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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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 Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 3:28 pm Post subject: Has the sun set on S Korea's mobile dream? BBC Report |
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/default.stm
Interesting BBC report about mobile tech in Korea, and how protectionism might just be coming back to bite them in arse.
Also, check out the article below that video. in 2 years time, Korea might have 1gb internet speed. Now all they have to do is phase out Windows XP! |
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crossmr
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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They were never "the" leader in mobile. Japan always seemed a little ahead. Mind you compared to back home for a lot of people here they were far better.
at least until the iPhone came out and everyone wanted that.
The only difference now is that they really have to compete.
We'll see how the landscape looks in a year or two. Everyone is crazy for the iPhone right now but as Android plays catch-up, the market should become a little more open. |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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How has Japan been the leader in mobile? I can't remember the last time I saw someone with a Sony Ericson cell phone. The Walkman phone completely bombed.
IIRC, the mobile market was dominated by Nokia in the late 90's, followed by Motorola. Then came the rise of Samsung/LG phones. Smartphone, however popular they MAY seem, are only a small percentage of TOTAL cell phone users.
iPhone is the most popular Smartphone now, but that will change because it is only 1 phone versus dozens of other alternatives. Apple just released the iPhone4. They will probably not release a new iteration of the iPhone for another year. Meanwhile, companies like Samsung, LG, Motorola, HTC can put out a new model every month.
Cell phones are moving in the direction of the PC industry 20 years ago. The iPhone is the Apple 2e. Android OS is Microsoft. Back in the day, Apple 2e was the most popular, best mass market computer in the market. Apple got smoked by PC's that had Microsoft OS because of numbers.
I think the biggest mistake Samsung is doing now is working on their own OS, "Bada". They are gonna pull a Sony (Betamax, Minidisc). What Samsung and LG need to do is innovate the hardware. Forget about the OS and leave that to Android.
What I think would be sweet is a smartphone with a touch senstive BACK with a cursor on the screen. No more smudging your screen with your finger grease. YOu can do away with using 2 hands to use your smartphone. Those are the kind of hardware innovations Samsung and LG need to do in order to sustain their success. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Ericsson was dope until like 2005 then fell fast and hard. |
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kpfogey
Joined: 20 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 5:32 am Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| Ericsson was dope until like 2005 then fell fast and hard. |
I had a SE K750i and it was freaking awesome at the time. good phone/music sound, nice pictures and had multitasking to boot |
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unplugged_boy
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 11:15 am Post subject: |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
| How has Japan been the leader in mobile? I can't remember the last time I saw someone with a Sony Ericson cell phone. The Walkman phone completely bombed. |
Those Sony ericsson phones were bland mainstream consumer phones that seemed more swedish than japanese. I would not say they were representive of what "Japanese" phones were really like.
Before the smartphone days, domestic japanese handsets were stomping Korean phones in terms of tech and build imo. Those phones never made it to the north american market for a number of reasons but id say insuffcient network infrastructure and design tastes were couple of the biggest factors. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 6:04 pm Post subject: |
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| unplugged_boy wrote: |
| pkang0202 wrote: |
| How has Japan been the leader in mobile? I can't remember the last time I saw someone with a Sony Ericson cell phone. The Walkman phone completely bombed. |
Those Sony ericsson phones were bland mainstream consumer phones that seemed more swedish than japanese. I would not say they were representive of what "Japanese" phones were really like.
Before the smartphone days, domestic japanese handsets were stomping Korean phones in terms of tech and build imo. Those phones never made it to the north american market for a number of reasons but id say insuffcient network infrastructure and design tastes were couple of the biggest factors. |
Which particular domestic Japanese handsets were you thinking of?
I lived in Japan for over 10 years and I reckon you've got that the wrong way round. Korea was way later than Japan (or much of the rest of the world) to catch on to smartphones, but for most of the last decade Korean phones tended to be a lot more attractive than what was available in Japan. The Japanese cell phone system had certain advantages over the Korean equivalent, but the phones themselves were significantly poorer IMO. |
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red_devil
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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| What does "being a leader" in mobile mean anyways? Are we talking handset manufacturing? Features? Mobile network infrastructure? Wireless data networks? Consumer voice and data packages? Customer Service? Cost? Usability? Software? Security and integrity? |
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The Lemon
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:58 am Post subject: |
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I'm on my annual Korea visit and I'm fascinated by how completely the Iphone has taken over the country.
All my relatives have Iphones. Everyone on the subway around me has Iphones. In my own country, Iphone is neck-in-neck with Blackberry, but here it's total for Apple.
Back in my Korean teaching days I used to have housewives claim, "we don't want foreign products, Korean products are the best for us." Where did these people go? To the Iphone store, it seems.
Makes me wonder what Seoul's streets would look like if Toyota/Lexus ever got in on a level playing field.
I read those articles about the "Galapagos Syndrome" and who knows - maybe this exposure to foreign competition will result in much better Korean phones in two or three years. It's now very in-your-face to Koreans that they're losing the game they owned, not too long ago. I'm sure heads are rolling at Samsung and LG.
Hyundai should be paying attention. |
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sheriffadam
Joined: 10 May 2010
Location: Busan
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| Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:13 am Post subject: |
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| The Lemon wrote: |
I'm on my annual Korea visit and I'm fascinated by how completely the Iphone has taken over the country.
All my relatives have Iphones. Everyone on the subway around me has Iphones. In my own country, Iphone is neck-in-neck with Blackberry, but here it's total for Apple.
Back in my Korean teaching days I used to have housewives claim, "we don't want foreign products, Korean products are the best for us." Where did these people go? To the Iphone store, it seems.
