그린 로봇 댄스
Tuesday, August 3, 2010 at 11:41 AM In this, the second of Three posts looking at Android, I look at the situation in Korea.
Android in Korea is charactersised by one letter and one letter only: "S", as in Galaxy S and Samsung, but while Samsung has a long pedigree in Smartphones (I can't say I miss my BlackJack II or my Mirage) and indeed Android outside it's domestic market, it wasn't first to market with an Android handset in Korea. That dubious honour goes to Motorola who, despite falling sales world wide, launched the Motorola Roi back in January.
Similar to its North American cousin "The Droid" the MotoRoi found something of a following in Korea amongst those hungry for an alternative to Windows Mobile, sick of feature phones, or had been swept up in the quickly emerging "Smartphone" craze, but were wary of either KT, The iPhone or a combination thereof.
A capable phone and a nice implementation of the Android platform, the MotoRoi never sold in great numbers and was very quickly eclipsed by the number of iPhones KT was seeing go out its doors.
Eight months later and Android offerings remain pretty slim on the ground. KT has the Nexus One - Google's "own" phone, but in the wake of iPhone (currently 3G and the debacle over when they will have 4) they haven't nearly done as much as they could have to get that particular handset into people's hands.
The Korean Nexus One even had the distinction of being the first handset in the world to officially have the latest version of the Android OS installed on it v. 2.2 or the so called "Froyo", and yet you would be hard placed to see one anywhere.*
LG, Korea's 3rd telecoms provider and somewhat behind the other two is coming out this quarter with it's "Optimus" branded Android offerings, which actually look quite nice aesthetically, but forgive me - Isn't LG still using 2.5G CDMA 2000 / Ev-Do type technology? (I mean honestly who uses LG?)
And that brings us back to the Galaxy S.
As far as possible I am referring to the Korean market version of the S. In what seems a strange and possibly costly exercise, "The S" is being offered in different hardware configurations and with different Industrial design. In The US The S takes the shape of the "Captivate" for AT&T and the "Vibrant" for T-Mobile. Admittidly the carriers use different radio frequencies, but for all intents and purposes they are the same phone, and pretty much the same as the S here in Korea. (Except for the addition of DMB TV in Korea for watching televised Starcraft II matches in the subway):
You'll note my reluctance in mentioning any "iPhone Killers" in this round up - even though I am an owner, I'm not a fanboy, but I really think other manufacturers have a long way to go to equal the intuitiveness and simplicity, and integrated ecosystem of the iPhone, but I'd be remiss in this discussion of Android not to mention the attempts at a so-called "iPad killer". Take the telephony out of the equation and you have a more open field. The iPad, for all it's hype (I paid for mine today, should be in my hands in Koera in about a month!) and the same ecosystem, does fall down in the portable computing type arena. The lack of inputs (USB, Card readers etc) no File system and an awkward way of typing on the thing are all ticks in the negative column that could be solved by Android.
Forget the sub-$200 offerings from Chinese OEMs running Android v. 1.6 available on eBay, and enter The S-Pad (Also maybe called the Galaxy Pad) Samsung's rumored 7 Inch Android tablet running Samsung's TouchWiz Interface rumored for release in Q3 this year (There's only this month left in Q3!):
The Galaxy Pad (S Pad) next to the Galaxy S
If there was a device to truly challenge iPad Madness, this may well be it. And rest assured I will be crawling over burning broken glass to get a peek at this one!
Not that it's all increasing growth and roses for Android in Korea.
The introduction and development of these "foreign" mobile invaders has, for some time, been stifled by ridiculous protectionism in the guise of flimsy government regulation (remember WIPI?). Along with the iPhone and Nexus One there are only two other models of phone available internationally - The Nokia 51something, Nokia's Navigation based phone crippled because regulations forbid map data of Korea to be held on foreign servers, and The Sony Xperia (Extra semi-colon anyone?)
And speaking of regulations, don't think you can buy any apps for your Android device. Financial regulations require public key encryption (On your PC those would be Active X controls) for financial transactions, so no your bank won't honour purchases made over the phone. (Has this changed? Anyone?) [Update:] Paid Apps are now available from The Android Marketplace. And you'll be limited to productivity and utility apps on Android (and iPhone for that matter) Because anything that even ressembles a game (and not just "entertainment") has to be vetted by the Korea Games Rating Board before it can be sold.
So no having fun with your Android now OK kiddies!?
In the face of these restrictions we do indeed see Android growing, not only worldwide, but also in Korea. Part of this growth is due to local content providers looking to populate your Android device with their content.
And it is this locally generated Korean content that we will look at in the third and final installment of this little look at our Dancing Green Robots (그린 로봇 댄스)
Images (cc) where possible
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*In a related note, I was overjoyed to hear that, just like other markets, the Nexus One is Unlocked - in that you could slip any SIM card into it. Except that Hardware is networked locked in Korea, if the carrier hasn't whitelisted your IMEI No. the phone just won't work. No SK Telecom for your Nexus One.
