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VeryKool's i280 reminds us of Helio's days gone by
Remember VK Mobile? No? We can't say we blame you, so allow us to jog your memory: these were the guys that made Helio's curious Kickflip back in the day, and for a while, the company was seen as The Next Big Thing to come out of the South Korean cellphone industry before its financial collapse a couple years ago. VK stood for "VeryKool," so imagine our surprise to see a "VeryKool USA" get a new touchscreen set approved by the FCC this week. It's a relatively simple GSM / EDGE device, though it's got analog TV reception on board -- not very useful around here, seeing how that's about to disappear from the airwaves -- and the UI appears to be a direct rip of LG's pre-S-Class touchscreen design. In other words, we can't imagine a North American carrier even dreaming of picking this thing up, so we suppose VeryKool USA exists solely for the purpose of garnering FCC approval on devices bound for other markets that can roam stateside. Either way, VK, that was a nice, quick trip down memory lane for us -- thanks.
The VK160: yet another VK handset gets FCC approval
So maybe South Korea's VK Mobile isn't doing so bad after all. Despite recent financial woes, VK handsets continue to trickle through the FCC's halls -- certainly not at a Samsung-like pace, but hey, slow 'n steady is better than nothing. This here VK160 happens to be a quadband GSM device with Bluetooth, leaving us to wonder whether there might not be a plan to introduce it as a low-cost option on a US carrier. We haven't seen any VK hardware 'round here since the Kickflip, and considering how cool that thing was, we'd certainly be willing to give 'em another shot.
VK Mobile's credit-card sized VK2200 handset
Mobile lovers in South Korea: are you ready for a small 4 megapixel cameraphone? Local manufacturer VK Mobile has had a shaky past recently but has now released the VK2200 handset that features an interesting new design -- with the d-pad and send / end and softkeys opposing each other instead of happily grouped in the usual moon-circling-planet design. Mobile goodness of the VK2200 includes that 4 megapixel shooter to rock those MMS messages over that included but painfully slow GPRS Class 10 data connection, a rather paltry 1.66 inch LCD display with an old-school rez of 160 x 128, 128MB of internal memory, the obligatory and slow USB 1.1 connection and Bluetooth 1.2. All gripes aside, the VK2200 does have something over most other handsets -- it's the size of a credit card (not in thickness, of course) an weighs just 53 grams with battery. View the VK2200 as it is unboxed over at thinktechno if you really want to see how small this puppy is. [via Slashphone]
Bankruptcy, shmankruptcy: VK Mobile gets i230 through FCC
Hey, Helio, maybe you guys can help us out with this one: just what the heck is VK, maker of your Kickflip, doing with a new phone in the FCC's hallowed halls? Isn't the luxury of FCC approval reserved for companies with, oh, we don't know... solvency? Granted, last time we heard from these folks it sounded like they were going to be allowed to continue on their merry way in some capacity, so maybe this is all part of that grand recovery scheme. Anyhoo, what we've got here is the "verykool"-branded (verykool, VK... get it?) i230, a quadband GSM unit that we'd wager bears the candybar form factor. Other than that, details are nonexistent -- including whether any American carrier is looking to pick this thing up -- but we'll be keeping an eagle eye on the sitch.
Next up for Helio: Samsung and Pantech
In the aftermath of VK Mobile's implosion, it stands to reason that Helio might be on the lookout for new (slightly less bankrupt) hardware partners. Telecoms Korea is reporting that Samsung will be added to the mix -- something we've reported previously -- while Pantech will stay on board to follow up the Hero. All future handsets are said to be running XCE's Java-based platform, a move that makes sense considering Helio's mantra of a uniform user experience across all its devices. All this seems to play in nicely with the VK sourced Kickflip having now gone "out of stock" on Helio's website -- so if you want to get your hands on that white, spring-loaded, addictive pivotphone and you find one in-store, we might recommend you grab it while you still can.
The VK-X200: VK Mobile's swan song?
As a phone manufacturer, it could be argued that one of the first steps you'd better take to get yourself out from under the financial gun is to release some quality products. That's exactly what VK Mobile looks to be doing here -- or trying to do, anyway -- in offering the VK-X200 for Korea's SK Telecom. The smart-looking X200 clocks in at 9.9mm, slim by all but the most extreme standards, and apparently rocks a 2-megapixel cam and media player. Good luck to ya, VK; we hope this thing sells like hotcakes.
Bankrupt VK Mobile: down but not out
Would-be Kickflip owners, Helio employees, rejoice: VK's back in the ring for another round. After a July 7 scare that had the Korean manufacturer facing liquidation, a bankruptcy court has ruled that they can conveniently forget their debts and obligations, freeing up cash for things like -- oh, you know -- manufacturing of phones. It'll apparently take the court a couple months yet to decide exactly if and how VK will be allowed to continue its turnaround, a decision that will be based largely on how the defunct company fares in the interim. If they agree to cut it out with the SLVR knockoffs, we're all for a complete recovery.
VK Mobile's waif-like VK2020 musicphone reviewed
VK Mobile seems like a very flashy company to us, what with their fashion-over-function ethos, their, shall we say, liberal "borrowing" of design elements from some of the sexier phones on the market, and who could forget the airbrushed nude models that they employed to hawk their products at CeBIT this year? We think PC Mag would agree that the company's quad-band GSM VK2020 musicphone -- that, like the models, we also spotted at CeBIT -- falls in line with this assessment, as their review highlights the handset's RAZR- and SLVR-killing thinness and "wow factor," but knocks it on nearly every aspect important to people who actually like their stuff to function properly. