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skt posts

Canceled Motorola RAZR3 reemerges as KLASSIC in South Korea

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 @ 4:29AM

When the bulk of your business suddenly shifts virtually all of its marketing and engineering resources to Android, certain things are bound to fall through the cracks -- take the "Ruby," for example, once said to be the fallen would-be successor to the RAZR 2. We guess Moto got far enough along on engineering with this one that they figured they'd toss it over to one of its lower-volume markets rather than canning it altogether, though, because the higher-end flip has reemerged in South Korea as the KLASSIC. For anyone who keeps track of these sorts of stats, that's exactly three more letters than the typical Moto model name has, but the phone breaks all sorts of rules -- after all, it combines an old-school 2G radio (which in operator SKT's case, means CDMA) with a relatively fresh 5 megapixel cam, not unlike the ZN5. There's no word on a release outside South Korea at this point, but frankly, we're pretty sure the DROID would eat it anyhow.

[Via AVING]

SKY Dupont is the most expensive Pantech ever made

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 9th 2009 @ 12:31AM

What exactly does the equivalent of roughly $830 buy you in Pantech's home market these days? Well, it'll apparently get you signed up for the priciest device South Korea's third-largest handset manufacturer has ever made, the Dupont from subsidiary SKY. As far as we can tell, this thing is more show than go, thanks largely to a weakling 3-inch WQVGA display and 3 megapixel camera -- but then again, it's hard to argue with designer tie-ins and questionably tasteful gold accents, isn't it? Look for this one on local carrier SKT, and for once, we're totally fine with the fact that Pantech is concentrating on low-end messaging devices over on AT&T.

[Via Unwired View]

Samsung's B900 comes to South Korea with T-DMB, funny d-pad

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 22nd 2009 @ 7:33AM

The Jet ushered in a new era of highly stylized directional pads for Samsung, and its latest midrange full-touch handset for its domestic market is no exception. The B900 features a sort of shield design down below the screen that looks like it might not be so fun to use, but the specs aren't bad for a stylish midrange unit: EV-DO, 3-inch WQVGA display, a 3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and T-DMB mobile TV tuning (which you'll find on virtually all phones destined for South Korea). If you're feeling it, you'll have to be on (or willing to switch to) SKT -- otherwise, the odds of getting your hands on this one are very, very low indeed.

Oh, by the way: August 7, 2009

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 7th 2009 @ 10:28PM

Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for Friday, August 7th, 2009:

In addition to the BL40 and BL42, it looks like LG's upcoming Chocolate series is also going to include a lower-end BL20 according to a newly-uncovered user agent profile. Whatever it is, it's got a QVGA display -- a far cry from the epic 21:9 unit on the BL40. [Via PhoneArena]
Motorola's W562 candybar for China has broken cover, and needless to say, you won't find any Android here. CDMA and a 2 megapixel camera, yes, but no Android.
More baby steps are being taken in states' fights to jam phone signals in and around prisons. This time around, a Senate subcommittee has sent a bill to the full Senate that would allow individual states to plead their jamming case to the FCC, which -- as of right now, anyway -- seems pretty lukewarm to the idea in general. [Via Phone Scoop]
Acer -- like Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, RIM, Palm, Google, LG, Samsung, and your cousin Ralph -- is opening an app store. It expects the store to be ready in the next few months as it ramps up the barrage of new WinMo devices it's been pimping over the course of the year. [Via PHONE Magazine]
South Korea's KT has confirmed that it'll carry the iPhone at some point, though it's refusing to spill details on exactly when or how that'll go down. SKT's apparently still in the mix, too, so we could end up without carrier exclusivity here. [Via Unwired View]

Samsung, LG, and SKT hook up for chip design

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 27th 2009 @ 1:33PM

There's a lot of Kumbaya going around in South Korea this morning with the announcement that Samsung and LG -- normally the most bitter of archrivals -- will start working together to develop the next generation of chips for digital TVs and phones. Also being pulled into the love fest is domestic carrier SK Telecom, South Korea's largest, who will be working specifically on designing wireless systems-on-chip for use in handsets. Interestingly, it seems Sammy will be left out of the loop on actual design; that'll be left to LG and others, while Samsung will be responsible for manufacturing and testing the goods. For its part, the government seems to like what it sees here -- it's pumping some 19.5 billion won (about $15.7 million) into the project, though there's no word on when we'll see the fruits of the labor in a retail product.

