According to company officials, NUGU was designed to continuously evolve through its cloud-based deep-learning technology, and as such, the more users converse with NUGU, the smarter the service will get. (image: SK Telecom)
SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – SK Telecom’s NUGU is a cylindrical-shaped speaker/lamp that is capable of providing various services including music recommendations and playback, smart home services (for smart homes and smart-compatible electronics), and other assistant services like weather information, alarm, and schedule notifications.
According to industry sources, daily sales of NUGU have almost doubled since the middle of the month, which would be roughly 300 to 400 units per day given that some 10,000 units were sold between the product’s launch on September 1 and mid-October. SKT has yet to release the official figures.
NUGU’s official list price is 249,000 won ($220), but it has been selling for 99,000 won, a 60 percent discount, since its launch. Starting in November, the price will rise to 149,000 won and stay there until the end of the year, at which point the promotional event will likely end.
(image: SK Telecom)
The huge discount was part of SKT’s strategy to secure as big of a user base for NUGU as possible.
According to company officials, NUGU was designed to continuously evolve through its cloud-based deep-learning technology, and as such, the more users converse with NUGU, the smarter the service will get.
“We’ll try to expand our customer base as much as possible so NUGU can continue to learn,” said an SKT official.
NUGU is among SKT’s biggest projects, and the telecom giant even established a virtual company named Nuguna Corporation that serves to gather various customer ideas to improve NUGU’s effectiveness.
SKT plans to update NUGU’s functions in the near future, with industry watchers speculating that the company will incorporate a food delivery service, similar to Echo by Amazon, which currently offers delivery service for Domino’s.
By Joseph Shin (jss539@koreabizwire.com)
