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Viber CEO takes on carriers' over-the-top attack

BARCELONA, Spain--Carriers love to bash companies like Skype and WhatsApp that provide services on top of their mobile networks at the Mobile World Congress trade show. But one thing was different this year: Viber Media founder and Chief Executive Talmon Marco entered the lion's den to defend the idea.

Viber's free messaging service, which competes directly with carriers' own high-profit services for text- and multimedia-messaging services, is a prime example of the despised over-the-top (OTT) approach. Marco showed no remorse for sapping telco revenues and argued that users are just moving to where the innovative, useful services are … Read more

Apple reportedly talks iPhone 5 LTE support with Korean carriers

Will the iPhone 5 support 4G LTE? It seems almost a given at this point, but here's yet another potential sign.

Apple has been negotiating with two Korean mobile carriers to provide the iPhone 5 through their LTE networks, says the Korea Times. Officials from both SK Telecom and KT, who asked not to be identified, reportedly revealed the information.

"KT is in negotiation with Apple to persuade the latter to support KT's 1.8-gigahertz frequency in Korea for the upcoming iPhone,'' one senior KT executive said, according to Korea Times. A KT spokesperson declined to comment, … Read more

Hackers accused of stealing data from 9M Korean mobile users

Hackers who allegedly stole information from almost 9 million telecom customers in Korea are now in police custody.

One suspect, identified by the name Choi, and another as yet unnamed suspect have been accused of selling the data to telemarketers, the National Police Agency's cyberterror response team told the Korea Times.

The two suspects reportedly took in around $877,000 by selling the contact information and plan details of 8.7 million KT subscribers, almost half of the carrier's total customers.

Seven other people accused of buying the data were arrested but not detained.

The hacking started in … Read more

Korea ISP wants streaming services to pay up

Data-heavy services like YouTube are apparently costing a South Korean Internet Service Provider serious money, and the ISP doesn't want to take it any longer.

Speaking to Reuters in an interview published last night, Kim Taehwan, vice president of KT, Korea's largest ISP, said that his company is tired of "free riding" Internet streaming services that consume huge amounts of data and don't pay it a dime to do so.

"We want to set a rule that we can equally apply to every platform operator that offers data-heavy content as those services threaten to … Read more

LG promises Ice Cream Sandwich for swanky new Prada 3

After briefly mentioning it yesterday in its Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade plans, LG spilled more details today on its upcoming LG Prada 3 Android smartphone.

Like the Prada and Prada 2 before it, the Prada 3's calling card is its sleek (0.3-inch), "look at me!" profile. Though relatively minimalist by Prada standards, the handset's glossy black skin, "Saffiano" pattern on the battery cover, and prominent logo are enough make it eye-catching. Accessories are optional, but encouraged.

Features include a WVGA 4.3-inch display with a Prada-designed user interface, a 1GHz dual-core processor, a … Read more

LG's GPS-enabled KT610 Symbian smartphone

LG Electronics wasn't just about flash and touch screen phones at GSMA Mobile World Congress this year. The company also launched the LG KT610, a Symbian smartphone with integrated GPS to meet the needs of its business customers. The KT610 sports a candy-bar-style form factor that opens up to reveal a 2.4-inch screen and full QWERTY keyboard. There's also a small display and alphanumeric keypad on the exterior of the phone. Inside, the machine is running Symbian OS 9.2 (S60 3rd Edition) and is HSDPA capable. Push e-mail, a full Web browser, and multimedia capabilities are … Read more

A round-up of in-car HD Radio options

As carmakers continue to integrate HD Radio into their models at the factory level, an increasing number of car-stereo makers including JVC, Sony, Dual, and Alpine have brought out HD-compatible aftermarket products over the past few months. Check out our roundup of the latest options for getting HD Radio while on the road.

Review: Alpine CDA-9885

Alpine's CDA-9885 joins Sony's CDX-520 and JVC's KD-HDR1 in the category of HD Radio-compatible car stereos. The in-dash system combines attractive styling and a easy-to-use music search interface with great-sounding output and a host of expandability options, but those upgrading to HD Radio will have to deal with a clunky module and a hefty price tag.

Click on the image to read our full review.

JVC KT-HDP1 continues the HD Radio rollout

Following the release of HD Radio-compatible products from Sony and Dual this week, JVC today released details of what it calls the industry's first plug-and-play HD Radio receiver. The KT-HDP1 is an transportable AM/FM/HD Radio multicast tuner that can be used as portable device or can be permanently installed in a car. The KT-HDP1 is the second HD Radio-capable device from JVC, following its in-dash KDR-HD1 car stereo that we saw earlier this year. The portable tuner is on its way to Best Buy stores now, where it will be on sale for around $130 excluding installation … Read more