Original Motorola RAZR refuses to die, spawns new LuK Hot Pink version in Korea

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 24th 2009 @ 1:02PM

There aren't many products in the world that have been produce for so long that they bridged right from the "modern" to "ho-hum" to "retro chic" categories without ever pausing production (actually, the hula hoop is the only one that comes immediately to mind). A year ago, it was cool to hate on the debilitating age Motorola's original RAZR V3 and the fact that it was still being sold in countless shops and by countless carriers around the world; now, though, it's gone on so long that we've got to wonder whether there's some magical, hidden force at play here that will keep this phone on shelves and in hearts until the very end of time. Evidence of that certainly exists in the freshly-launched LuK Hot Pink edition, an apparent follow-on to the LuK launched back in February of this year with 7.2Mbps HSDPA, video call capability, Bluetooth, and that's about it. At a price under 500,000 won (about $400) on carrier SKT, it doesn't seem like a particularly good deal -- but then again, if you look at it as a perfect replica of a vintage collectible device, maybe it's a downright steal.

BlackBerry Bold comes to South Korea at long last

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 30th 2009 @ 11:57PM

It's taken a little longer than they'd hoped, but RIM and SK Telecom will finally begin offering a localized version of the venerable BlackBerry Bold to South Korean customers this week. The move follows last year's scrapping of policies that all but banned foreign handsets from being offered by local carriers, which could theoretically be a boon to manufacturers in one of the world's most advanced mobile markets -- assuming anyone's able to crash through the stranglehold that local favorites Samsung, LG, and Pantech have. It's unclear how big of a deal a device with an English QWERTY keyboard could really be in Seoul, but hey, options are always a good thing, right?

LG goes insanely retro with Franklin Planner branding on SU100 phone

by Chris Ziegler posted Dec 7th 2008 @ 9:01PM

What do an old-school paper day planner and a phone with a 3-inch OLED have in common? If you answered "absolutely nothing," you'd be correct -- but LG apparently didn't get the memo, because they've decided to grace their latest domestic superphone, the SU100, with the rather unusual Franklin Planner branding. Besides the presumably gorgeous display, other totally un-Franklin features include a 3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and an S-DMB TV tuner, which should all make for a nice, smooth transition for anyone still committing appointments and contacts to paper in the year 2008. The SU100's launching on South Korea's SKT for about 700,000 won ($475) with a white version following on next month.

Samsung launches BlackJack III -- in South Korea

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 21st 2008 @ 9:07PM

Sorry if we got your hopes up for a second there, AT&Ters; we're still not sure if this one's ever coming to the US, and today is most definitely not the day. Instead, the SCH-M480, which appears to be alternately known as the BlackJack III and Ultra Messaging 2, has been launched on Korea's own SK Telecom for something in the range of 600,000 won (about $592). The Windows Mobile 6 Professional handset is a dead ringer for the i780 that's been launched for a few months now, featuring a lovely 320 x 320 touchscreen, HSDPA, WiFi, and a 2 megapixel camera; not really a direct successor to the BlackJack II since the latter runs Standard, but we could still see a whole host of folks going for the upgrade -- if it ever comes to AT&T, that is.

Separately, Boy Genius Report is claiming that AT&T will be getting its very own BlackJack III come October of this year, albeit with a 3 megapixel camera, up from the 2 megapixel sensor seen here. With these fancy new pink and blue versions of the BlackJack II, though, who the heck needs it? We kid, we kid.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

Read - Ultra Messaging II
Read - US BlackJack III in October?

A trip down Helio's memory lane

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 26th 2008 @ 6:50PM

Back before there was Helio, there was Earthlink, South Korea's SKT, and a dream. Heliocity managed to score some shots of just what that dream looked like in the early days, a similar -- yet decidedly different -- vision than what the MVNO ended up bringing to market. Not only are the prerelease versions of Helio's first two models to market (the Kickflip and Hero) "SK Earthlink" branded, but check out that super trippy Kickflip proto, complete with aerial antenna and secondary LCD for self-portraits. The Ocean obviously came along further down the road, and while we like the all-black finish Helio decided on, we think the two-tone action here would've made for an interesting second choice. Read on for all the visuals.

