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RIP: LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo

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Influential LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo passed away, following a year-long battle with a brain disease, the company announces. He was 73 years old.

LG ChairmanKoo Bon-moo took the reins of the company formerly known as Lucky Goldstar back in 1995. As third generation leader he was responsible for turning what was the fourth largest S. Korean conglomerate into the giant we know today, thanks to shrewd investments in LCD and lithium-ion battery technologies, not to mention a push towards international expansion.

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A Standard to Bring All Wifi Together

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The Wifi Alliance has a proposal to deliver a "broad footprint of uniform wifi service"-- EasyMesh, a standard bringing together the mesh networking technologies employed by different vendors.

Wifi EasymeshAs the organisation puts it, EasyMesh will provide customers and service providers with a selection of interoperable devices across difference brands to ensure wide and reliable wifi coverage. The technology coordinates multiple access points into a "unified and intelligent" wifi network able to autonomously aid all areas of the home for complete coverage.

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PlayStation Drives Sony Business

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The financial year 2017 (ending 31 March 2018) has been a good one for Sony, as the company records profits reaching $6.7 billion from revenues worth $78.1bn-- in good part thanks to the success of the PlayStation 4.

Sony PS4PS4 sales for fiscal 2017 total 19 million units, a decline from the 20m sold in fiscal 2016. However, one has to keep in mind the PS4 is fast approaching its 5th birthday, and such sales still outnumber those of other game consoles. The Nintendo Switch comes closest, with 17.79m units sold since March 2017. As for lifetime sales, the global PS4 install base totals 76m, far beyond the 30-50m lifetime sales estimate of Xbox hardware sales (Microsoft does not detail actual Xbox numbers in its financial reports).

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Futuresource: Consumer Entertainment Continues to Grow

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According to Futuresource Consulting, global spending on consumer entertainment content (video, games and music) remains on the up-- and is set to reach $439 billion by 2021, a 17% increase from 2017.

Futuresource industry

"As expected, TV and Video account for the lion's share of this consumer spend," the analyst says. "However, music has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years and continued innovations within gaming means that both markets are impacting on consumers' spending habits, with smartphones a key facilitator of this tearing up of the entertainment market rulebook."

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Harman Opens Experience Centre, EMEA HQ in London

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Harman Professional Solutions opens an Experience Centre in London-- a 2400-square-metre facility serving as EMEA region HQ complete with demonstrations of the various brands owned by the company.

Harman EMEA HQ“The opening of the experience center in London represents a major investment in the EMEA region, enabling us to deepen relationships with our customers and greatly expand our presence across critical markets,” Harman EMEA VP Chris Smith says. “Not only will the facility offer customers the opportunity to experience Harman innovation firsthand, it provides our staff with a state-of-the-art headquarters that will allow us to pursue new opportunities with greater speed and efficiency.”

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