Touch-sensitive iPhones will give Apple new bite

After Apple Computer unveiled its first cellular phone on Tuesday, Korean phone makers say they will not be immediately impacted by its release, but analysts say that changes will take place in the long run.

At the Macworld Expo in San Francisco earlier this week, timed to coincide with the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Apple’s chief executive Steve Jobs introduced an advanced prototype of what Apple’s phone will look like when it hits U.S. stores as early as June. Macworld is an annual showcase for Apple’s technology and new products.

Apple’s phone, called the iPhone ― similar to its music player iPod ― is different from existing phones in that it has no keypad, but uses a touch-sensitive screen. Otherwise, its functions are mainly the same as that of conventional cellular phones ―the multimedia device can also play music, browse the Web, and take pictures. Priced at $499 or $599 depending on the size of its memory, the iPhone will be available only through the mobile service provider Cingular Wireless. Cingular is based on GSM technology, compared to other mobile service providers such as Verizon, which offer phones that operate on code division multiple access (CDMA) technology.

The three local cell phone makers-Samsung, LG Electronics, and Pantech-said they didn’t think the iPhone would affect their business for now.
Yang Yuin, a spokeswoman for the Pantech Group, which sells SKY brand cell phones through its affiliates Pantech and Curitel, said that Apple’s release of the iPhone reflects increasing demand for music phones and smart phones.
“Music phones are becoming more popular because the service providers, which are also the content providers, are making it easier for users to download content,” she said. “We don’t have plans to change our marketing strategies, but the iPhone release comes in line with the music phones we plan to release in the United States later this year,” Ms. Yang said. She added, however, that the company’s plans for music phones were made at several years ago, and are not a response to Apple’s iPhone.

“The price is very expensive so the iPhone may take up the upper end of the market. In comparison, LG’s Chocolate phones are about $300 so we are not in direct competition,” said a spokesman for LG Electronics.
Song Pyeong-gwan, a spokesman for Samsung Electronics, said that the iPhone will have its main effect in the United States. “Apple has its brand name and the media is very favorable there,” he said.

Industry specialists agreed that the iPhone will not take over the world’s cell phone market like the iPod has in the MP3 player market, but said that it may sweep through the existing personal digital assistant (PDA) market and compete with Samsung and LG’s high-end phones.
Kang Hee-young, an analyst at Goodmorning Shinhan Securities, said that existing phone companies will be threatened because the mid-to high-end phone market doesn’t have any special killer applications. “Samsung recently released its Google and Yahoo! Phones, which will have to compete with the iPhone, and for LG Electronics, its business is the United States is big, so it will naturally be affected,” she said.

Kim Byeong-ki, an analyst at Kium Securities, however, disagreed. “Even if Apple achieves its plans to sell 10 million units by 2008, it will be less than 0.1 percent of global market share,” he said. He added that if anyone should feel threatened, it should be Motorola and Nokia, which hold the top market share in the United States for GSM-type phones, but said that that Samsung and LG, which dominate the CDMA phone market in Korea, will be less affected. by Wohn Dong-hee for JoongAng Daily

Nintendo officially releases DS Lite here

Nintendo Korea officially launched the Nintendo DS Lite yesterday in Korea with two Korean-language games and promises of more.
“In Korea, where the concept of gaming is associated with PC online games, I think it’s important to promote the characteristics of the Nintendo DS, which is very different from other video game consoles,” said Nintendo Korea President Koda Mineo.

▶ The Maple Girls, models for the game of the same name, pose with a Nintendo DS Lite. Provided by Nexon

The console, which has a dual screen (which is what DS stands for) comes in four colors ― white, sky blue, pale pink or black. The console itself is the same one sold globally, and users can choose which language which they want to set the basic settings to ― including Japanese, English, German and Spanish, but not Korean.
Two games, however, have been localized into the Korean language: brain power-training and English-writing software, where one listens to a word and writes it down. Other games like Mario Kart do not yet support Korean, but are still available in Korea.
The console has been available in Korea, but only through imports, not through Nintendo Korea, which has made it comparatively expensive. Distribution through the local branch of the Japanese game player, however, will bring down the cost of the mini portable console to 150,000 won ($160).
Also yesterday, Nintendo and the Korean online game developer Nexon announced that they are developing Nexon’s popular role-playing game Maple Story for the DS platform.
“This joint development will enable us to find new possibilities for the online characteristics of Maple Story since the Nintendo DS Lite supports Wi-Fi functions,” Nexon said in a press release.
The company added that it hopes to optimize the value of its game’s brand by expanding the platforms on which it is played.
A special development team was formed late last year for the release of Maple Story DS. Players will be able to enjoy the game in a single player as well as a multiplayer mode.
The game is scheduled to be released in September in Korea, and the two companies will expand distribution to Japan, the United States and Australia, in that order, with plans for complete globalization in the long term.
The original online version of Maple Story began open tests in 2003, and is currently one of Nexon’s most popular games, with 50 million accounts created worldwide, servicing 58 countries. In Korea, 210,000 players were seen to play Maple Story simultaneously on “crowded” days.

by Wohn Dong-hee for JoongAng Daily

New year off to speedy start with multiplayer race games

The new year is getting off on a speedy start with some online racing games reflecting Korea’s craze for massively multiplayer online role playing games, only pointy-eared elves have been replaced with purring steel machines on wheels.
NHN’s new online racing game Skid Rush starts opens test services next Wednesday. The game is a car racing game with massive multiplayer online role playing game (Mmorpg) features, such as “training” your car up the ladder of levels and performing quests.
The game is making its official debut but is not entirely “new” to the gamer community, thanks to two closed tests and one free open test.
The game takes place on a fictional island somewhere in the Pacific, where the racers have to stop evil forces who are trying to steal a new energy source. The game’s role playing features include performing “missions” and training one’s car. The biggest role playing feature is a group battle mode where en masse races can take place on designated servers, which strengthens the community characteristics easily found on Mmorpgs.
Unlike other auto racing games, which focus more on creating a realistic three-dimensional environment, the graphics of Skid Rush are more like animated cartoons, with urban scenes that are reminiscent of Vice City. This doesn’t mean that that the game is two-dimensional or that it feels like a Disney animation. It feels more like taking part in a Western comic book.
Skid Rush will have to compete against Ray City, another racing Mmorpg being serviced by Neowiz. Unlike Skid Rush, Ray City provides realistic renderings of Seoul and has been hot since it began open test services last month. Some of the popular features on Ray City include chasing, tailing, and running away scenarios, similar to car-chasing scenes often seen in movies.
This near-perfect rendering of Seoul is one of the reasons Ray City has been so popular among Korean gamers, because the virtual game environment includes not only the major roads and buildings, but also street signs and company signs, some of which are product placement ads. At first, the map was focused on southern and downtown Seoul, but new developments have added expansions to add other neighborhoods as well.
Moreover, on Dec.30, a major update now enables players to engage in one-on-one challenges, where gamers can select someone on the road and request a race. If the other player agrees, the racing “track” appears on the road in real-time.
The update also includes another sports car ― the Alto QQ.

by Wohn Dong-hee