10/15, 4:10pm
KT to bring WiBro-compatible Samsung handset
Korean wireless provider KT is planning on releasing a smartphone that supports the country's WiBro mobile broadband network, which is the equivalent of WiMAX in Korea. The smartphone will be made by Samsung and go by the SPH-M8400 model name. Other than WiBro, it will also have WCDMA (3G) network support and a Wi-Fi connection, which earns it the 3W designation from KT. The photo of the M8400 also reveals it will run on a Windows Mobile operating system.
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09/29, 12:15pm
Samsung AMOLED 12M ships with 3X zoom
Samsung Mobile left little time for a recent leak to sit and today launched the AMOLED 12M. Already the company's second 12-megapixel camera phone, the touchscreen phone is rare in having true 3X optical zoom as wll as other features of dedicated cameras, such as tap-to-focus, a xenon flash and image stabilization. Its name appropriately betrays the 3.3-inch, 800x480 AMOLED display and its more color-accurate image.
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09/28, 11:50am
South Korea cell rate plans
The South Korean government's Communications Commission today ordered (subscription required) that carriers cut their subscription rates. The act follows up election promises by President Lee Myung-bak and will have all three major carriers in the country slash their voice, data and bundle prices by varying degrees. SK Telecom, which has just over half of the Korean market, will cut its voice rates by 27 percent to about $35 and its data plans by about 19 percent. KT will cut its own basic voice rate 20 percent to about $20 a month and will drop its data rates a sharp 62 percent. LG Telecom's voice prices should lower by about 25 percent.
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09/23, 8:00am
Korea rules now permit iPhone sales
South Korea's Communications Commission on Wednesday cleared a path for Apple to legally sell the iPhone in the country. The organization said (subscription required) that it would waive a normal rule that requires domestic location software and instead let individual carriers obtain permission for Apple on its behalf. The iPhone's operating system code base and policies on third-party software would previously have prevented the device from arriving in Korea as-is.
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08/07, 1:30pm
iPhone coming to Korea
The iPhone has finally been confirmed for a Korean introduction through the local carrier KT, according to Telecoms Korea. A separate company, SK Telecom, also claims to have been involved in talks with Apple. It remains unclear, however, if Apple plans to offer the smartphone through multiple carriers instead of establishing an exclusive deal.
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07/08, 10:50am
Motorola ROKR in Korea
Motorola Korea on Wednesday announced it has launched the simply titled ROKR handset, one of its only touchscreen handsets outside of the Ming and Krave lines. A new panorama user interface supports three separate screens, maximizing the amount of shortcuts users can place on the screen. The touchscreen slides up to reveal a numerical keypad for dialing numbers. As with other ROKR handsets, music is a key focus, including access to the Korea-native MelOn music service.
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04/28, 2:40pm
MOTO V10 outed in Korea
Motorola last week introduced its MOTO V10 for the Korean market, which sports a body color that flows from black at the top of the handset to red at the bottom. The dual-color body has a soft feel material on its backside for a better grip.
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04/16, 12:00pm
Verizon Hub app store
The Internet-connected Verizon Hub home phone may soon get its own applications store, according to a Wednesday report. The phone, launched in the US on February 1st, already gets updates through the Internet for weather and traffic information, and users can watch videos via Verizon's V CAST service, but is now set to open to third-party software that would enable new tasks using the Internet, GPS or both. One new use for it would be to give users the ability to access Internet radio stations, for example.
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04/14, 12:20pm
SK Telecom app store due
The largest wireless provider in South Korea, SK Telecom, announced at a gathering of over 1,000 industry professionals and software developers on Monday that it will launch an application store in trial stages this June, with a full-fledged debut coming in September. The store will differ from originator Apple's App Store as it will cater to four cell phone operating systems, including Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android and Linux. As well, all cellphone users will be able to access the store, regardless of their carrier or type of phone they own.
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03/25, 11:15am
Samsung Haptic 8M
Samsung today grew its touchscreen phone line by one and launched the Haptic 8M. The phone's name comes both through the haptic (vibration) feedback on its very high-resolution, 480x800 3.3-inch display but also an 8-megapixel camera that can tag and recognize faces in photos. It also carries flash, detects smiles and scans business cards.
