Pantech is known to make some fancy devices (Vega series) though most of them are not available outside of Korean peninsula. Perhaps Samsung could help Pantech reach new markets relying on its vast distribution network; perhaps it even ends up putting its own chips inside Pantech’s future gear. The latter is highly unlikely since the other large corporate shareholder in Pantech is Qualcomm (which would love its own chips being used, instead).

Anyhow, we’re looking forward to see Pantech-made devices hitting the Western hemisphere, providing more options to the consumers. Hopefully, that’s what Samsung’s investment is all about. We’ll let you know when we hear something new on this…

[Via: Engadget]

According to the AllThingsD report, the Yahoo’s board has approved the deal, which will likely be announced on Monday morning.

Sources close to the matter said that Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer has decided that buying Tumblr was going to be “the stake in the ground of what her strategy is going forward for Yahoo.” That strategy involves attracting younger audiences to Yahoo’s properties.

This is Yahoo’s biggest acquisition in the last couple of years; up until this point, Mayer has initiated a number of smaller deals, mostly in the mobile space.

We don’t have the complete picture of Yahoo’s strategy, but it looks like Mayer is preparing the company for a big mobile push. And we think she’s onto something…

Tumblr has a reported valuation of $800 million, and its (soon to be delighted) investors include Spark Capital, Union Square Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, Insight Venture Partners and the Chernin Group.

Naturally, the agreement between the two operators is subject to conditions including approval by the Competition Bureau, Industry Canada and Mobilicity’s debtholders. TELUS and Mobilicity have informed the government and regulators and both companies are fully committed to working cooperatively to secure timely approvals for the transaction.

Presuming everything goes as planned, TELUS will retain all 150 Mobilicity employees who will have the opportunity to review and secure permanent, long term roles with TELUS. Moreover, with all these new subscribers, TELUS will emerge as the second-largest mobile operator in Canada, after Rogers Wireless and ahead of Bell Mobility.

We’ll get back to you when the deal is cleared by all parties and when Mobilicity is fully integrated into Telus…

The iPhone maker has been under fire for its tax practices lately after avoiding to pay as much as $9.2 billion in taxes by performing some financial (though perfectly legal) mumbo-jumbo.

The goal of the hearing is to examine how companies shift profits offshore and how that impacts the tax code. To that end, representatives from Microsoft and HP have already testified in September 2012.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling told POLITICO that they have been working with the subcommittee and will gladly answer any further questions it might have. He went to reminded us that Apple is one of the largest taxpayers in the United States, and also a company that helps create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the country by keeping its R&D in California, while creating innovative products like the iPhone, iPad and the app store.

The pre-paid plans, which closely resemble the recent T-Mobile Simple Choice plans. The plans offer unlimited talk, text and data, with data speeds being throttled after a certain amount of usage. The plans are as follows:

Aio Basic- $40.00 per month, only available for feature phones

• Unlimited Data (includes high speed access for the first 250MB of data)
• Unlimited Talk (includes voicemail, call waiting, call forwarding, and 3-way calling)
• Unlimited Messaging (includes short messages, pictures, and videos)
• Maximum data download speeds reduced when usage exceeds high speed allotment

• Unlimited Data (includes high speed access for the first 2GB of data)
• Unlimited Talk (includes voicemail, call waiting, call forwarding, and 3-way calling)
• Unlimited Messaging (includes short messages, pictures, and videos)
• Maximum data download speeds reduced when usage exceeds high speed allotment

• Unlimited Data (includes high speed access for the first 7GB of data)
• Unlimited Talk (includes voicemail, call waiting, call forwarding, and 3-way calling)
• Unlimited Messaging (includes short messages, pictures, and videos)
• Maximum data download speeds reduced when usage exceeds high speed allotment

Aio Wireless™ Announces New Nationwide Voice and Data Service

No-annual-contract wireless provider kicks off new service with launch in first three markets
Alpharetta, Georgia, May 09, 2013

Today Aio Wireless announced the launch of a new nationwide wireless service for consumers interested in a first-class wireless experience at a value price, without an annual contract. Aio provides new choices, seamless customer experience, and simplified service and offerings to value-conscious customers interested in an unlimited talk/text/data plan with no annual contract.

Aio expects the service to roll out in multiple markets across the U.S. over the next year, with an initial launch today in select stores in Houston, Orlando and Tampa, and with additional stores in these three markets opening in the coming weeks. Store locations and Aio information will be available starting later this morning atwww.aiowireless.com. Aio (pronounced “A-O”) is a brand name that encapsulates Aio’s brand promise: simply, delightfully, more.

“We talked with no-annual-contract customers and created our service around what they want. They want simple, easy plan choices with unlimited offers; first-class service at affordable prices; great devices; nationwide voice and data coverage; and no annual contracts. Today’s wireless customers don’t want to compromise,” said Jennifer Van Buskirk, president of Aio Wireless. “We are set up to win over value-conscious customers who are increasingly moving towards smartphones and mobile broadband.”

Aio makes prepaid wireless easy for customers with a friendly in-store and on-line experience, three simple rate plans to choose from, and an attractive portfolio of devices that include smartphones, tablets, and feature phones from a variety of manufacturers, including Samsung, Nokia, ZTE and others. Aio’s

unlimited talk, text, and data rate plans range from $35 to $70 per month, with pricing varying by market, and will offer 4G download speeds of up to 4Mbs per second. Customers will also have the opportunity to bring a compatible, unlocked device for activation on the Aio network. Aio will delight customers with an attitude of gratitude, easy pre-payment options, and an involvement in the local communities in which we serve.

