It seems that the South Korean antitrust agency thinks that there has been a little bit of collusion going amongst some of the LCD screen makers in South Korea as well as Taiwan.

The firms that have been picked out include Samsung Electronics, LG Display, AU Optronics and Chimei Innolux and it is asserted that they colluded from 2001 to 2006 to control the prices of panels for computers and televisions. Officials from the firms involved apparently held approximately 200 secret meetings over those six years to agree on the cutting or setting of prices, and to exchange confidential sales information.

As it stands right now the firms hold a combined 80 percent share of the global liquid crystal display (LCD) market and as such their action have hurt consumers by increasing prices of electronics reliant on those screens.

Samsung, which is the world’s largest LCD maker was hit with the heaviest of the fines at 97.2 billion won and followed by LG Display with a 65.5 billion won fine.

This follows on the fines handed out by the European Commission when six Asian LCD makers were fined a total of 649 Euros for their operating as a cartel for almost five years.

All companies involved have said that they will abide by the rulings.

via PhysOrg

South Korean & Taiwanese LCD screen makers hit with antitrust fines totally $175M is a post from: The Inquisitr

All Nippon Airways welcomed their first 264 passengers aboard a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on Wednesday marking the maiden commercial voyage for Boeing’s heralded aircraft. The flight was traveling from Tokyo to Hong Kong.

While the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is not faster than current aircraft it is made out of lightweight carbon-composite materials which helps cut fuel costs by 20%. The jet is also larger, allowing for bigger cabin windows and a wider cabin while providing higher cabin pressure.

An aerospace analyst told the Sydney Morning Herald that the difference in cabin pressure levels “means standing on top of a hill rather than a mountain.”

The analyst also revealed:

‘‘That should reduce effects like fatigue when flying.”

The maiden voyage couldn’t have come at a better time for Boeing after China Eastern Airlines cancelled an order for 24 Dreamliners after 3 years of delays. In the meantime ANA is expected to take delivery of 12 Dreamliners over the next several years.

Starting in 2013 Boeing hopes to manufacturer 10 planes per month, a big estimate considering the company’s vast global product distribution chain which led to the planes delays in the first place.

Are you excited to fly aboard a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner when you have the chance?

Boeing 787 Takes Maiden Commercial Voyage is a post from: The Inquisitr

While much of the emphasis in Malaysia has been on tech as opposed to the web, initiatives such as a MSC Malaysia Cybercenter offer web development companies first class infrastructure and support without the restricts often faced in other parts of Asia.

In developing its own distinct 2.0 culture though, Malaysia faces challenges created in part by its own prosperity; most educated Malaysians in the middle and upper classes speak English (with some Manglish thrown in for good measure), means that Western 2.0 services have a strong local presence, where as countries such as Indonesia (our Focus post here) local firms often have an advantage due to lower rates of English literacy.

There’s a lot of interesting things going on in Malaysia, and we’ll miss some decent services in this list. If you can suggest any more feel free to leave a comment with short description and a link.

Tumpang

What they say:

Tumpang is a Malay word for pooling – like car-pooling, or pooling of resources. At Tumpang, you will in fact be pooling your resources with other users to get the best deals. It’s really about getting a bulk discount. Tumpang helps you save by letting you buy in bulk. If a mobile phone costs USD 300, 10 units of the same may cost only USD 250. Tumpang facilitates this bulk buy letting you ‘tumpang’ an item with other Tumpang users. In short, you Gather, Buy and Save!

In use:
a group buying/ discount service with a wide range of goods. Smart, modern ecommerce tapping the crowd for a greater deal

Nuffnang

What they say:
Nuffnang.com is Asia’s first and leading blog advertising community. Our online platform allows advertisers to serve graphic or video based advertisements onto the thousands of local blogs that are signed up with us.

In use:
Advertising network that is regularly appearing in the blogopshere. Also has a presence in Singapore

Pacmee

What they say:
Pacmee is a social networking website. It offers useful, easy-to-use and affordable Personalisation, Advertisement and Communication (PAC) tools. MyShoutOut is the first in a series of these tools. It is currently available for Maxis postpaid and Hotlink prepaid users in Malaysia only.

In use:
every country should have its own Twitter style site, although this one seems to be limited to certain ISPs.

Adverlets

They say:
Advertlets.com is an Asian blog/weblog advertising network that offers the remarkably sensible proposition of targeted, unintrusive advertising that benefits the online advertising and blogger community, as well as their readers. Bloggers get better advertising that is relevant to their readers, and advertisers make their advertising dollars and their message count.

In use:
Another advertising network that is popping up around the blogosphere.

The Digg Clones
I wont write these all up individually, but not only does Malaysia have a number of Digg clones, one of them resides on Digg.com.my:

Layann (Digg.com.my)
Rock Your Vote
Innit

Web 2.0 Entrepreneur has a great guide to getting startup funding in Malaysia here, and I couldn’t write a post about Malaysia without linking to perhaps the countries most famous blogger internationally LiewCF.

I found the spreadsheet below on a sharing site so I’m not sure where it originated, but it gives a good run down on the challenges facing Malaysia startups and the different services that are popular locally.

Focus On Asia: Malaysia 2.0 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Indonesia is a country that isn’t well understood in the West. After years of one party rule, Indonesia has emerged as the largest Muslim democracy in the world (234 million people) and a slow opening up of the local economy has seen an emergent middle class. Internet penetration in Indonesia is growing, but still only totals 20 million users, not helped in the least by Indonesia’s geography of 17,508 islands of which around 6,000 are inhabited.

Here’s some of the startups and 2.0 services making their presence felt in Indonesia.


Moodmill

What they say:

Moodmill is a social mood management website. It’s a personal mood management, a log, a quick ‘n easy website for managing and sharing your short logs with your contacts.

In use:
Moodmill is a Twitter hybrid that combineds short messaging with social networking style mood statements. A professional service that has come to the attention of sites such as ReadWriteWeb.

Layartancap

What they say:

“Layartcancap.com is a video streaming website located in IIX (Indonesia Internet eXchange) so can be faster access for Indonesia users.”

In use:
Layartcancap is Indonesia’s version of YouTube. The site may not be as well designed as American services, but it serves the local community well.

Kronologger

Not available in English, Kronologger states on its logo “Indonesia’s microblogging service.” Simply this is an Indonesian Twitter with a smart design and decent local user base.

Fupei

An Indonesian social network similar to MySpace, but localized.

There are probably more Indonesian startups, and if you know of any, please feel free to comment. The last word from the English language Jakarta Post:

These new developments indicate that Indonesian local content has grown rapidly. And since all content is placed with local hosting providers, of course it can save Internet bandwidth significantly.

Despite the fact that the Indonesia’s Web 2.0 services are mostly cloned off international service models, the potential exists to develop and explore them for the local market.

It’s not easy to create truly original services in this field, and the real competition lies in creating an appropriate business model and in attracting the community.

Focus On Asia: Indonesian Startups is a post from: The Inquisitr

China and Japan tend to get most of the attention in the region, but there are some amazing people and startups who get lost in the noise. If you’ve got a startup you’d like to put forward, fill in our contact form and include any info you’d like us to look at, and be sure to note where you are located.

Focus On Asia: Call For Startup Submissions is a post from: The Inquisitr