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heynice
Joined: 15 Jan 2008
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 Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:46 pm Post subject: iphone and blackberry...coming to a korea near you |
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it is about time...
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2008/12/11/lgs-and-samsungs-cell-phone-monopoly-to-end-iphones-and-blackberrys-on-their-way-to-korea/
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Per the WSJ, the Korean Communications Commission says that the country�s unique �Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability�, or WIPI, protocol doesn�t have to be the standard for cell phones in Korea. This means that LG, Samsung and Pantech�s stranglehold on the Korean cell phone industry may be coming to an end. This virtual monopoly means that Koreans pay among the highest cell phone prices in the world.
Most non-Korean manufacturers (with the notable exception of Motorola) didn�t want to bother with WIPI. Carriers hailed the move:
SK Telecom called the WIPI rule change �timely and appropriate.� KT Freetel Co., the second-largest cellphone service provider, said it hopes to sell Apple�s iPhone soon after the change.
LG and Samsung had �no comment.�
Nokia, which operates one of its biggest factories in Korea but, ironically, sells no phones there said:
�[Nokia] believes that any move towards open standards anywhere in the world is a good thing for all industry players and consumers.� |
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yeoja
Joined: 27 Nov 2008
Location: Down south in South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:49 pm Post subject: Re: iphone and blackberry...coming to a korea near you |
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| heynice wrote: |
it is about time...
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2008/12/11/lgs-and-samsungs-cell-phone-monopoly-to-end-iphones-and-blackberrys-on-their-way-to-korea/
| Quote: |
Per the WSJ, the Korean Communications Commission says that the country�s unique �Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability�, or WIPI, protocol doesn�t have to be the standard for cell phones in Korea. This means that LG, Samsung and Pantech�s stranglehold on the Korean cell phone industry may be coming to an end. This virtual monopoly means that Koreans pay among the highest cell phone prices in the world.
Most non-Korean manufacturers (with the notable exception of Motorola) didn�t want to bother with WIPI. Carriers hailed the move:
SK Telecom called the WIPI rule change �timely and appropriate.� KT Freetel Co., the second-largest cellphone service provider, said it hopes to sell Apple�s iPhone soon after the change.
LG and Samsung had �no comment.�
Nokia, which operates one of its biggest factories in Korea but, ironically, sells no phones there said:
�[Nokia] believes that any move towards open standards anywhere in the world is a good thing for all industry players and consumers.� |
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I'm probably not going to start using the stupid things but thank god for change. Good riddance to oligopoly! |
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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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Too bad foreigners won't be able to buy them.  |
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bangbayed
Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Easter Clark wrote: |
| Too bad foreigners won't be able to buy them. |
Why not? |
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ppcg4
Joined: 16 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Think I'll be able to finally use my 3G iPhone here? |
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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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| bangbayed wrote: |
| Easter Clark wrote: |
| Too bad foreigners won't be able to buy them. |
Why not? |
Well I guess it depends on where you go, huh? When I went shopping for a cell phone, 9 out of 10 places wouldn't let me buy one of the new phones...instead I was either told "No foreigners" or shown a drawer containing older models that were pre-paid. And the one place that would let me have a new phone demanded that it be put in my girlfriend's name.
It was a depressing experience actually--Koreans can have all of these nice new phones...but foreigners have to choose from these second-hand ones. |
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Xuanzang
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Location: Sadang
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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| They`re flashy and shiny but not that good features wise. The best Sharps, Nokias, SOny Ericssons can do a helluva lot more than the Bikini phone. |
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Seoul'n'Corea
Joined: 06 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Easter Clark wrote: |
| bangbayed wrote: |
| Easter Clark wrote: |
| Too bad foreigners won't be able to buy them. |
Why not? |
Well I guess it depends on where you go, huh? When I went shopping for a cell phone, 9 out of 10 places wouldn't let me buy one of the new phones...instead I was either told "No foreigners" or shown a drawer containing older models that were pre-paid. And the one place that would let me have a new phone demanded that it be put in my girlfriend's name.
It was a depressing experience actually--Koreans can have all of these nice new phones...but foreigners have to choose from these second-hand ones. |
Actually there is NO law against sales to foreigners in Korea. You need your ARC card number to resgister.
If a store refuses to sell to you, then simply tell them that will will file their satement with the humnan rights commission.