SK Telecom and Sony Pictures bring the big screen to your cell

by Sean Cooper posted Jan 28th 2008 @ 3:13PM

We've heard these type of deals mentioned here and there, but it is kinda nice to see one that may actually bear fruit, not just marketing noise. The deal will see SK Telecom -- the Korean monster in case any of you were getting your hopes up -- offer between 50 and 60 flicks a year for the next four years, or roughly 200 films. Films will cost about 1,000 to 2,000 won (roughly $1 to $2) per download, but of course there's a catch, data costs for these downloads are not included. SKT has suggested that an unlimited data plan is a good option for those that want to get at these films, and we have to say we agree..

[Via mocoNews]

South Korean civic group set to rid country of mobile phone addiction?

by Sean Cooper posted Nov 25th 2007 @ 12:31PM

In an effort to battle the evils of mobile culture and it addictive effects, the civic group School Beautiful Movement together with SKT Telecom and Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity (KADO), has launched a program to help kids better manage their cell use. Twelve kids were chosen from elementary, middle, and high schools to participate in the program and will spend time talking about the cell use, feelings when their cell isn't available, and proper use over the next two months. The program will also feature special cell phone lockers for the kids to hide their handsets away in during class time if the urge is just too great. In a KADO survey from 2005 it was revealed that 90% of South Koreans between 14 and 19 had mobiles and 38% of those sent more than 1,000 text messages a month, and 43% reported using them during -- gasp -- lectures. While we think this is all a very good idea -- and know that we could totally quit anytime we wanted to, we just don't want to -- we have to wonder why SKT is onboard here, perhaps new mobile for all the participants SKT?

Pantech's SKY IM-R200 slider with dual displays

by Chris Ziegler posted May 9th 2007 @ 11:15AM

Replacing the good, old fashioned numeric keypad with a touch sensitive display seems to be all the rage these days -- not to mention a certain phone from Apple that intends to bury buttons for good. We're still a little skeptical that the concept is easy to use, but we've gotta admit, this here IM-R200 from Pantech's upmarket SKY brand is way cool looking. Up top you have a 2 inch QVGA LCD accompanied by a 1.6 inch OLED touchscreen on the bottom that changes functionality and appearance depending on the handset's current mode. There's a 2 megapixel cam in back (with face recognition for improved focus, no less) and a VGA counterpart in front. There's no sign of this one ever finding its way out of Korea, but if you happen to be there, look for it on SK Telecom and KTF this month. [Warning: subscription required]

Man returns phone to carrier... without leaving car

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 11th 2007 @ 9:15PM

When we talk about phone use leading to traffic incidents, this is not typically what we mean. It seems a gentleman in Korea -- we'll simply call him "Kim," since that's the only name we have for him -- got just a little upset when his shiny new Samsung handset still wasn't working after sixteen calls and two in-store visits to carrier SK Telecom. What really set the dude off, though, was a SKT employee suggesting that the phone be replaced with a different model when the original was out of stock (what nerve!). Next thing you know, Kim's chilling outside SK Telecom headquarters, filled with rage -- and, oh yeah, a 4,000 pound Mercedes with "Delinquent SK" scrawled across it. Them's fightin' words, of course, and SKT tried to get him to skedaddle. The attempt backfired, though, when Kim skedaddled right through the building's revolving doors. Lesson to carriers: do everything in your power to replace your customers' defective phones after a maximum of fifteen support calls. Lesson to customers: if you aim for the glass instead of the door, you can probably make it into the building without as much damage to the front end.

The SCH-B590: Samsung shoots for another "world's thinnest"

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 6th 2006 @ 11:25AM

True, it's a full 9.6mm thicker than their paper-thin X820, but believe it or not, that's still apparently thin enough for Samsung to claim their SCH-B590 is the world's thinnest phone with DMB. As you might expect, you give up some goodness to minimize the bulge in your pocket; the SCH-B590 gets off with a measly 1.3-megapixel cam, not to mention a fairly pedestrian clamshell design -- none of that rotating slider nonsense here. Expect the B590 to drop on Korea's SK Telecom for around 500,000 won (about $520).