it is Korean technology’s biggest paradox – while Korean hardware sells like hotcakes abroad, services and software are strictly domestic concerns. Everyone in the world knows Samsung Mobile, but nobody outside Korea has ever heard of Naver or SK Telecom.However, globally, the competition for mobile operators has never been fiercer. In Korea, over 90% of the population now have mobile phones, and worldwide, the demand for mobiles grows not by the year, but by the day. Read the rest of this entry »

Chances are you’d feel differently about all the new airline fees if you were getting something new for your money–especially if that something were to help ease the tedium of a long flight. Starting today, American Airlines will begin testing that premise with a sneak preview of Wi-Fi connectivity aboard two flights–one from JFK to LA and one in the return direction–allowing passengers to send and receive emails, download and send attachments, and surf the web while aloft. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the more interesting tidbits from News.com’s survey published this morning on instant messaging privacy came from Skype.The eBay-owned company says it is unable to comply with court-authorized wiretap requests.We asked Skype: “Have you ever received a subpoena, court order or other law enforcement request asking you to perform a live interception or wiretap, meaning the contents of your users’ communications would be instantly forwarded to law enforcement?” Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t call it a bust just yet, but it’s fair to say eBay executives aren’t thrilled with what they’re getting out of Skype, which the auction king bought for $2.6 billion two years ago.

On Monday, eBay said it would take a $900 million so-called impairment write-down against the value of Skype. This means that eBay has been forced to reassess the value of the Internet telephony company relative to its overall business today. By recording a charge, the company is essentially saying that it has taken a loss on its original investment.

In what looks like an attempt to shake things up at Skype and move the division in a new direction, eBay also said Monday that Skype co-founder and Chief Executive Niklas Zennstrom has stepped down.

His departure was expected. Zennstrom, who helped start Skype in 2003, has joined forces with Skype co-founder Janus Friis to start an Internet television service called Joost. And it has long been anticipated he would take more time to work on that endeavor. Read the rest of this entry »