Jobs biography shakes up Korean publishing world

New book on the life of Apple CEO forces local publishers to reschedule big releases

마지막 순간까지도 디자인에 집착…자서전 ‘스티브 잡스’ 서점 점령예고

 

 

 

Oct 24,2011

The official biography of Apple’s late CEO Steve Jobs is shaking up the local publishing industry as it is set to hit shelves of bookstores in 25 countries today.

Fearing direct competition with Walter Isaacson’s forthcoming book “Steve Jobs,” local publishing companies are adjusting the release of their books. A new book by Ahn Cheol-soo, doctor-turned-software mogul who is also the dean of the Seoul National University Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, will now be released at the end of November.

Also, popular Korean writer Kim Hoon’s new novel, breaking a four-year hiatus, “Heuksan” (Black Mountain), moved up its release to last Thursday from early November. Kim is the author of million-seller book “Namhansanseong,” which was released in 2007 and topped the best-seller list for weeks.

“For a moment we thought about taking on [‘Steve Jobs’], but after some deep consideration, we decided to change the release date,” said executive Son Cheol-ju of Hakgojae Publishing Company, who represents Kim.

Although the book is not yet released, local Koreans are eager to preorder the book so that they can be among the first to read Steve Jobs’ life story. As of yesterday, it was ranked the third-best-selling book on the most popular local online bookstore, Yes24.com, and also ranked fourth on Kyobo Bookstore’s list.

Even though readers are very interested in the book, there is limited information released about the contents. To maximize the drama, the book is not only set to be published simultaneously worldwide, but publishers have kept its contents confidential.

The U.S. publisher Simon & Schuster has even made the English-to-local-language translators sign an agreement not to reveal any content until the official release date.

“The local publisher [in the United States] strategically planned the simultaneous release worldwide from the beginning,” said public relations manager Lee Mi-hyun of Minumsa Publishing Group, which is the Korean publisher of the biography. “We have been getting the manuscript in sections as it gets finished there.”

As the confidentiality of the book has sparked curiosity, people who claim to have excerpts of certain pages have been writing their own partial reviews online.

Although the book is set to be released today, the book might not be available as soon as major bookstores open. The Korean version will be available in the afternoon since the books will be shipped out from the printing house in Munsan, Gyeonggi, in the morning.

“We are trying to have the books for purchase as early as possible, but it is expected that the books are going to be ready for sale after 12 o’clock,” said Kim Yun-jeong of Kyobo Bookstore public relations.

However, the English version will be available from the opening at Kyobo Bookstores.

The biography was originally set to be published next month, but due to Jobs’ unexpected death, the date has been advanced to today. It is written by Isaacson, former managing director of Time magazine.


By Lee Sun-min [summerlee@joongang.co.kr]

Samsung to seek ban for iPhone 4S in Japan

아이폰4S 대항마 ‘갤럭시 넥서스’ 드디어…

Oct 18,2011 Samsung Electronics has requested that sales of the latest iPhone 4S be blocked in Australia and Japan, alleging that Apple products are enjoying a “free ride” on its wireless communications as well as user interface (UI) patents, the company announced yesterday.

“Apple has continued to violate our patent rights and catch a free ride on our technology,” Samsung said in a statement released to the press. “We will no longer tolerate such activities and will steadfastly protect our intellectual property.”

The move comes after Samsung announced that it had made a similar request to courts in France and Italy on Oct. 5, shortly after Apple unveiled its newest iPhone to the world and the day that Apple lost co-founder Steve Jobs to cancer.

Since then, Samsung, the world’s No. 2 maker of smartphones that is widely expected to have overtaken Apple in the third quarter, has stressed that the two European countries mark the start of a larger offensive.

The two rivals have been embroiled in about 20 patent disputes worldwide since April of last year, of which Samsung has already lost four. Apple contends that Samsung violated design and interface elements from its iPhone and iPad.

In Japan, Samsung is seeking a ban on the iPhone 4S - as well as the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 - claiming that they infringe upon one of Samsung’s mobile communications patents and three of its UI patents.

In Australia, the company is pushing to end sales of just the iPhone 4S, arguing that the handset violates three of its wireless networking patents. Last Thursday, Apple successfully managed to ban sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country.

In fact, Apple has secured an upper hand in their tit-for-tat battle recently as it has also had Samsung’s smartphones banned in the Netherlands and its tablets removed from store shelves in Germany and Australia.

Dutch judges also ruled in favor of Apple on Friday, rejecting Samsung’s request to place an injunction on Apple’s mobile devices for patent infringements.

But Samsung’s push to widen its proposed ban on the iPhone 4S shows that it is not ready to throw in the towel yet.

Last Friday, the iPhone 4S went on sale in seven countries, including the United States, Australia and Japan, and is setting record sales in the U.S. compared to previous versions of the iconic smartphone.

Meanwhile, Jay. Y. Lee, president and chief operating officer of Samsung Electronics, attended a memorial service for Jobs at Stanford in California at the invitation of Apple CEO Tim Cook.

“Samsung and Apple should carry on their partnership and also compete fairly and fiercely in the market,” Lee told reporters as he left for the United States on Sunday night.

Industry watchers have been speculating about whether Lee and Cook would have sideline talks to try and patch up their differences at the memorial service but Samsung refused to comment on the issue, describing it as a private matter.


By Kim Hyung-eun [hkim@joongang.co.kr]