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03/24, 4:30pm
HTC to partner SK Telesys
Korean telecommunications provider SK Telecom is rumored to be entering the handset manufacturing market via affiliate SK Telesys, which officially announced plans to enter the phone manufacturing business. Local Korean media reports SK Telecom has created a team called G Project to develop innovative and original platforms and user interfaces that would be of the same scope to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android. G Project is working closely with handset manufacturer HTC, and many believe the Taiwanese hardware manufacturer is the top choice for a partner. SK Telecom paved the way for HTC to sell its hardware in Korea.
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02/09, 4:15pm
Verizon commits to LiMo
The LiMo Foundation on Monday announced six new wireless providers have committed to release LiMo Platform based handsets in 2009. The Linux OS-based phones will become available from Verizon Wireless, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, SK Telecom, Telefonica and Vodafone sometime in 2009. The open-source Linux operating system in the devices will be based on the latest version of the LiMo Platform.
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12/24, 3:15pm
LG intros Make-up Phone
Korea's LG recently showed off an upcoming flip phone meant for fashion-conscious ladies. The HSDPA handset gives users the option to set one of 18 emoticons on the 1.1-inch external display. The internal screen is 2.4 inches in size with a 240x320 resolution. Photos captured by the 3-megapixel camera are stored on the internal 512MB of memory, along with music supported by basic media player functionality.
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12/17, 4:45pm
Samsung AMOLED flip phone
Samsung will soon be offering the SCH-W690 clamshell handset via one of South Korea's wireless providers, SK Telecom. The handset's most distinguishing feature is its 2.6-inch AMOLED display with 240x320 resolution and 262K colors, as AMOLED technology is still relatively rare in handsets. It offers better color contrast and video playback quality than conventional LCD screens. The smaller 1.5-inch external screen is an OLED display with 128x128 resolution and 65K colors.
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07/24, 12:25pm
Sprint sells 3,330 towers
National carrier Sprint has signed a deal to sell a massive number of cellular towers, according to an announcement. The company says it is selling approximately 3,300 towers to TowerCo, a deal that should gain Sprint about $670 million in cash. Because the company still needs the towers to maintain coverage, it has arranged a licensing deal with TowerCo that will see it provide CDMA, iDEN and WiMAX support in exchange for a regular leasing fee.
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07/17, 11:00am
SKT Wants Sprint Stake
SK Telecom isn't interested in a direct takeover of Sprint but is nonetheless interested in gaining a clear stake in the American wireless carrier, according to reports. The Korean company now denies that it has any plans to completely buy out Sprint but is now said by sources of BusinessWeek to be mulling a "major stake" in the cellular provider that would require seats on Sprint's board of directors, handing a significant amount of influence to SK Telecom over larger decisions.
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07/15, 4:40pm
SK Telecom May Buy Sprint
Korean communications giant SK Telecom is discussing buying out third-largest American cell carrier Sprint, CNBC claims. Although technically smaller than Sprint, sources say SKT hopes to bring a private equity group into the deal that would give it enough financial clout to complete the deal. The Korean company allegedly wants any takeover to occur on friendly terms and is proceeding slowly, with any possible agreement still uncertain and weeks away at the earliest.
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06/27, 11:10am
Virgin Mobile Buys Helio
Virgin Mobile today shook up the American wireless business with news that it would acquire Helio for $39 million in share equity, merging the latter into Virgin's mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business. The deal also has Virgin absorbing some of Helio's debt and also gives the carrier Helio's 170,000 customers in the US, with the latter ending its brand in the US. The deal should be completed during the summer pending US government approval, according to the two companies.
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06/25, 1:20am
Virgin Mobile wants Helios
Last reported in May, Virgin Mobile USA is set to absorb SK Telecom-owned Helio in a deal said to approach the former paying the Korean telecommunications firm almost $50 million, leaving SK holding 20-percent of company holdings. The Financial Times writes that the MVNO will dissolve its identity in favor of the more recognizable Virgin Mobile brand, and integrate its 200,000 users into Virgin's customer base of 5.1 million mobile users.
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06/20, 1:45pm
Helio May Close Stores
The mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market in the US may be on the verge of collapse with Helio about to scale back or shut down entirely, according to a rumor circulated by Engadget. The provider is allegedly telling store managers that it will shut down at least some of its retail shops in possible preparation for a takeover by Virgin Mobile. No information has yet appeared to suggest that Helio is withdrawing support for the service itself.
