Samsung won't use Qualcomm chip for new Galaxy S: Bloomberg

SEOUL - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd will not use Qualcomm Inc's processors for the next version of the South Korean technology giant's flagship Galaxy S smartphone, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

The report said Samsung, the world's top smartphone maker, tested the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chip and decided not to use it, without offering details. Samsung will use its own processors instead, the report said.

A Qualcomm spokesman declined to comment on the report. A Samsung spokeswoman said the company does not comment on rumors.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

N. Korean lifter breaks record as competition begins

INCHEON, South Korea - North Korean pocket rocket Om Yun Chol broke his own weightlifting world record at the Asian Games on Saturday, while hosts South Korea matched powerhouse China's gold medal haul with five on the first day of competition.

Less than 24 hours after a vibrant opening ceremony marked the launch of the 17th Asiad, Om hoisted more than three times his own bodyweight with a superhuman lift of 170kg in the clean and jerk.

Standing just 1.52m tall (5ft) and weighing 56kg (123lbs), Om's mighty lift came near the end of a day in which 18 gold medals were split between eight countries.

China's Zhang Mengyuan won two gold medals, in the women's 10 meters air pistol event and in the team event.

Some 9,500 athletes from 45 countries are competing at the Games, the world's second-biggest multi-sport event after the summer Olympics, with 439 gold medals in 36 sports up for grabs.

And while there are 14 more days of competition to go, it is hard to imagine a gold medal being celebrated with such joyous abandon as Om displayed at the Moonlight Festival garden venue.

The London Olympic champion let out a roar of triumph, raced to celebrate with his coach, did a lap of honour draped in the North Korean flag, then posed on the podium with a razor-sharp salute as the national anthem played in his honour.

The scene would not have pleased the conservative groups who had demanded Incheon organizers take down North Korean flags flying around the city in the lead-up to the Games, but the crowd's reaction to Om's win was one of delight, not distrust.

Tensions between North and South Korea are high and the two states are still technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

"I am very happy," the 22-year-old Om told reporters. "Whenever our people face difficulty, we come together and make it through the rough time."

South Korean fans also had good reason to cheer their own athletes as they took five gold medals -- in wushu, fencing, cycling and equestrian.

Lee Ha-sung picked up the hosts' first gold in the men's wushu changquan and his coach, Park Chan-dae, said Lee had accomplished something he never could.

"He has achieved my dream for me," said Park. "Although I won gold six times in the Wushu World Championships, I only got a silver medal at the Asian Games."

Lee's combination of whirling kicks, athletic leaps and intricate hand movements earned him a score of 9.71 points to take gold in the martial arts discipline, ahead of Macau's Jia Rui (9.69) and Japan's Daisuke Ichikizaki (9.67).

HORROR FALL

South Korean equestrian Kim Kyun-sub won a gold medal in the dressage team event and paid tribute to his late uncle, who died in a horror fall at the Asian Games in Doha eight years ago.

Kim Hyung-chil was crushed when his horse threw him over a fence then landed on him during the eventing competition in Qatar.

"My uncle taught me a lot," Kim said on Saturday after his ride on Dark Secret. "Whenever I perform in the field, I am reminded of my uncle teaching me and demanding many things. I also thought a lot about him while performing."

India, perennial underachievers at the Asian and Olympic Games, already have a gold medal to crow about after Jitu Rai won the men's 50m pistol event.

While his closest opponent, Vietnam's Nguyen Hoang Phuong, cracked under pressure, Rai kept a cool head and a steady hand to shoot straight and take the title.

There were two golds apiece for Mongolia and Kazakhstan, while Japan, who are determined to beat fierce rivals South Korea to second place in the medal standings behind China, could manage only one, in judo.

The Japanese will hope Ryosuke Irie makes a splash on Sunday when the highly-anticipated swimming competition begins at Munhak Park Tae-hwan Aquatics Center.

Irie will be the one to beat in the men's 100m backstroke, while fans will also get to see the first instalment of local hero's Park Tae-hwan's freestyle duels with fellow Olympic champion Sun Yang of China.

(Editing by Julian Linden)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Debts, empty seats taint start of Incheon Asiad

INCHEON - The Asian Games is just starting in Incheon, but the prospect of empty stadiums for the next two weeks and high debt for many years is already making the continent's biggest sporting event feel unloved.

The mayor of South Korea's third city admitted on the eve of Friday's opening ceremony -- featuring classical pianist Lang Lang and Korean pop stars such as Psy -- that Incheon is in financial trouble over the cost.

Inhabitants are not convinced that the event, for which 17 new venues have been built for the sporting stars from across Asia, is worth it. There is no queue of countries at the Olympic Council of Asia to put on future Asiads, which means hosting nearly 10,000 athletes and thousands of coaches, officials and journalists.

There were less than 100 people in the Goyang Stadium when Jordan's football team beat United Arab Emirates, silver medalists in the Asian Games four years ago, on Thursday night. Thousands of tickets remained on sale for Friday's glittering opening extravaganza in a 62,000 capacity stadium.

Incheon officials acknowledged this week that barely 18 percent of tickets have been sold for the Games, which run until October 4.

The city has since decided only to report ticket receipts rather than numbers sold. A city spokeswoman, Yoo Ji-Hyun, said Friday that overall the Games had reached 55 percent of its 35 billion won ($335 million) target.

Thousands of opening ceremony tickets were still available on Thursday night and tens of thousands for the October 4 closing ceremony which Yoo said had reached about 20 percent of its financial target.

Yoo acknowledged that the number of seats sold was much lower than the sales targets, but insisted that interest is growing and there is a "visible rise in ticket sales".

- No cheers from the North -

Mayor Yoo Jeong-Bok acknowledged the financial pain. He said North Korea's decision to withdraw its female cheerleaders -- secretly widely admired in the South, despite the decades of frosty rivalry -- had been a blow.

"The North Korean cheerleaders would have contributed much to our show and also to improving relations between the two Koreas," Yoo told the Yonhap national news agency.

"It's true our financial burden has increased due to the Asian Games. However I believe it will raise the brand value of our city" and attract foreign investors, he added.

The Games have cost nearly $2 billion, and Incheon is now South Korea's most indebted city. There are new tower blocks, a metro line, and sparkling sports facilities. Inhabitants say, however, there is little sign of the 200,000 visitors that organisers have been counting on.

Park Song-Moo, 43, an Incheon office worker, said: "Big sporting events do not attract public attention any more".

While the 1988 Seoul Olympics were widely hailed, Park said times have changed and spectators are more difficult to find.

"Our biggest concern is the economy. Young people have new interests in leisure and personal activities like the Internet, not sports. The highly digitalised society is another reason. People can watch the Games real-time on their smartphones without going to the stadiums," he said.

Housewife Park Sung-Ae said she and friends had wanted tickets for events featuring popular South Korean sports stars, but none were left.

"Public interest in the Asian Games is not so strong, and people are not willing to spend money on unpopular sports. We are more concerned about our budgets. Some people think South Korea should not waste taxpayers' money on costly international events any more because they will result in increased taxes."

Lee Jung-Ae, a 33-year-old housewife, was more upbeat. "The Asian Games will help our country and city to build their image. I also believe it will help reactivate our regional economy," she said.

Much has been made of the $32 billion in debt left after the Chinese city of Guangzhou staged the Games four years ago.

And the Olympic Council of Asia executive board on Friday that chose Indonesia to hold the 2018 Games after Vietnam withdrew this year because of the high cost. No-one else was ready to stand in.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com