There are a lot of IGNORANT sales people in the cellphone business here and must are quite poorly educated. |
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Darkray16
Joined: 09 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Xuanzang wrote: |
| They`re flashy and shiny but not that good features wise. The best Sharps, Nokias, SOny Ericssons can do a helluva lot more than the Bikini phone. |
Actually if you get it jailbroken they are very versatile. You can run a wide variety of programs on them like emulators to play video games. The ONLY problem with that is the battery drained faster. |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:04 am Post subject: |
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But they won't be allowed to be wifi-capable:
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2898457
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Popular phones set to invade the Korean market
Change in software regulation will allow in the iPhone and BlackBerry
December 11, 2008
Starting next April, the iPhone, BlackBerry and other foreign-made cell phones will be able to make their Korean debut without Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability, the Korea Communications Commission announced yesterday.
The nation�s three mobile phone operators will also be able to decide if they want to keep the cell phone software platform, known as WIPI.
WIPI was developed to boost the local mobile Internet industry in 2001 and was adopted in 2005 as the standard platform by local handset makers.
Under Korean law, any handset marketed in Korea must come installed with WIPI. But WIPI was a stumbling block for foreign-produced phones.
�The world�s handset market is rapidly changing from closed platforms to open mobile operating systems. In order to keep pace with the trend and provide more rights to cell phone users, we decided to abolish mandatory installation of WIPI,� the KCC said in a statement.
Through abolishing compulsory use of WIPI, the KCC is supporting a new version of the platform - WIKI 3.0 - to support small WIPI content providers. Local mobile phone operators welcomed the KCC�s decision.
�It [the abolition of WIPI] was a timely decision considering the world�s changing handset market environment where more and more handsets adopt open platforms,� said Paik Chang-don, a manager of SK Telecom, the leading mobile phone operator.
�You will see the BlackBerry in the near future [from SKT],� Paik added.
KTF, the No. 2 mobile phone operator, will also soon introduce the much-anticipated iPhone. Industry experts also say mobile phone users would pay less when purchasing handsets if WIPI is not installed.
�People won�t need to pay for WIPI software, so the price of handsets should go down,� said Greg Roh, an analyst at Korea Investment and Securities. WIPI-relevant industries, however, expressed concerns.
�We�ve been asking the KCC to phase out WIPI. We don�t expect to see a sudden huge loss because nearly 90 percent of mobile phones use WIPI,� said Lim Sung-soon, head of the Korea Wireless Internet Solution Association. �The thing is that we have to be prepared for the future when smartphones become mainstream handsets. Currently, less than 10 percent of all Korean handsets are smartphones,� he said.
Smartphones are expected to win a 50 percent market share globally by 2014, according to Strategy Analytics, a U.S.-based research firm.
Smartphones usually adopt open platforms.
By Sung So-young Staff Reporter [[email protected]] |
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jdog2050
Joined: 17 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:16 am Post subject: |
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| I've got the first gen iphone. Hopefully this isn't just for the 3g. |
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Scotticus
Joined: 18 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 3:38 am Post subject: |
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| bassexpander wrote: |
But they won't be allowed to be wifi-capable:
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So what the *beep* is the point of having one? |
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Xuanzang
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Location: Sadang
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 3:41 am Post subject: |
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| Scotticus wrote: |
| bassexpander wrote: |
But they won't be allowed to be wifi-capable:
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So what the *beep* is the point of having one? |
That sucks. It means SK or whoever will continue to make 3G wireless fees off consumers. What chaebols giveth, they taketh way. |
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Hyeon Een
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:53 am Post subject: |
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| bassexpander wrote: |
But they won't be allowed to be wifi-capable
Starting next April, the iPhone, BlackBerry and other foreign-made cell phones will be able to make their Korean debut [b]without Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability, the Korea Communications Commission announced yesterday. |
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No.
WIPI is a local standard used nowhere else in the world. WIPI is the reason why there AREN'T many imported cellphones in korea - the manufacturers don't want to spend the time money and effort modifying them to make them Korea-legal. The Korean regulations on cellphones are changing so that WIPI will no longer be required.
This means that regular wifi etc. will now be allowed. So the iphone, blackberry etc. can come here without having their internet protocols changed.
The fact that they will come without WIPI is a GOOD thing. Regular WIFI will work instead of the stupid bullshit Korean only WIPI crap they've been foisting on us since 2001. |
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