Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics unveiled their latest products, including 3D content devices and smartphones, at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world's largest electronics exhibition in Las Vegas from Thursday to Sunday. The Korean companies built huge exhibition halls that dwarfed those of their rivals and drew legions of visitors.

The hottest topics at CES this year were 3D and ubiquitous electronics and home appliances. Reflecting the explosive popularity of the movie "Avatar," HD TVs, Blu-ray players, projectors and game devices offering 3D images drew tremendous interest. Also popular were smartphones, ultra-compact smartbooks which are even smaller than netbook computers, and TVs with video conferencing functions and other such Internet-connected devices.

The latest trends were visible at Samsung and LG's exhibition halls as well, but while they had a lot to offer in terms of glitz, the products they touted were far from innovative industry leaders. Korean smartphones are top-notch when it comes to functions, but the smartphone that stole the limelight was Google's Nexus One. Samsung's smartphones were slower to operate than Apple's iPhone and the Nexus One, and were also lacking in applications. This shows that they lag behind in keeping up with the shifting focus from hardware to software in the mobile phone industry.

Samsung and LG also didn't have an edge to elevate themselves above Japan's Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba in 3D devices as well. Last year Japanese electronics makers rushed to turn out 3D TVs, but Samsung and LG were slow to respond since they were focused on LED TVs. They simply failed to forecast and respond to market trends.

"Ten years ago, Samsung was like a small store just one fifth of its present size," said former Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee as he toured the exhibition center on Saturday. "One slip and it may end up looking like that again." Rather than basking in the glory of its accomplishments, Korea's IT industry must regain its traction as an innovative market leader.