South Korea Archive

  • StarCraft II given Adults Only rating in South Korea, teens freak out in response

    StarCraft II given Adults Only rating in South Korea, teens freak out in response

    Posted on April 19, 2010 | No Comments
    StarCraft II has tentatively been given an Adults Only (18+) rating in South Korea, causing Blizzard a certain amount of consternation. Blizzard has 30 days to appeal the rating. If you think that volcano caused chaos and mayhem, you obviously aren't familiar StarCraft's significance in South Korea.

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  • South Korea imposes midnight gaming ban to prevent addiction

    South Korea imposes midnight gaming ban to prevent addiction

    Posted on April 12, 2010 | No Comments
    The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism doesn't want the country's youth becoming addicted to video games, particularly MMOs, so it's imposing a ban of sorts. Starting in the second half of this year, underage gamers will find their Internet connections disabled for six hours every night, either from midnight to 6am, 1am to 7am, or 2am to 8am. The idea is to ween kids off these games, by hook or by crook, before they become addicted. Gotta start somewhere, I suppose.

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  • Google to pull all games from the Android Market in South Korea

    Google to pull all games from the Android Market in South Korea

    Posted on April 6, 2010 | No Comments
    Are you from South Korea? Are you carrying an Android phone? Love gaming? Stop reading this. Go download every game you can from the Android market, and then come back. Don’t worry! We’ll wait! Now that you’re back, here’s why we had you do that: Google’s about to pull all games from the Android Market in [...]

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  • Kim Jong-il caption contest

    Kim Jong-il caption contest

    Posted on March 13, 2010 | No Comments
    Matt: “I see we just got the latest computer monitors. Take that, South Korea.” Devin: “Zerg him, comrade” John: “Our glorious gold farming initiative is the pride of the world.” Dave: “What?? Doug left CrunchGear?” Greg: “Our screens may not be bigger, but they are deeper. Take that, South Korea!” Scott:”I always get sniped on de_dust, too. Don’t let it [...]

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  • Seven alternatives to the Apple iPad

    Seven alternatives to the Apple iPad

    Posted on March 12, 2010 | No Comments
    Wait! Stop. Before you hand over Apple your credit card and pre-order the iPad, you may want to check out the other touchscreen options available now and in the near future. The iPad isn't the only game in town. Sure, it might have a fancy-pants interface, but each of the follow seven tablets win the hardware fight, which is just as important to a lot of consumers. Of course the hardware only tells part of the story. The iPad has a leg up on all of these options because of the user-friendly iPhone interface, but it's not like you're dropping $600+ on a tablet for your parents, right?

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  • What would you even do with a 100 mbps Internet connection?

    What would you even do with a 100 mbps Internet connection?

    Posted on March 8, 2010 | No Comments
    About a year ago I signed up for Cablevision's Optimum Online Ultra, and aside from a little snafu that I'm trying to fix right now (don't ask!), it's been great. How could you go wrong with a reliable 100 mbps down/15 mbps up connection? Only $100/month, too. Other ISPs are getting close to offering similar speeds, thanks to Docsis 3.0, but some people are wondering: will people even need that sort of speed, and if so, then for what?

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  • Virgin Mobile USA To Kill Their Postpaid Service On May 25th

    Virgin Mobile USA To Kill Their Postpaid Service On May 25th

    Posted on March 1, 2010 | No Comments
    According to a series of tips I just received from multiple trusted sources, Virgin Mobile USA is planning to shut down the post-paid chunk of their wireless services on May 25th, 2010. You see, there once was a little wireless carrier called Helio. Bringing over all kinds of crazy sliding what-nots from South Korea, they tried their damnedest to offer the coolest cell phones on the block. They also bled money like a busted spigot, burning $710 million before they were ready to call it quits. In June of 2008, Virgin Mobile (who then offered solely pre-paid wireless) came along and snatched up Helio for $39 million in stock, primarily to serve as a foundation for their then non-existent postpaid service. A great plan, until Sprint acquired Virgin Mobile just a year later, primarily for their pre-paid service.

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  • Virgin Mobile USA To Kill Their Postpaid Service (Helio) On May 25th

    Virgin Mobile USA To Kill Their Postpaid Service (Helio) On May 25th

    Posted on March 1, 2010 | No Comments
    Update: This is now confirmed. See Virgin Mobile's statement after the jump. According to a series of tips I just received from multiple trusted sources, Virgin Mobile USA is planning to shut down the post-paid chunk of their wireless services on May 25th, 2010. You see, there once was a little wireless carrier called Helio. Bringing over all kinds of crazy sliding what-nots from South Korea, they tried their damnedest to offer the coolest cell phones on the block. They also bled money like a busted spigot, burning $710 million before they were ready to call it quits. In June of 2008, Virgin Mobile (who then offered solely pre-paid wireless plans) came along and snatched up Helio for $39 million in stock, primarily to serve as a foundation for their then non-existent postpaid service. A great plan, until Sprint acquired Virgin Mobile just a year later, primarily for their pre-paid service.

