Last week, telecom behemoths Globe and Smart introduced the KU250 handset from electronic firm LG, joining a 12 telcos across the world in an attempt to jack up 3G usage via an “affordable handset”.

A World GSM Association press release said that the KU250 emerged winner among 19 other handsets pushed by eight competing mobile phone makers, including Nokia. Thus, the KU250s carry the “3G for All” tag on its face.

Smart is selling the KU250 at P6,290 while Globe offers it at a slighty lower price of P6,250. Initial reports say that stocks of the handset have run out in Globe business centers.

A subscriber review posted on megaforum PinoyExchange reveals that the KU250 has a batch of features that may actually attract buyers: 3G at UMTS speeds of up to 384 kbps, Bluetooth, USB connectivity, dual camera with a 1.3 megapixel main camera, expandable memory, multimedia player, and the standard MMS and GPRS, among others. The phone is said to weigh at a light 73 grams.

However two big stumbling blocks may prevent KU250’s success: handset price and the pricing of 3G services by the telcos themselves. Continue reading

TXTPower today denounced the decision of the National Telecommunications Commission dismissing the complaint against Globe Telecom over the company’s 100 percent increase in unlimited texting rates in February this year.

Aside from filing an appeal, TXTPower is studying possible legal moves against commission officials.

“The NTC dismissed our complaint on highly questionable grounds, by obscenely parotting Globe Telecom’s dangerous claim that we do not have a legal personality to file a complaint in the first place,” said TXTPower convenor Anthony Ian Cruz.

“Any citizen or group of citizens have a right to redress of grievances and should be heard by government, especially agencies such as the NTC,” said Cruz.

“This horrible idea adopted by the NTC is borrowed entirely from Globe’s motion to dismiss our complaint,” Cruz stressed. “We already demolished this false reasoning in our reply filed by our lawyer.” Continue reading