Korean regulators on Thursday fined domestic mobile phone manufacturers and carriers 45.3 billion won (roughly $40.2 million) for price-fixing and consumer fraud. According to the Fair Trade Commission, the companies secretly agreed to inflate the prices of cell phones while advertising offers with considerable incentives. The companies’ actions apparently tricked consumers into thinking they were buying a new phone for a bargain. “Companies took advantage of the complicated price setting practice...

AT&T’s two newest 4G LTE devices, the Pantech Burst Android smartphone and the Element Android tablet are now available for purchase. BGR exclusively revealed the Pantech Element ahead of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show and it features an 8-inch display with a 1024 x 768-pixel resolution, 16GB of storage, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and Android 3.2 (Honeycomb). It’s now available for $299 with a new two-year AT&T contract. The Pantech Burst smartphone is equipped with a 4-inch...

Microsoft is said to be close to finalizing a patent-licensing deal with Pantech. Microsoft already has similar agreements in place with Samsung, HTC, ViewSonic and other Android vendors; the company was aggressive in seeking patent-licensing deals with Android vendors in 2011 and is currently fighting to establish a licensing deal with Barnes & Noble, which has accused the company of charging “exorbitant licensing fees” and has even asked the federal government to probe Microsoft’s act...

Verizon Wireless announced on Monday the Pantech Breakout will launch on September 22nd for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a new two-year contract. The Breakout is the first sub-$100 4G LTE smartphone from Verizon and it is equipped with a number of features typically found in more expensive devices. The Breakout’s specs include a 1GHz processor, a 4-inch display with an 800 x 480-pixel resolution, a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video, a secondary front-facing camera for v...

Pantech may be working on its first 4G LTE phone for Verizon Wireless. According to leaked images obtained by DROID-Life, the Pantech Breakout could launch as soon as September 22nd as an affordable 4G LTE option. The phone runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), is powered by a 1GHz processor, has a 4-inch display and is equipped with both rear and forward-facing cameras, although their megapixel counts are unknown. Verizon Wireless’ 4G shelves are currently dominated by high-end phones in the $300 price range...

The Samsung Illusion and the Pantech Breakout LTE have been leaked by Pocketnow. There is not much information about the Samsung Illusion aside from a single photograph, but the Verizon Wireless-bound Pantech Breakout LTE is equipped with a 4-inch WVGA display, a 5-megapixel camera, a front-facing camera for video chats, a 1GHz processor and 512MB of memory. Rumor has it the Breakout LTE will also be capable of sharing its 4G connection with up to 10 different Wi-Fi enabled devices at the same time. Prices a...

AT&T’s purported fall and winter roadmap was recently leaked by Pocketnow and there are a number of devices to get excited about. The Samsung Kupua and HTC Bunyip, two Windows Phone Mango devices, will make their debut during the fourth quarter and will each pack an 8-megapixel camera and an 800 x 480-pixel display. RIM’s full-touchscreen Torch 9860 is also due out during the fourth quarter. It offers an 800 x 480-pixel display, a 1.2GHz processor and a 5-megapixel camera. AT&T will launch...

AT&T confirmed on Monday that its entire 2011 Android smartphone lineup will receive the latest Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) update in the future. AT&T will push the OS to the HTC Inspire 4G, the LG Phoenix, the Pantech Crossover, the Samsung Infuse 4G and the Samsung Captivate. Oddly, the LG Thrill 4G is missing from that list, but we suspect that it will also receive the software patch following its release. Motorola released its Gingerbread update to the ATRIX 4G over the weekend. AT&T did not ann...

AT&T officially announced the Pantech Crossover on Tuesday, Pantech’s first Android smartphone. The Crossover is powered by a 600MHz processor, runs Android 2.2 (Froyo), sports a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 3.1-inch touchscreen display, support for 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi networks, a 2GB microSD card, a 3-megapixel camera, and a 1,500 mAh battery good for up to five hours of use. It may not offer the best specs, but it does come with an affordable price tag. You’ll be able to pick up the Pant...

During a recent interview, AT&T’s senior vice president of mobile devices, Jeff Bradley, shed some light on what his company’s future handset plans look like. Speaking with PCMag, Bradley had several interesting things to say — specifically concerning the Android and Windows Phone platforms. First, the company plans to launch a new, ruggedized Pantech Android handset in the beginning of June. The VP noted that it was a “cool little device” and resembles a “[Casio] G-Shock...

Trying to save a few bucks for your summer vacation? Today, Verizon Wireless officially launched “Unleashed,” the carrier’s own unlimited prepaid service. A spokesperson told Fierce Wireless that the service is available in parts of Florida and Southern California, to start. Customers can choose between four different plans — including daily and by-the-minute — but the most attractive offering is a $50 monthly option that provides unlimited calling, texting, and web browsing. There are o...

Verizon Wireless on Tuesday updated its “VZAccess Manager” software to add Mac support for the Pantech UML290 LTE modem. The new update — VZAccess Manager version 7.2.4 (2534b) — adds support for Apple computers running OS X 10.4 and later. Pantech’s UML290 is a USB dongle that allows laptops to connect to Verizon’s 4G LTE network. Until now, the broadband modem could only be connected to Windows-based computers. The new software is available immediately from Verizon’s we...

Just in time for the holidays, Verizon Wireless has announced the addition of the Pantech Crux, LG Octane, and Samsung Zeal to its list of supported Skype mobile phones. As the press release reads: “Skype mobile, now available on more than 20 Verizon Wireless phones, including select prepaid smartphones, makes celebrating the holidays simple especially for customers who are far away from their friends and families.” Those interested can text SKYPE to 2255 or visit the Get It Now application on yo...

Verizon Wireless today announced the upcoming availability of two new feature phones, the Pantech Crux and the LG Octane. The former, a full touchscreen offering from Pantech, features a 3-inch display with a virtual QWERTY keypad, a variety of widgets, mobile IM and email support, a 1GB microSD card with support for up to 32GB, integrated social networking features and a full HTML Web browser. The LG Octane sports a landscape-oriented clam shell design and features dual displays, a physical QWERTY keypad, a ...