have been sent sporadically every five to ten minutes causing minor disruptions in mobile phones and other navigation devices. The range of the interference was felt in Seoul and in the nearby northwestern cities like Incheon and Paju.
SK Telecom plans to roll out 4G services in Q3 (South Korea)
South Korea’s top mobile carrier, SK Telecom Co Ltd is planning to launch commercial Long-Term Evolution (LTE) services in Seoul in the third quarter of this year, to support high-speed data services.
SK Telecom, which controls half of the country’s mobile market, previously, stated that it planned to provide commercial LTE or fourth-generation (4G) services in 2011 with nationwide coverage by 2013.
SK Telecom is a South Korean mobile telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country’s largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.
LG Uplus to sell Samsung Galaxy Tab by Year-End
LG Uplus Corp., South Korea’s smallest mobile-phone operator, will start selling the Samsung Galaxy Tab by the year-end. The report was confirmed by Chief Executive Officer Lee Sang Cheol at a press conference in Seoul today.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab features an elegant design that packs a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen display with multi-touch support, Android 2.2 Froyo with Samsung User interface, a 3 megapixel primary camera with LED flash paired with a front-facing 1.3 MP camera that encourages video calling.
NSN to open Smart Lab in South Korea
Nokia Siemens Networks has announced its plans to set up a Smart Lab in Seoul, South Korea, which will be focused on developing smart device-optimized applications, services and networks.
The lab will explore the potential of wireless broadband technologies for delivering a superior end-user experience. The lab is expected to open in the first quarter of 2011.
The focus of the lab would include R&D and industry collaboration on advanced broadband wireless technologies that support industry mega trends such as cloud computing, M2M, smart devices and other new form factors.
Samsung, Sony agree to further develop ties
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Development and continuation of the mutual business ties has been agreed upon by Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Kun Hee and Sony Corp. Chief Executive Howard Stringer. Both the companies have also discussed business cooperation in the area of liquid crystal displays used in televisions and handsets during a meeting in Seoul.
Opinions were exchanged by the two sides regarding their current business tie-up and they agreed to continue their relationship and the two executives mainly discussed their partnership in LCDs used in televisions and handsets. While Samsung Electronics spokesman James Chung described it as a regular dinner meeting where no detail of the (LCD) business has been discussed, Sony spokesman declined to confirm the reports.
Just two months after Lee returned as chairman of Samsung Electronics in late March, the closed-door meeting between the two companies has taken place. It has been reported by local media that an increase in supply of LCD panels from Samsung might be demanded by Sony’s Stringer. The company is also said to discuss ways to enhance collaboration in other business areas, including three-dimensional, or 3-D, technology.
According to analysts, it’s true that Samsung and Sony’s relationship hasn’t been the same from early last year as Sony wasn’t able to get enough panels from Samsung and it seems that they might have met to discuss their partnership and Sony is eager to return to profitability this year…in order to take the lead in the 3-D TV market, it needs to secure stable supply of LCD panels.
Analysts have also suggested that Sony should diversify its panel suppliers to meet its aggressive LCD TV sales target of 25 million units by the end of March 31, 2011.
In 2004, Samsung and Sony entered into a partnership to set up an LCD panel making joint venture called S-LCD Corp manufacturing panels measuring between 40 and 50 inches.
China Mobile expresses interest in Apple’s iPad
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After making a super hit sale in the USA market, iPad is ready to take up the rest of the world with big mobile operators eying the new Apple device. The world’s biggest mobile phone operator by subscribers, China Mobile has expressed its desire to sell the iPad and its talks with Apple over the sale of iPhones were still ongoing.
China Mobile has openly disclosed its interest in iPad and it has been in constant talks with Apple over cooperation issues. By having the right to sell iPad, China Mobile wants to provide e-text to Chinese users, as it is developing an electronic book business. Though Apple iPad has not made its official entry in the Asian market yet, a “grey market” trade in the touch screen portable tablet computer has boomed in stores from Singapore to Seoul to Beijing.
The much-anticipated gadget was launched by the California-based firm on the US domestic market last month. It announced that it will be offered for the first time outside the United States on May 28 in nine countries including Japan. It was to satisfy the demand for the iPhone that China’s grey market in Apple products came into existence. The iPhone was officially introduced in the country in October by China Mobile’s rival China Unicom that too more than two years after its US launch.
According to China Mobile chairman Wang Jianzhou, China Mobile, which had 539 million users at of the end of March, still hoped to provide the iPhone to its customers and the key issue at the moment is that it would like the new-generation iPhones to use TD-SCDMA standard. China’s home-grown standard for 3G telecom services, TD-SCDMA, or Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access is a technology that can transmit images and video at high speeds.
IPad a big hit in Asian Grey Market
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The booming “gray market” trade in the world’s most talked-about high-tech gadget, iPad could not be stopped although its maker Apple didn’t launch it in Asia. Millions of pads have been sold by Apple within 28 days and about a thousand of them made it to Asia.
IPads are on sale for a substantial mark-up on the U.S. retail price from Singapore to Seoul, Bangkok to Beijing. In the stores in Hong Kong, one can get 15 of the basic 16-gigabyte models for HK$5,700 Hong Kong (about $733) each while the same model retails in the U.S. for $499.
In Low Yat Plaza, one of Kuala Lumpur’s centers for cheap electronics and gadgets, every other mobile phone stall had iPads for sale like 16GB, 32GB or 64GB version and the prices ranged from $750 to $1,100. According to most of the sellers they got their iPads from a few dealers with small retail shops in the U.S., and Apple’s failure to supply the device outside the country was fueling the unofficial trade