Aio Wireless is a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. AT&T does not expect this announcement to change AT&T’s January 2013 financial guidance.

Aio’s plan pricing includes applicable state and local taxes, and fees. Each unlimited plan includes a pre-established amount of high speed data access, and service is subject to Aio’s Terms and Conditions of Service and Unreasonable Use Policy. Coverage and services are not available everywhere. Restrictions apply. © 2013 Aio Wireless LLC. All rights reserved. Aio, Aio Wireless and the Aio logo are trademarks of Aio Wireless LLC.

About Aio Wireless

Aio Wireless (pronounced A-O) was created for today’s value-conscious connected consumers who want it all. We created a new class of service for individuals who expect a first class wireless service at a value price – one with no-annual contract, friendly service, uncomplicated plans and the mobile phones and tablets you love. All of Aio’s phone plans include unlimited talk, text and data, with taxes and fees included – the price you see is the price you pay. Aio Wireless is a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. Visit www.aiowireless.com to find out more.

[Via: AT&T , GigaOm]

Meanwhile, Japan Display — which is a joint venture between LG Display, Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba — has also allegedly received business from Apple, with production already underway.

We would have to conclude that Cupertino-based company wants to make sure there are no shortage in components for the iPhone 5S and even the iPhone 6, which will most likely launch next year…

[Via: Engadget, AppleInsider]

All said, we’re not surprised that folks all around the Interwebs are speculating that the “unnamed handset maker” could be Nokia. The Finns are already known for their camera technology having partnered with Carl Zeiss for quite a few phones in the past.

Pelican Imaging’s technology sounds impressive on paper, promising to allow users to focus images even after the shot was taken, and in that sense we think of it as a mobile version of Lytro.

Nokia is also the owner of some cool camera software technology which it both developed in-house and as a result of its acquisition of Scalado.

In any case, we can’t wait to see what kind of camera phone Nokia releases relying on Pelican’s technology. We’ll make sure to keep our eyes wide open and let you know as soon as we hear something new…

[Via: CellularNews]

Thanks to the “innovative” $17 billion bond deal, Apple won’t pay $9.2 billion in taxes, but just $308 million. Now we get the real idea how “green” they really are.

This financial mumbo-jumbo is achieved by exchanging non-deductible and more expensive dividend payments for tax deductible interest payments while purchasing back shares at relatively low price-points. I’m not sure I understand the mechanics behind this highly complex deal but if you want to know more, make sure to check out this article at BusinessWeek.

No doubts that Apple shareholders will love the deal. Apple fanboys will once again find an excuse for their favorite company, while the rest of us can’t believe this is happening. Paying taxes seems optional for some companies… (Apple is not alone in this by any means)…

One would think they will leave it as a separate (and profitable) company while using its brand to bring more users to the service. That, apparently, won’t be the case. I would have to guess they’ll re-launch it under some new name — like Yahoo! Tasks or Yahoo! Lists — and offer it free of charge. Heck, I imagine they’ll turn it into a Google-like service that offers a ton of features for free, while making some things available for premium users, only.

Then again, Yahoo isn’t Google despite having a former Google exec at the top. So it’s inevitable to ask – will Yahoo ruin Astrid?

I do realize Yahoo is more of a media company than service provider but that doesn’t mean they don’t offer premium services. The way I see it, the ad business is more prone to cyclic moves in the economy whereas selling services is more constant source of revenue. To that end, I want to believe that Astrid (or whatever Yahoo! ends up calling it) will remain a freemium app/service that will keep its easy-to-use feature set.

What do you think Yahoo will do with Astrid? Does existing Astrid users have something good to look forward to?

The streaming company also reported that its site’s revenue also hit a record for the first quarter of the year, albeit, Hulu didn’t give specifics on any numbers. Furthermore, customers can expect Hulu to follow the same path taken by its competitors Netflix and Amazon, as it too jumps into the production of original content.

[The New York Times; via engadget]

“As iOS and Android continue to battle it out for top-selling smartphone OS, we have seen Windows steadily grow over the past year and is now at its highest sales share figure so far.”  Kantar Worldpanel ComTech analyst Mary-Ann Parlato stated,  “Windows strength appears to be the ability to attract first time smartphone buyers, upgrading from a feature phone. Of those who changed their phone over the last year to a Windows smartphone, 52% had previously owned a feature phone. Comparatively, the majority of iOS and Android new customers were repeat smartphone buyers, with 55% of new iOS customers, and 51% of new Android customers coming from another smartphone. While the differences between these figures are small, with over half of the US market still owning a feature phone, it’s likely that many will upgrade over the coming year, which will ultimately contribute to more growth for the Windows brand.”

Android has almost half of the smartphone sales in Q1 2013, with 49.3% of sales. Those numbers are nothing but amazing, but Google’s growth rate increased compared to the previous year, up by 1.4%. Apple’s iOS is in second place, with 43.7% of smartphone sales, which are down compared to the previous year’s 44.6%.

It’s clear that Android and iOS aren’t going anywhere, but Windows is showing promising growth in the smartphone market, ane may just keep making modest gains as the mobile operating system evolves. It’s popularity with first time smartphone buyers could be key to its success in emerging markets, and a bigger app ecosystem would help the Windows 8 platform in the U.S. Don’t count Microsoft out just yet.

[Via: Kantar World Panel , BGR]