Makes me wonder what Seoul's streets would look like if Toyota/Lexus ever got in on a level playing field.
I read those articles about the "Galapagos Syndrome" and who knows - maybe this exposure to foreign competition will result in much better Korean phones in two or three years. It's now very in-your-face to Koreans that they're losing the game they owned, not too long ago. I'm sure heads are rolling at Samsung and LG.
Hyundai should be paying attention. |
I beg to differ, you've obviously not looked at all the users waving there Galaxy phones around then? I might be slightly biased having got one myself (as I bet more people here do than the iphone4) but they seem more popular to me, admittedly have also been out longer.
The only friend I know with iphone4 wishes they'd got a galaxy too.
Also Sony Ericsson is mostly UK based for its R&D + Design teams, I wouldn't say their phones have ever been bland, their phones hold the worlds first title for many of their accomplishments, such as the camera and walkman line of phones. Don't mix 'fantastic and useful and everywhere as 'bland '' What else do you need from it? The T610 is a phone monument! |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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| sheriffadam wrote: |
| The Lemon wrote: |
I'm on my annual Korea visit and I'm fascinated by how completely the Iphone has taken over the country.
All my relatives have Iphones. Everyone on the subway around me has Iphones. In my own country, Iphone is neck-in-neck with Blackberry, but here it's total for Apple.
Back in my Korean teaching days I used to have housewives claim, "we don't want foreign products, Korean products are the best for us." Where did these people go? To the Iphone store, it seems.
Makes me wonder what Seoul's streets would look like if Toyota/Lexus ever got in on a level playing field.
I read those articles about the "Galapagos Syndrome" and who knows - maybe this exposure to foreign competition will result in much better Korean phones in two or three years. It's now very in-your-face to Koreans that they're losing the game they owned, not too long ago. I'm sure heads are rolling at Samsung and LG.
Hyundai should be paying attention. |
I beg to differ, you've obviously not looked at all the users waving there Galaxy phones around then? I might be slightly biased having got one myself (as I bet more people here do than the iphone4) but they seem more popular to me, admittedly have also been out longer.
The only friend I know with iphone4 wishes they'd got a galaxy too.
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I'm unbiased as I don't have a smartphone yet, won't get one until next year and am presently 50-50 about whether to go for an i-phone or a Galaxy S, or even something else. But I agree with sheriffadam above. When the i-phone first hit Korea then, yes, I was slightly surprised by how well it sold and how many people wanted one.
But now that the Galaxy S is out, nearly all the smartphones I'm seeing people with are Galaxy S's with the number of i-phones seemingly much smaller. I too have heard many people who initially bragged about their i-phone acquisition now saying that they wished they'd got a Galaxy.
I'm sure the time people have to wait for an i-phone 4 is doing Apple's market share plenty of serious damage before you even think about any patriotic customer factors, which are undoubtedly part of the mix too. |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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The power of marketing, folks.
Apple have always done great marketing campaigns which push people's buttons when it comes to a desire for exclusiveness and fashion. The iPhone promises that to Koreans. It's not so much seen as a clever gadget or even as a phone, but as a status symbol and personal statement. |
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jonpurdy
Joined: 08 Jan 2009
Location: Ulsan
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| Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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I just watched the video and it brought up some questions that I've had from before.
I've noticed KT really pushing olleh wifi hotspots all over the place. But what is the point of this when you can just use 3G (especially now that it's unlimited for anyone who pays over 45,000/month)? It's probably a bit faster but the hassle of connecting would make it not really worth it, no?
To counter the Galaxy S vs. iPhone thing, I've talked with multiple teachers at my school who bought the Galaxy but then played with my iPhone and regretted buying the Galaxy. One even went in for an exchange (though I'm not sure how it went). I've used the Galaxy myself and was not particularly impressed by how complicated it is to use. Plus the screen has a weird colour tint that makes it look too blueish-green. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 2:18 am Post subject: |
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| eamo wrote: |
The power of marketing, folks.
Apple have always done great marketing campaigns which push people's buttons when it comes to a desire for exclusiveness and fashion. The iPhone promises that to Koreans. It's not so much seen as a clever gadget or even as a phone, but as a status symbol and personal statement. |
I'd agree with that, at least definitely during the period when the i-phone was out in Korea but still didn't have much local competition. I certainly noticed quite a few people who were very much "look, I've got an i-phone" rather than "look what I can do with my i-phone".
But I don't think that factor alone is going to be enough long term for Apple in its Korean market. Because another characteristic of many Koreans is that they're extremely pragmatic.
There are two smartphones that everybody knows about in Korea at the moment and which are largely seen as more or less neck and neck in their level of capability. One's available immediately, the other you have to order and wait at least a couple of weeks - for lots of people I know and know of, it was decision made and finished once they learned of that. |
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The Lemon
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 5:49 pm Post subject: |
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| eamo wrote: |
The power of marketing, folks.
Apple have always done great marketing campaigns which push people's buttons when it comes to a desire for exclusiveness and fashion. The iPhone promises that to Koreans. It's not so much seen as a clever gadget or even as a phone, but as a status symbol and personal statement. |
That's how I perceived it, too.
After another two days out and around, I still stand by my completely unscientific previous, observation that Iphones are far and away more conspicuous than any other phone in the subways and on the streets. And I went out of my way to find people with a Galaxy.
However, I think b-class rambler has a point - the people with the Iphones may be more likely to try to be seen in public with them.
Anyway, I'm not biased towards Iphones or Galaxys. I have a Nokia. |
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