Virgin Mobile USA Inc. said Friday it completed its acquisition of struggling cellular carrier Helio LLC for $38 million in stock. Under the terms of the buyout, announced June 27, Helio owners EarthLink Inc. and SK Telecom, a South Korean carrier, received limited partnership units and shares equivalent to 13 million shares of Virgin Mobile USA stock. In addition, SK Telecom and Virgin Group will each invest $25 million in Virgin Mobile USA for preferred shares. With the deal completed, Virgin Mobile will be able to expand its services from only pre-paid to also postpaid and to offer higher-end data services. SK telecom will also receive two seats on Virgin Mobile USA’s board of directors. read more…
 
FCC is always there to surprise us with new phones. That being said, the low-end Nokia 2680 Slide on their pages with the presence of the AT&T logo on the front of the phone. As its name suggests, this new Nokia comes in a slider form factor. It seems that Nokia now deals on “budget-friendly†offerings, after offers the high-end and luxury models lately. Overall the Nokia 2680 is not much to get excited about, its a pretty low-end slider-style handset that features a camera, music player and FM radio. The Nokia 2680 is set to be available in Q3 2008, with pricing set at EUR75 (US$117). Nokia says the 2680 will be available in your choice of Slate Grey, Night Blue, Orange, or Violet, though there’s no indication which color AT&T will pick up.
 
Intex Technologies, an electronics manufacturer based in New Delhi, announced the availability of IN 5050 which is really an eye catching feature because user would have a choice to use either CDMD or GSM card in same handset or both cards at the same time. Earlier, the company was operating in GSM genre only with 7 models. The sleek candy-bar mobile phone offers a convenient way to identify SIM card while receiving incoming call and SMS along with the access of other functionalities. For instance, while receiving calls, the phone has the capability to flash which SIM card the call is coming, along with other call details.The phone also features ‘dual’ functions such as a Dual Stand By mode and Dual Speakers. read more…
Korean electronics giant is officially joining Sony Ericsson (C905) and Samsung (INNOV8) with its KC910 handset.  We first reported about this phone several weeks ago, and it looks to be LG’s follow-up to the original Viewty. Equipped with an 8 megapixel auto focus camera the LG KC910 is the first feature phone of the company to sport Wi-Fi connectivity. In addition it extends the functionality of the Viewty with GPS, which allows geo-tagging of the photos. Being an LG, you can expect this device to come with its own custom OS that’s unlike Symbian, Windows Mobile, or any other smartphone’s in the market. The camera of the KC910 uses Schneider-Kreuznach optics and has a protective cover. The sweet VGA videos at 30 fps and slow motion 120 fps QVGA videos are also there. A xenon flash is also on board to facilitate photography in low-light conditions. read more…
Sony has announced during its press conference that a 160GB PS3 bundle will launch on October 31st. Sony has got its Leipzig bandwagon off and sets a new 160GB model to hit Europe. It will be the same spec as the 80GB but with the extra hard drive space, and priced at EUR 449. The 160GB PS3 system announced at the GC will be available here as part of a new limited-edition bundle that includes the hardware, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune game, a PLAYSTATION Network voucher for PAIN, and a DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller
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