Android Smart TV, Dual-Core Phone, Dual-Mode Policies

A few news from Korea :

LG will release Q4 2010 an Android smartphone running with Tegra 2, a 1GHz dual-core processor made by NVIDIA bound to enhance the mobile multimedia experience (3D, games, video...), and the manufacturer's position in the smartphone race.

Rival Samsung confirmed its ambitions in smart TV, probably also on Android.

At the app level, mobile commerce also benefits from the (late) smart wave, leveraging on a long history in mobile banking. But Hana SK Card (SK Telecom's TouchSeven Card with Hana Bank) "only" claimed 20,000 holders end of May. Yet, KT's Show Touch (with Shinan Bank) joined the party, so the market should grow much faster.

The mobile arena is the perfect space to boost reforms in Korea's SME ecosystem : operators are starting to understand the need to open up and to stimulate diversity, and the government is pushing for a "fair society" : in the country, chaebols (big conglomerates) tend to absorb value as soon as it pops up, leaving crumbs to smaller players, who themselves are not used to surviving off these giant hooks.

On the other hand, the same government is about to grant broadcasting rights to major press groups, accelerating concentration in the medias...

The people doesn't seem to care, provided panem et circenses keep getting better. And that's also what smart TV and dual core handsets are about.

mot-bile 2010