Samsung, LG hit jackpot in Las Vegas

Korea’s two largest tech firms made their marks over the weekend in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show, the largest event of its kind in the United States, walking away with nearly 10 percent of the awards. Saturday’s show was a triumph for Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, who garnered 29 of the 300 awards given by the U.S. Consumer Electronics Association, a non-profit evaluator of consumer products and the sponsor of the event. LG took 16 awards, more than any other company, including for its 17-inch liquid crystal display monitor and camera phones. Samsung won 13 awards, including those for its high-definition DVD players and 32-inch slim cathode-ray tube television sets. On Sunday in the United States, the final day of the exhibition, the companies are showing mobile phones that have mini typing interfaces, identical to keyboards used in personal computers. The device is dubbed the QWERTY phone, referring to the first six letters on the top line of a conventional keyboard. “It addresses the needs of businessmen who have to send text messages or e-mail through cellular phones,” a Samsung spokesperson said. Some special features of Samsung’s phone include wireless Internet and dual speakers for three-dimensional sound effects. LG’s handset supports instant messaging, enabling users to log on to AOL, ICQ or Yahoo Messenger. On the heels of LG’s strong showing in Las Vegas, LG Electronics vice chairman Kim Ssang-su held his first press conference of the new year yesterday to announce the company’s business plans and foreign marketing strategy. Mr. Kim said LG will increase investments by 40 percent to 3.5 trillion won and expand its research and development workforce. “This year, we will focus investments on digital TVs and mobile phones, and expand into new businesses such as home networking and digital media broadcasting,” Mr. Kim said. “We will be aggressive and try to boost sales in the electronics and information communications sectors to become one of the top five firms in the world,” he said. For Samsung, the event was an opportunity to emphasize its high-end digital image through products such as the world’s largest plasma display panel and a pendant-shaped mini MP3 player encased in platinum and studded with diamonds. The company’s booth was the largest at the event. Last year, the company sold 88.5 million mobile phones, marking a 58.9 percent increase compared to the previous year. In a report last week, the Bank of America said that Samsung Electronics had the highest growth rate last year among the five major global cellphone makers, as well as the highest profitability. by Wohn Dong-hee, Jung Sun-gu