스마트폰과 추석연휴 (Smart phones over the holiday)

Smart phones over the holiday

This year’s festive Chuseok holiday may have been a cherished occasion for which many Koreans enjoyed good food and quality time with their families, but for some it was business as usual, if not more hectic. In an effort to capitalize on the nation’s most celebrated holiday, smart phone makers have launched all-out marketing campaigns to attract customers. Today we have reporter Ryu Eui-seong류의성 of IT specialty media E-Daily to learn more about smart phones and their economic implications. First, he’ll tell us about how Korea’s holiday has changed with the recent spike in smart phone sales.

 

The recent Chuseok holiday held a special meaning in the era of smart phones. First of all, the number of smart phone users is now nearing four million in Korea and it’s become commonplace to see smart phone users taking advantage of augmented reality, road maps, and internet access. During the holiday people looked for fun applications, which helped entertain them during the long drives back home. Chuseok was a boon for applications as well. For instance, there was an application that showed how to prepare memorial meals or how to write ancestral tribute letters. Satellite-based navigation applications came in handy for drivers by supplying timely traffic information and finding shortcuts. Other apps included a hospital or pharmacy search app and family-oriented games. This year’s Chuseok was an opportunity for smart phones to demonstrate their full potential as an intelligent and entertaining device.

 

Smart phones have completely changed how Koreans spend their holidays. Befitting the nickname, “computer in your palm,” smart phones have guided drivers navigating the busy highways during Chuseok and have helped inform Koreans on often-confusing memorial table-setting manners, how to bow to elders, and other aspects of traditional etiquette. The augmented reality function has helped Koreans find their ancestors’ tombs by overlapping their photos and names on grave sites. An emergency medicine app also proved to be a very handy resource. Capitalizing on this great marketing opportunity, smart phone providers have set up WiFi zones all over the nation so that users can access the internet free of charge anywhere, anytime, and scrambled to introduce limitless data services. What makes Chuseok such an opportune time for smart phone service providers?

 

Smart phones have become a popular and omnipresent item in Korea over the summer. So Chuseok was a very crucial season for smart phone marketing. Mobile communication service providers have set up WiFi zones in major train stations, bus terminals, and airports. Roughly 150 highway rest stops have WiFi zones now. Service providers were especially concerned about traffic overloads, which could have occurred when too many smart phone users tried to access the internet simultaneously. Also, latecomers in the GPS navigation application tried to catch up with frontrunners by providing their own unique features. The overarching goal of the smart phone service providers was to offer glitch-free smart phone apps, because today’s smart phone users are very exacting in their demands for high quality service. Also, service providers wanted to attract potential users before the smart phone market grew even bigger.

 

Last February the number of smart phone subscribers in Korea amounted to only 1.25 million, a mere 2% of all mobile users. But just seven months later, the number jumped to 3.94 million, recording the world’s fastest penetration rate for smart phones. It is projected that smart phones will account for 50% of all mobile phones by next year, and the nationwide migration of Koreans during recent Chuseok certainly fueled the smart phone craze. Apple’s iPhone initially stole the thunder of Korean smart phone makers, but it may not stay on top for long.

 

Ironically, Korean mobile phone makers were rather slow in their response to the smart phone boom. Samsung Electronics was a powerhouse in the mobile phone market, selling over 250 million phones a year in the world, but it was late in responding to a changing market landscape. Some people criticized Samsung and LG, the world’s second and third largest mobile phone companies, for failing to introduce strong smart phone competitors against Apple’s iPhone. But this summer Samsung countered with Galaxy S, which sold 1 million units in just one season. As with other industries, the company that seizes the market first will be very important in the mobile phone business. Whoever ranks number one tends to stay there by launching enormous marketing strategies. So it’s very likely that the competition in the smart phone industry will grow even fiercer in the future.

 

The global mobile phone landscape changed overnight when Apple rolled out iPhone 3G in June 2008. Apple surprised conventional device-oriented mobile phone makers with an intelligent phone with customizable functions a user could choose by purchasing preferred applications in an open marketplace. In the process the world’s second and third largest mobile phone companies, Korea’s Samsung and LG, were muscled out of the competition. Not to be outdone for long, the two Korean electronics giants rose up to the challenge and retaliated with their own smart phones in the second half of the year. Samsung Electronics introduced Galaxy S in June and became the nation’s first million-seller of smart phones. Now it is likely gearing up to present for the first time in the world a smart phone running on the Windows 7 operating system. LG Electronics is also preparing to market a model with a 4.3-inch display. But Korean companies need more than fancy hardware to maintain their presence in the global market.

 

As recent as early this year, the key to mobile phone success was the kind of features it had. But such a distinction has become meaningless lately as easy-to-use and fast-accessing smart phones became a norm. Now competition hinges on software. What users can do with their smart phones, the kinds of new experiences and the kinds of value they can find on their phones determine its competitiveness. In smart phones or tablet PCs, that competitiveness lies in applications. The World Economic Forum’s recently issued 2010 network readiness index showed Korea ranking in at 15th among 133 nations. Although Korea is at the top in terms of the number of mobile phone or broadband internet subscribers, the nation’s communications environment or user-friendliness falls below expectations. Korean mobile phone makers may be the world’s second and third largest manufacturers, but they are not even among the top five in the smart phone market. If Korean mobile phone companies are to regain their status in the global market, they need to reframe their minds toward users and build a user-friend IT environment.

 

A smart phone is only as good as its software. User-oriented smart phones are certain to take a larger share of the world market with more open and wider application selections. Korean mobile phone companies must develop a variety of smart phone software and content to reclaim their place at the head of the pack.

