The recent launch of the iPhone is bringing about remarkable changes in the local consumer market and offering challenges to related industries in the country. This is the first of a four-part series on the changes and challenges in the local smartphone market. - Ed.
By Cho Chung-un
Jung Hye-won, a 29-year-old PR manager for BK S&P, a local business solution provider, threw away her big, heavy suitcase after she bought an iPhone last week.
"I frequently move around and I had to carry my laptop, camera, MP3 player, PDA, mobile phone and cables to connect them," she said.
The iPhone freed her from the chore of carrying the heavy load.
"I feel much lighter and my work-life seems to have become much easier than before. I also don't have to look for coffee houses that offer Wi-Fi networks anymore. With this smartphone, I can check e-mail and surf the Web anytime, anywhere," she said.
Jung is one of a growing number of iPhone users in Korea who enjoy new lifestyle benefits offered by the smartphone, which is developed and manufactured by U.S. IT giant Apple.
According to KT, Korean customers snapped up 250,000 iPhones as of Jan. 10, less than 50 days after the phone was released here. KT, the country's second-largest mobile carrier, is an official partner with Apple in charge of selling iPhone products and receiving after-sale service requests.
To date, no other mobile has reached more than 250,000 unit sales in less than 50 days, according to a KT official, even though the market has been dominated by popular phones manufactured by Samsung and LG.
Other smartphones have changed office culture as well, asking employees to be more time efficient.
"I am a slave to my smartphone because I have to check my e-mail 24 hours a day. Now I can't give the excuse to my boss that I couldn't check my e-mail because I was away from the office," said Chung Seong-jun, senior associate of the equity sales team at Daewoo Investment and Securities.
Chung added that it is better to send messages to his clients abroad with his Blackberry than talking on the phone.
"My Blackberry leaves texts and e-mails. So there is no chance of miscommunication," he said.
Some big companies have started to offer smartphones to their employees at corporate expenses. Banks are taking the lead, with more top executives using smartphones. The Industrial Bank of Korea, for example, plans to change all of their executives' mobiles with Samsung's Omnia 2 sold via KT. The state-funded bank plans to hold classes on how to use smartphones and how to surf the Web as well as developing office programs for their employees.
Industry watchers said that the companies believe that iPhones could make work more efficient and cut operating costs, because the mobile office program installed in smartphones allows workers to write documents and prepare for presentations even during their lunch hour.
Not only private companies, but also state-run agencies are adapting themselves to the new IT era ushered in by smartphones.
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency has started to open classes on trade practices through the iPhone and iPod last week. The 35 series video lecture can be downloaded from iTunes, a digital media player application developed by Apple, to help Korean businesspeople learn about trade practices on their way to work or home, KOTRA said.
Korean banks are no exception.
From Hana Bank to the Industrial Bank of Korea, banks have developed their own software applications for iPhone users so they can do internet banking through their smartphones.
It is now quite rare to see people reading newspapers or books on subway trains. Instead, people use smartphones to search for stories they want to read, instead of turning cumbersome pages and being unavoidably exposed to ads.
What amazes smartphone users the most is that the device helps them make smart choices.
Kim Ji-hye, a sales woman in Seoul, said she looks for the best restaurants through her iPhone when meeting important clients.
"The list of restaurants is not all that the iPhone's application program offers but also ratings and comments from people who have tried that restaurant before. I have never failed to satisfy my clients," Kim said.
Even though she had a two-year contract with Samsung's Armani phone last year, Kim did not hesitate to buy an iPhone, stressing its numerous and convenient application programs she did not get with her Samsung handset.
"The iPhone offers thousands of application programs from virtual navigation systems, to movie schedules at theaters, to the latest fashion trends," Kim said.
"I feel like I am in a different world now," she added.
(christory@heraldm.com) /Korea Herald scrap