Sales of Digital TVs Growing During Economic Slump

This is a follow up to the previous post about the new LED television sets being sold by Samsung Electronics.  As reported in the Chosun Ilbo and other papers today, sales of digital television sets are growing in the world's developed economies, despite the severe economic slump.  This reflects increased consumer spending on in-home activities and also defies the common sense idea that high end appliances do not sell well during an economic recession.  Another factor contributing to the sales is that governments worlwide have adopted policies for switching over to digital broadcasting.   Here in Korea the obvious beneficiaries of this global phenomenon are Samsung and LG Electronics, the world's leading manufacturers of flat screen digital television sets.

The Significance of Korea's New LED Displays

As outlined in a Korea Times story yesterday, Samsung Electronics has launched its new series of LED displays in the Korean market.  They are now available in all major world markets.  Coincidentally, my wife and I purchased a 52 inch Samsung LCD television about a month ago, and have been enjoying it immensely.  We have no buyer's remorse since we purchased the HD TV-ready, top-of-the-line set at a competitive price and will be able to enjoy it for years.  A new LED model would have cost about $1,000 more (we paid about $2,200 for ours).  However, the new LED models are thinner....much thinner, lighter and are also 40 percent more energy efficient, while rendering colors slightly better than our new television set.  This morning, just before coming in to work, I watched live coverage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational from Florida as Tiger Woods sunk a long putt on the final hole to win.  Watching it on the 52" LCD television was so much more fun than on our old, smaller CRT television.

As readers of this blog will know, I'm currently doing my own research on the information and communication revolution in Korea.  In the broad context of this nation's efforts to build an information society, what is the significance of LED televisions and the display industry more generally?   I suggest the following for starters.

• The display industry is a core or "anchor" technology of the information age.  This will continue into the future as sight and visual images are such a major component of human communication.  The closer the actual image on a display is to real human vision, the more realistic the viewing experience will be.


• Korea's growing strength in the semiconductor industry complements its work with displays.  In fact, the manufacturing process for displays is very similar to that for semiconductors.


• By introducing the LED line of televisions now, Korea's companies will have a big edge over their competitors when the global market for these devices reaches economies of scale.  There are as yet no major Japanese, North American or European competitors in the display market.


• From the standpoint of ordinary consumers around the globe, there is no doubt that once the price reaches an acceptably low level, many will trade in their "old" LCD television sets for a newer, lighter, greener and more "fun to view" set.

In short, South Korea's leadership in the display industry is integral to its overall development as a global ICT leader.

Mergers and Convergence in Korea: KT-KTF, Android, VOIP

The merger of KT with KTF has been approved by the Korea Communications Commission. This merger is considered to be the largest ever in South Korea, outside the financial industry. From a global perspective, it is one of several steps being taken here that will push rapid convergence toward a single, fast digital network for the future. The move has several very interesting implications as follows:

• As noted in a Joongang Daily article, it will mark a shift to packaged services in South Korea's telecommunications industry. After the two firms, which split in 1996, are joined together they will sell landlines, mobile service, high speed internet and internet television as part of a bundled package.


• This merger is expected to encourage other mergers in the sector. Under this scenario, SK Telecom will merge with SK Broadband and LG Telecom will merge with LG Powercom.


• KT is reported to be working with Samsung on a handset that will be capable of operating on both 3G and WiBro networks. This has powerful implications since it means that VOIP services like Skype or the forthcoming Google Voice will be available via this phone.

The last bullet point above is very significant and seems to indicate that the Korea Communications Commission and overall Korean government policy is going to push rapidly and forcefully for full convergence into a single, interconnected digital network that merges voice, data and television, along with fixed and mobile networks.

Ohmynews, in the article cited above, suggested that the merger of KT and KTF might "open up VOIP Heaven." We'll all see about that in the coming months. However, there appears to be one major element lacking in the emerging scenario here in South Korea. It is called Google, and more specifically Android and the Open Handset Alliance. According to reports, Samsung's forthcoming WiBro phone operates on Windows Mobile. This does not bode well for its success in the marketplace, if the example of the Apple iPhone is to be taken seriously. There is a coming battle among mobile platforms and at this point it will probably eliminate Windows mobile in favor of more open platforms ---Apple iPhone, Android and Symbian. So, I suggest we all wait to see whether Samsung and LG take the bold step of introducing Wi-Bro enabled phones for the Android platform.