Weekly VentureSquare Stories are summaries of some of the week’s top posts relating to the Korean startup and venture Industry.
I-ePUB to Distribute Electronic Content
I-ePUB is startup focused on electronic books that was founded in November 2011 by Kim Cheol-beom. The company which was literally started from scratch and no money, managed to be receive funding last autumn and is the first electronic book company to have made an agreement with an American library. The company aims to not simply transfer paperback books onto tablets but to optimize books and even select specific content that readers of electronic books will like. Ipop also has a vision to distribute Korean electronic books on a global scale with content other than entertainment, which has been the main focus in globalizing Korean content up to now.
EveryOn TV
EveryOn TV is a new web cable service using N-screen technology which was released last year by personal Internet channel service Pandora. On hearing that EveryOn TV had been released as a Windows Phone app, I think that the main focus needs to more personal and aimed towards tablets. Currently, the peak time for mobile TV is during the morning and evening commutes, but there is also another peak time between 10-11pm. At this time it is commonly being used as a second TV for those who want to watch something different than what the rest of the family is watching. That’s why I think the focus needs to be on a personal experience rather than a mobile one.
New media is already filled with top quality content and already companies are getting involved. For those in the video industry, there is no choice but to head down this path. Now what needs to be prepared is an efficient TV platform. It’s only a matter of time now before old media and new media are combined to form a ratings and advertising network. This is exactly the type of new media platform which needs to be developed.
Meeting Moglue
I
met up with Kim Tae-woo from Moglue. Kim’s resume is impressive. A graduate of the Department of Mathematical Sciencesat KAIST, worked at SK Telecom ventures
and finally, CEO of Moglue. The uniqueness of Moglue’s solutions are
simple. Its solutions are creating a wide variety of 2D content
including children’s books, pictorials and recipe books. I’m looking forward to seeing how
their vision of targeting the global market develops. Though if Moglue
intends to make agreements and get content sourcing from the competitive
market in the U.S. then it needs to attract more investment from VCs there. As always, to become a mainstream overseas company, the
major players of the home country play a big part. Nevertheless, ot seems as if Moglue is already honing in on the other companies inside the U.S and I
have high hopes for Kim’s well-designed product.
Lazybuster
As we begin a new year, many of us will have made resolutions. There are those who have discipline and accomplish their goals, but the majority will find themselves throwing away their resolution list within a few months, weeks or even hours! Lazybuster is a new site which aims to help people achieve their goals by sharing their action plans and objectives with each other. Users can search for ways to help stay focused and monitor each others progress. Lazybuster is still in an open beta stage and has plans in the pipeline to release a mobile app so users can keep track of their goals wherever they go.
3 Rabbitz Book
3
Rabbitz Book is an online platform for editing financial documents,
contracts and reports aimed at companies. The platform allows users to
edit a document simultaneously and save online. 3 Rabbitz Book also
allows users to download PDF or ePub files which have all the latest
changes applied. The product was released last July and is being sold to
companies as a package.
How the Internet’s Importance will Increase in 2012 – Opinion
A car that automatically transports you by simply saying your destination, a refrigerator which sends a message to your smartphone to remind you about the leftovers hidden in the corner about to go bad, a TV which tells you to stop watching so many dramas… These ideas are not dreams. They are simply theories which will one day become reality. Computers are not the only device which can be used for a wide variety of things but media devices such e-books, TVs and audio equipment can be connected. LG, Sony and Samsung are all gearing up to launch Google TV devices, to finally achieve the old and tired dream of combining the internet and TV. And if you’re one to believe rumors about Apple’s cloud TV, it will be released in the second half of 2012.
Another area is the new and unique feature offered by current devices which connect to the Internet. 2012 also looks like a year where consumers will show interest in audio and speaker devices which connect with the Internet. Toyota and BMW will most likely continue their foray into internet services within their cars and it can be expected they will make some major steps forward in this area. Google’s Android@Home project which began in 2011 is also bound to show results. Nobody should underestimate the effect that connecting individual households’ heating systems to the Internet can have. “Internet ready” fridges, washing machines and other household appliances will finally come out of the research labs and onto the market.
These reasons are why 2012 will be a year in which the popularity of the internet grows even further.
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