Hold The Phone!!! Wait I take that back. YIKES!

LG Phone Battery Explosion Kills Korean

In the first such case in Korea, a 33-year-old man was found dead on Wednesday, presumably killed by a cell phone battery explosion, police said. The cell phone was the product of a LG Electronics.

The man, identified only by his family name, Sur, was found dead by his coworkers at a quarry in North Chungcheong Province where he was employed as a shovel operator, according to the police.

"When I was going up the stony hill to set dynamite, I found a man lying down beside an electronic shovel," said a coworker identified as Kwon. "He was already bleeding from the nose. He had a mobile phone with a melted battery in his left shirt pocket. His shirt had soot on it in the shape of the phone." Prof. Kim Hoon at Chungbuk National University, who examined the body, presumed the death was caused by a phone battery explosion.

"He was injured in the left side of his chest. His ribs and spine were broken. The explosion punctured his heart and lungs, leading to his death," Kim said.

Sur's family and coworkers said he had no chronic diseases.

The death marks the first time that a person has been killed by a cell phone battery explosion in South Korea. In June, Chinese media reported that a person was killed by a mobile phone explosion in China.

Skype launches cell phone

The popular internet phone service Skype has released its own cell phone, which can be used to make calls over the internet.

Dubbed the Skypephone, the device is the result of a collaboration between Skype and the mobile company 3. As well as being able to make VoIP calls, Skypephone will also be able to be used to make normal cell phone calls and access the internet. Michael van Swaaji, acting chief executive at Skype, is quoted in the Telegraph as saying: "Skype has now taken a giant step forward in the mobile arena.

"It takes an innovative operator like 3 to challenge traditional thinking and offer the kind of product other operators are still shying away from." Meanwhile, eBay recently stated that when it acquired Skype in 2005 for $2.6 billion it paid too much. Because Skype earnings that were forecast have yet to materialize, Skype will only take charge of $1.43 billion of the money.

Disney to cancel mobile service

At the end of this year the entertainment and communication giant Disney is to put a stop to its cell phone service, the company has announced.

Those signed up to the service will be able to keep on using it until December 31st, Disney stated. It is not yet known the number of staff that will be slashed as a result of the cancellation of the service, though 120 staff will be affected. Disney has said it is trying to find them jobs in other departments. Steve Wadsworth, president of the Walt Disney Internet Group, stated: "We decided that changing strategies was a better alternative to pursue profitable growth in the mobile services area."

One of the more popular capabilities that the Disney service offered parents was the ability to track the location of a young person carrying a phone. How and where the phone was used could also be controlled.

Apple: Unlocking iPhone could be damaging

Programs that allow one to unlock the iPhone so that it can be used with other carriers could potentially harm the device, Apple has warned.

Currently, AT&T is the only carrier that works with the iPhone, which was released earlier this summer. In the UK, O2 has been chosen as the exclusive carrier for when the phone is released on November 9th. Phil Schiller, Apple's head of worldwide product marking, commented to Reuters: "We are not doing anything proactively to disable iPhones that have been hacked or unlocked."

Mr Schiller added that he did not know how widespread the act of unlocking iPhones so that they could be used with other carriers has become. Apple stated that it would not bear any responsibility for damage caused by such actions. The iPhone is a multifunctional device that that be used as a music player, phone and internet browser.

CyberData Introduces New VoIP Zone Controller, 4-Port Audio-Out

CyberData Corporation announced the release of its new VoIP Zone Controller, 4-Port Audio-Out. The Zone Controller is a SIP-endpoint that enables access to analog paging speakers through a VoIP phone system. Each of the 4 audio outputs is designed to interface with a standard analog paging amplifier. The zone control function is set up through its web interface and offers up to 15 programmable paging zone groups in addition to page-all.

"The zone controller allows for a cost effective migration from legacy phone systems to VoIP, utilizing existing analog paging systems," said Phillip Lembo, President of CyberData Corporation, "while saving installers and end users time and resources due to its ease of installation and its flexibility when configuring paging zone groups."

The CyberData's VoIP Zone Controller is scheduled for release on September 21, 2007 and can be purchased from a variety of distributors and resellers. Please visit CyberData's website for details.

The new VoIP Zone Controller, 4-Port Audio-Out will be on display at the Internet Telephony Conference & EXPO West 2007, September 10-12, 2007, booth 241, at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California.

Comcast Self-Install VoIP Kits Launching within six months...

11:37AM Tuesday Sep 04 2007

Comcast is now offering self-install VoIP voice kits, and is testing self-install wireless phone VoIP kits in San Francisco, with launch expected in Boston, Denver and Philadelphia within six months. The switch should drastically reduce Comcast VoIP install costs, giving them a leg up in the triple-play battle with phone operators.

Verizon incurs $880 on average per customer to get TV installed. While Comcast added 671,000 VoIP customers last quarter, Verizon lost 723,000 landline customers while adding 167,000 TV customers. "Comcast tentatively plans to charge customers $250 for three cordless phones that link to their cable modems. The total time from opening the box to getting a dial tone is 30 minutes or less, Avgiris said. "It's for the customer who says, 'I want the service, and I want it now,'" said Avgiris."

Comcast VoIP is exploding -- the company added three million VoIP customers in just two years, quickly becoming the nation's largest VoIP operator.

The company has had to hire 12,000 people in the past year and a half to help manage VoIP demand, and will spend $450 million adding telephone customers in 2008.

Verizon Offers Mobile Banking

Verizon has announced that it has teamed up with Bank of America to offer mobile banking.

Verizon customers who have signed up the company's Mobile Web 2.0 service will now be able to access their bank accounts through their cell phones. Customers will be able to view balances, make deposits and even move money between accounts. Additionally, using the new service, customers will be able to access directions to the nearest Bank of America branches and ATMs.

The Mobile Web 2.0 service costs $5 per month. Meanwhile, Verizon has improved and reconfigured its entire wireless web service to make it easier to access.

It has changed the wireless home page by putting in shortcuts to content and drop down bars offering access to news. There are also new content channels which can be accessed by subscribers to the service, such as commuting news, local news and financial information.