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  • Separate Keitai: Meet Japan’s sexiest new handset (videos)

    Separate Keitai: Meet Japan’s sexiest new handset (videos)

    Posted on February 5, 2010 | No Comments
    For years, Japan was the innovation leader in the cell phone industry, until South Korea and the US started catching up rapidly. If you look back at what Nippon's mighty carriers have released in the past few months, you mainly see super-powerful handsets with large OLED screens, 12MP cameras, Blu-ray recorder connectivity, double digital TV tuners, etc. But the form factor never really changes, as the majority of Japanese consumers still demands clamshell phones with jog dials enabling them to conveniently thumb-text emails. But if a country churns out 100 different handsets per year, there have to be some exceptions. And the most notable exception (that now has been priced and dated) is Fujitsu's F-04B featuring the world's first separable two-module body.

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  • LG gets bragging rights for Japan’s first certified 4G device

    LG gets bragging rights for Japan’s first certified 4G device

    Posted on February 3, 2010 | No Comments
    The rest of the world is catching on rapidly but overall, Japan is still the world's most advanced society mobile society. That being said, you'd assume that the first 4G (LTE) device to get an official certification from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications must be coming from one of the many mobile companies over here, but it was South Korea's LG who got the bragging rights [KR] for that today.

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  • The LG Serie 1 Retro Classic TV is the definition of retrosexy

    The LG Serie 1 Retro Classic TV is the definition of retrosexy

    Posted on January 25, 2010 | No Comments
    Who cares if this LG TV is just a 4:3, 14-inch CRT. I still want one. Look at it and tell me that there isn't a spot in your home for the little guy. The chrome legs, soft styling, rabbit ears. There's even a little switch that changes the picture to black and white or sepia. It's all good. Too bad that it's stuck in Korea and not available here in the States.

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  • Cydle media player coming to America

    Cydle media player coming to America

    Posted on December 29, 2009 | No Comments
    Cydle is launching their new in-car multimedia system at CES this January. Previously only available in South Korea, the Cydle P29 is a portable multimedia player with HD radio and subscription-free Mobile DTV.

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  • Nearly two million mobile WiMAX subscribers worldwide by year’s end, most eyeing LTE suspiciously

    Nearly two million mobile WiMAX subscribers worldwide by year’s end, most eyeing LTE suspiciously

    Posted on December 4, 2009 | No Comments
    The folks at ABI Research have done up a nice summary of the status of mobile WiMAX globally, saying that they expect the total number of subscribers to be at around two million come January. Overall it's not the most optimistic picture, with many service rollouts falling short of their projected aims both in availability and in subscribers, South Korea's numbers "stagnant," and LTE breathing down everybody's necks -- particularly in the US and Japan. Still, there are some notable bright spots, most particularly Russia's Yota service, which broke 200,000 subscribers last month after five months of commercial operation, and which is also flirting with profitability at this early stage. Clearwire is the other main shining light, with "more-than-adequate funding" allowing for an increased pace of deployment. It's hard to say just exactly what sort of market share we should expect from WiMAX in the long run, but after the painful eons of CDMA vs. GSM, we really are rooting for one of these 4G technologies win decisively over the other.

    Nearly two million mobile WiMAX subscribers worldwide by year's end, most eyeing LTE suspiciously originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • LG BL40 Christmas Edition sports 8 megapixel camera, no egg nog (update)

    LG BL40 Christmas Edition sports 8 megapixel camera, no egg nog (update)

    Posted on November 24, 2009 | No Comments
    If you're reading this in South Korea, or are planning a trip there this holiday season, do us a solid, will ya? Apparently LG is releasing a Christmas Edition of the BL40, with the tantalizing name: "New Chocolate: Black Label Series." We were sort of hoping that you could maybe get some hands-on pics for us. Unlike the standard BL40, this new candy bar boasts an 8MP autofocus camera, a swanky case with gold accents, and a chance to win up to 5 million Korean Won (over $4,000) in prizes. Yes, that's right -- you can win stuff by buying this phone! No word yet on availability in countries besides the ROK, but we do have a pretty sweet gallery for you below. PR after the break.

    Update: Apparently, the Christmas Edition is not a BL40, it's a SU630. Exclusive to Korea, this model arrives with an 8 megapixel phone and 4-inch, 21:9 touchscreen. Thanks to Emily for pointing this out!

    Continue reading LG BL40 Christmas Edition sports 8 megapixel camera, no egg nog (update)

    LG BL40 Christmas Edition sports 8 megapixel camera, no egg nog (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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