The Apple iPhone will now be legally sold within the borders of South Korea after a ruling by the South Korean government. The Korean Communications Commission has been known to protect their ‘home made’ brands through a series of technical rules, obviously favoring Samsung and LG. The iPhone has finally broke this tradition and will now be available to South Korean customers. However, there has been no talk of distribution partnerships, neither from Apple of any of the Korean carriers. But according to the Wall Street Journal, the second biggest South Korean carrier, KT, has said for months that it was in discussion with Apple.
With 93% of it’s population subscribing to mobile services, this means a big market for Apple to finally corner. And even though Samsung and LG both offer their own ‘iphone killers’ with touch-screen handsets, their sales have been stunted due to the lack of Korean-language software offered and high prices. But the decision to bring in the iPhone should change all that, bringing in more price competition for Smartphones, and the vast archive of software available from Apple rather than phone carriers.
Tags: iphone
Starbucks, the ever infamous Seattle native coffee shop, is finally dipping into the Apple App store for the first time with a release of two new Apps. One will provide store locations, information and menus, naturally called myStarbucks. From this app you can search for nearby Starbucks locations, hours of operation, amenities and brows the menu. You can also view nutritional information for standard or customized drinks.
The other will allow customers to use their phone as a rechargeable Starbucks card. You can transfer money and check your balance directly from the application, simply by scanning a barcode that appears on your mobile’s screen.
These Applications are being tested exclusively in San Francisco and Seattle, where the use of Starbucks cards are the most common. Should the application become popular, they plan to expand the service to more locations. With over 16 thousand locations in 49 countries, and 11 thousand in the United States alone, one can only hope they decide to make this service available on a global level.
Both Starbucks applications will be free to download at the Apple App store.
Tags: starbucks
Samsung together with T-mobile USA have just announced the release of a new full touch-screen mobile phone which is to be known as the Samsung Memoir. The handset will be available exclusively to T-mobile USA customers and will boast an 8 megapxel camera with a xenon flash and a 16X digital zoom. This alone is a feature that is sure to sell handsets as it is a very capable camera. In effect it renders your current digital camera useless, why carry 2 items when one is good enough?
The Memoir will also allow users to share photos through T-mobiles 3G network. Another new feature is the ability to immediately post images that you have taken to online photo sharing sites such as Flickr or Photobucket.
Putting aside the excellent camera abilities, the Memoir is packed full of other features. It boasts a full QWERTY keypad, a music and video player, built in assisted GPS navigation and voice activated calling. There are also multiple messaging solutions and bluetooth.
It looks as though the Iphone may have a worth competitor.
Car drivers across the UK will be gifted thousands of pounds, disguised as parking fines, today as teams of phoney traffic wardens take to the streets in a countrywide stunt being pulled by T-Mobile.
Famous for featuring unsuspecting members of the public in its TV ads, T-Mobile is turning its attention to motorists and traffic wardens to give them an unexpected surprise in the stunt. Teams of actors and comedians, dressed as traffic wardens, have been employed by the leading mobile communications brand to place reverse-fines on hundreds of legally parked cars across England, Scotland and Wales.
Streets and car parks around the country have been rigged with hidden cameras to capture the reactions of unsuspecting drivers returning to their cars. Millions of people are expected to witness the funniest reactions when they are featured in a new TV ad airing this Friday night at 9.15pm on Channel 5.
In a twist to be captured by the cameras, the imitation parking tickets will, instead of a fine, contain a £5, £10, £20 or £50 note and a good day message from T-Mobile in celebration of the launch of the new You Fix plan. The brand will be giving away thousands of pounds throughout the course of today as it films its Parking Ticket advert.
Drivers parking in and around the surrounding areas of Newcastle, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham and Manchester are expected to be most likely to receive the special fines. Over £300 million has already been handed out by traffic wardens across the UK in the last 12 months, with these regions some of the worst hit in the UK.
Tags: T Mobile,