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06/20, 10:00am
Samsung Soul 1m Sales
Over one million units of Samsung's Soul designer phone have sold since it went on sale a month ago, the company says. Although limited to just Europe for its initial launch, the device has been one of the most popular phones in recent weeks and has sold better in this early stage than the iPhone managed in the first quarter of the year, when Apple sold 1.7 million units in three months.
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05/14, 12:00pm
Virgin Confirms Helio Talk
Virgin Mobile USA today confirmed that it was in the early stages of talks with SK Telecom to investigate "strategic opportunities" between the two companies. The revelation partly rebuffs denials by SKT of involvement with Virgin but doesn't provide more details as to the nature of the talks beyond the statement. There are no guarantees that anything will result from negotiations, Virgin claims. The company adds that it has no plans to add more detail unless any deal is struck.
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05/12, 4:35pm
SK Denies Helio Virgin Buy
SK Telecom has no plans to merge Helio with Virgin Mobile to create a major new carrier, the Korean company says. SKT spokeswoman Mina Ryu rejects reports of discussions and claims there aren't "any sort of talks" to either merge its Helio brand with Virgin or else buy out Virgin directly. The rumors are "groundless," Ryu says.
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05/08, 3:30pm
Virgin Mobile Helio Rumor
SK Telecom may create a new, large carrier in the US by folding Virgin Mobile and Helio together, according to an alleged source for mocoNews. Earthlink's withdrawal from Helio is said to have pushed Helio's Korean parent, SK Telecom, towards a buyout of Helio's larger competitor Virgin Mobile to ensure it has a larger presence in the US. Such a takeover would give SK Telecom enough clout to merge both Helio and Virgin together.
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04/11, 12:35pm
ABI on 3G Cell Strain
Unlimited cellular plans, and particularly data plans, are liable to create severe pressure on the providers that host them even as the make new features available, says a new study from ABI Research. Analysts at the group warn that the promise to carriers of new subscribers through mostly or completely unlimited plans from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon may be offset by the need to support very likely spikes in network traffic. Providers are likely to spend extra to make sure their networks can handle the load, ABI says.
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04/07, 9:15am
Samsung M470 3.5G Phone
Samsung on Monday boosted the Internet speed of its phones with the launch of the M470. One of the few phones to be based on HSUPA (High Speed Upload Packet Access), the slider's upstream connection runs up to 2Mbps. This lets users send videos and other files roughly six times faster than the more widespread HSDPA (Download) format, by Samsung's estimates. A Wi-Fi connection provides similar or better speed at hotspots when the cellular access isn't readily available.
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02/29, 2:50pm
Helio loses $326 million
MVNO carrier Helio has posted a net loss of $326 million for 2007, an official announcement reveals. Although the carrier's revenue grew to $171 million last year from $46 million in 2006, the company has also been facing mounting costs, such as an advertising budget that rose from $21.6 to $47.5 million. Recent losses are notably out of proportion to those from 2006, which were only $192 million.
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12/21, 9:25am
Helio Mysto Korean Version
Helio on Friday took the unusual step of launching the Samsung Mysto first for Korean-language users of its US-based service, taking advantage of the company's roots in Korea's SK Telecom. Believed to have its roots in the U600, the thin slider shares the features of Helio's more recent phones, including its 2-megapixel camera, true GPS with a Buddy Beacon feature to locate Helio-using friends, and a heavy emphasis on its 3G Internet access. Users can both stream videos and upload them through YouTube, though the device is not believed to run the same YouTube app as the Pantech-made Ocean.
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12/11, 1:10pm
Asia in 700MHz auction
Four Asian companies appear to be getting involved with the FCC auction for the 700MHz wireless spectrum, the Wall Street Journal reports. The biggest is Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo, which may put forward a bid worth $5 billion or more to expand its business internationally. The company already has a minor presence in the US, but does not sell any of the phones or advanced cellular services it is famous for in Japan. The company's main rival -- KDDI -- is likewise rumored to be interested in greater US access, since it is already testing a cellular service in the northeast.
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11/30, 3:45pm
Sprint Rejects SKT
Sprint has rejected a bid from Korean telecom provider SK Telecom, say reports. The American provider has reportedly declined a $5 billion investment in exchange for sharing the same phones and network knowledge. The change would have resulted in a change of management, however. This potential investment is widely believed to be connected to SKT's controlling stake in Helio, the latter of which piggybacks on Sprint's network for its youth-oriented phone service.
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