This is, frankly, a fucking shocking situation in 2010, where markets like Europe, The rest of Asia, The rest of the world have had unlocked and "network portable" hardware for years with no damage to their user base or profits.
Korean users, ignorant because for years (since the introduction of WCDMA - so at least 5 years) have been told "This is impossible" are being lied to and shouldn't have to put up with this situation.
Look forward to a series of posts in December this year when my 1 year contract is up with KT and I want my iPhone unlocked. (Albeit for no other reason than I believe I have the right to it!)
Reader Comments (12)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hU4v1_Hc-c3HXojujy_ZsBg7bpWA
Can't remember exactly where I read it (this isn't where I initially saw it, what I saw was about more specific legislation i think), but it seems it goes well beyond just android.
Did you read your link? lol, It talks about a mistake google made, despite the fact that paid apps are indeed here now.
Also, I'm pretty sure iPhone locking is tied to Apple's servers, not KT. That's going to be one hell of an uphill battle, but then again, that's what these guys are for. Can't wait for the ordeal I'm in for with iPhone 4 (visa almost up, but coming back, and I don't like wating)
Jailbroke my iPhone last night, but the unlock won't work in Korea, in that, The phone will be unlocked and you could use it overseas, but I couldn't slip in an SK Telecom SIM card without paying them and KT (I think) to whitelist the IMEI number
I own a Samsung Galaxy S here in SIngapore. I must say it is a very accomplished phone. Phones sold here are all unlocked. I like the Galaxy S for its high spec hardware and the openess of android. Honestly the iphone is a very very closed system, you can't even do a bluetooth file transfer. To watch a video on it you have to re-encode to H.264 which is a time consuming process. However, the range and quality of the apps on the Apple store is vastly superior to the Android market. Due to the massive growth of android, it is a matter of time before software vendors make a version of their apps for each of these two phone markets.
@stafford
That's very interesting to know. I don't quite get it though. If it is a Korean sold iPhone, shouldn't the IMEI already be whitelisted? Is it seriously only whitelisted by each carrier, and not by the KCC (for whole country)? I thought that was the whole point of a process like this guy and this guy went through (that phones/devices released here have presumably gone through internally).
@cybodroid
My understanding (and I'm open to correction) is that yes indeed handsets are whitelisted per carrier, in what we would call in the old days "hardware locked" to the carrier.
This is the next frontier in terms of sorting out the anti-competitive nay, anti consumer stance handset makers and the telecoms companies take here in Korea. And is why you can't bring your own phone an buy a prepaid sim card when you travel to Korea like every other country in the world.
I mean the companies would have to Start offering value for money if you could just slip in a new sim card from a different company into your handset!
If I buy an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S from the USA, will I be able to put a Korean telecom provider's (SK or KT) SIM card in the phone and use it in Korea and not have to buy into one of their plans?
In the past this hasn't been possible in Korea because phones need to certified by the Korean FCC before being allowed on the networks.
If you do get a certification (about $300) I'm not sure you can get a pay as you go deal simply because I have never asked.
Hello there,
Is there any news about using Galaxy S from USA or from Europe (i9000) in Korea? Can one get a sim card from SK Telecom and use it in Korea?
I am expat in seoul, and have a local handset for th elast 4 years. I recently got a new unlocked Galaxy S and want to activate it.
Please advise.
Thanks
I asked at a local phone shop about using an overseas, legally unlocked, version of the Galaxy S here in Korea. What he told me was that phones are the same technology. But, Korean cell phones have a different serial number. Technically the phone can work here in Korea with a Korean SIM card in it. But, the phone companies system will not allow the SIM card to connect, when their system sees that the serial number is from an overseas Galaxy S!
Talk about collusion and an anti consumer stance by the handset makers and the telecom companies!
Not quite. The system - although smacking of collusion- actually has it's roots in the antiquated communications laws and their interface with the National Security Law.
The carriers would love to take your handset and put it on their network. Shit! It's more money for them! But by law they cant put anything on their network until it has passed the Korea FCC's Radio and antenna tests.
I know a few people who have imported phones and got the FCC radio certificate (about ₩500000) and the KT has been more than happy to sign them up.
In addition KT will also unlock your phone day 1 if you buy it out right or if you want to take it home(though I hear reports that they want proof of a return ticket to Korea - in the hope you will come back and join KT again.)
Things are getting better in the mobile space here in Korea.
I would never have guesses it a year ago - bit it is KT leading the charge.
I baught a Galaxy S (GT-i9000) in Taiwan ($640 USD), so it can be used later in Europe. To allow using it in Korea I have it tested by RF test lab (304,000 KRW). With their certiicate I registered it with SK and using it now in Korea. Probably not the best deal if you do not consider moving soon back to Europe or USA.