 

 

cherish

If you cherish something such as a hope or a pleasant memory, you keep it in your mind for a long period of time.

The president will cherish the memory of this visit to Ohio

 

near

When someone or something nears a particular stage or point, they will soon reach that stage or point.

His age was hard to guess-he must have been nearing fifty

The project is taking a long time but is now nearing completion

 

hectic

[ADJ] A hectic situation is one that is very busy and involves a lot of rushed activity.

Despite his hectic work schedule, Benny has rarely suffered poor health

 

augmented reality

실세계에 3차원 가상물체를 겹쳐 보여주는 기술.

사용자가 눈으로 보는 현실세계에 가상 물체를 겹쳐 보여주는 기술이다. 현실세계에 실시간으로 부가정보를 갖는 가상세계를 합쳐 하나의 영상으로 보여주므로 혼합현실(Mixed Reality, MR)이라고도 한다. 현실환경과 가상환경을 융합하는 복합형 가상현실 시스템(hybrid VR system)으로 1990년대 후반부터 미국·일본을 중심으로 연구·개발이 진행되고 있다.

 

현실세계를 가상세계로 보완해주는 개념인 증강현실은 컴퓨터 그래픽으로 만들어진 가상환경을 사용하지만 주역은 현실환경이다. 컴퓨터 그래픽은 현실환경에 필요한 정보를 추가 제공하는 역할을 한다. 사용자가 보고 있는 실사 영상에 3차원 가상영상을 겹침(overlap)으로써 현실환경과 가상화면과의 구분이 모호해지도록 한다는 뜻이다.

 

가상현실기술은 가상환경에 사용자를 몰입하게 하여 실제환경을 볼 수 없다. 하지만 실제환경과 가상의 객체가 혼합된 증강현실기술은 사용자가 실제환경을 볼 수 있게 하여 보다 나은 현실감과 부가 정보를 제공한다. 예를 들어 스마트폰 카메라로 주변을 비추면 인근에 있는 상점의 위치, 전화번호 등의 정보가 입체영상으로 표기된다.

 

원격의료진단·방송·건축설계·제조공정관리 등에 활용된다. 최근 스마트폰이 널리 보급되면서 본격적인 상업화 단계에 들어섰으며, 게임 및 모바일 솔루션 업계·교육 분야 등에서도 다양한 제품을 개발하고 있다.

 

증강현실을 실외에서 실현하는 것이 착용식 컴퓨터(wearable computer)이다. 특히 머리에 쓰는 형태의 컴퓨터 화면장치는 사용자가 보는 실제환경에 컴퓨터 그래픽·문자 등을 겹쳐 실시간으로 보여줌으로써 증강현실을 가능하게 한다.

 

따라서 증강현실에 대한 연구는 착용컴퓨터 개발이 주를 이룬다. 개발된 증강현실시스템으로 비디오방식과 광학방식 등의 HMD(head mounted display)가 있다.

boon

[NOUN] You can describe something as a boon when it makes life better or easier for someone.

This battery booster is a boon for photographers.

 

timely

[ADJ] [approval] A timely event happens at a moment when it is useful, effective, or relevant.

The recent outbreaks of cholera are a timely reminder that this disease is still a serious health hazard

 

opportune

[ADJ] [FORMAL] If something happens at an opportune time or is opportune, it happens at the time that is most convenient for someone or most likely to lead to success.

I believe that I have arrived at a very opportune moment

The timing of the meetings was opportune.

 

glitch

[NOUN] [INFORMAL] A glitch is a problem which stops something from working properly or being successful. = hitch, problem

Manufacturing glitches have limited the factory's output.

 

seize

1.[VERB] If you seize something, you take hold of it quickly, firmly, and forcefully.

'Leigh,' he said seizing my arm to hold me back.

an otter seizing a fish.

2.[VERB] When a group of people seize a place or seize control of it, they take control of it quickly and suddenly, using force.

Troops have seized the airport and railroad terminals

Army officers plotted a failed attempt yesterday to seize power.

3.[VERB] If a government or other authority seize someone's property, they take it from them, often by force.

Police were reported to have seized all copies of this morning's edition of the newspaper

4.[VERB] When someone is seized, they are arrested or captured.

UN officials say two military observers were seized by the Khmer Rouge yesterday

Men carrying sub-machine guns seized the five soldiers and drove them away.

5.[VERB] When you seize an opportunity, you take advantage of it and do something that you want to do.

During the riots hundreds of people seized the opportunity to steal property

 

craze

[NOUN] If there is a craze for something, it is very popular for a short time.

Walking is the latest fitness craze.

 

roll out

to officially make a new product available or start to use a new system.

The Air Force will roll out its new planes in November.

 

retaliate

[VERB] If you retaliate when someone harms or annoys you, you do something which harms or annoys them in return.

I was sorely tempted to retaliate

Christie retaliated by sending his friend a long letter detailing Carl's utter incompetence

The militia responded by saying it would retaliate against any attacks

They may retaliate with sanctions on other products if the bans are disregarded.

 

norm

[NOUN] [usu pl, usu with supp] Norms are ways of behaving that are considered normal in a particular society.

the commonly accepted norms of democracy.

a social norm that says drunkenness is inappropriate behaviour.

 

hinges on something

if an action, a result, etc. hinges on/upon something, it depends on it completely or is strongly influenced by it.

My whole career could hinge on the results of these exams.

The success of the project hinges on how well everyone works together.

 

뉴스출처: http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/economynit/econit_economytoday_list.htm