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To: Boplicity who wrote (69335)	3/22/2000 12:39:00 AM
From: LBstocks	Respond to of 152472

Internet portal myAladdin.com to be launched soon in Korea A new wireless Internet portal service that could broaden the wireless Internet choices offered through the country's five wireless operators will soon be launched in Korea. The myAladdin.com service, developed by the maker of Web-enabled smartphones, NeoPoint Inc., eliminates the need for individual wireless operators to come up with their own wireless Internet service because its technology allows existing contents to be automatically formatted to support the different handsets regardless of markup language used. Another unique feature of the service is that it supports all forms of wireless digital services including CDMA (code division multiple access) and GSM (global system for mobile communications). Although this feature is irrelevant in Korea, as the nation adopted CDMA as the sole standard, it is a huge advantage in countries such as the United States where multiple standards exist. At the moment, wireless Internet users are limited to contents provided by their wireless service company. In fact, it is consumer demand for more diverse wireless Internet services that will compel the wireless operators to provide myAladdin.com service in addition to their own wireless Internet services. "Wireless operators will continue to stick with their own wireless Internet service to attract customers, but consumers will want more choice," said William Son, NeoPoint CEO, in explaining why wireless telecom companies will sign up with myAladdin.com. However, having wireless operators as partners will not be an absolute necessity as the myAladdin.com site can be accessed by all carriers, according to Son. The company is holding talks with all five wireless operators and about 100 content providers. In Korea, myAladdin.com service will go into trial service in early May to be followed by commercial launch in the summer. The company expects to have ironed out all the technical requirements so that a sudden surge in demand will not overload the system, said Son. The myAladdin.com service is currently on trial in the United States and Canada. While the price for data services is significantly higher than that for voice calls, the charges for both services could be similar in Korea, according to Son. "Wireless Internet is still a relatively new term and looking at the United States and Korea, the Korean market may see more rapid uptake of the wireless Internet and m-commerce," observed Son. This is because already half of the Korean population use wireless handsets and nationwide coverage is available, he explained. NeoPoint.Inc is a familiar name in the U.S. wireless market for its line of smartphones that have been optimized for wireless Internet use, with bigger screens to accommodate 11 lines compared to the 3-4 lines available on conventional wireless handsets. Sprint PCS deployed NeoPoint's wireless phones when it launched wireless Internet service last September and Canada's Bell Mobility recently launched smartphones. Another U.S. operator, Vodafone-AirTouch will also shortly launch Neopoints. Commenting on the failure of the smartphones launched here last fall by LG Information and Communication (LGIC), which makes the Web-enabled phones for NeoPoint on OEM (original equipment manufacture) basis, to attract a following, Son said that his company would pursue more localization in the future. "In the United States, smartphones go hand in hand with smart service but in Korea, smartphones will not be a requirement," said Son, adding that such an adjustment is an attempt to meet the particular needs of the Korean consumers. NeoPoint, which has had exclusive partnership with LGIC in the production of smartphones, is now talking with one or two other wireless handset makers as well as several smaller venture firms, in a move to diversify its suppliers. The company, founded in October 1997, filed for initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq in January. "We initially planned to raise $78 million but that figure is being upwardly adjusted to meet the higher than expected demand," said Son. Updated: 03/22/2000 by Kim Hoo-ran Staff reporter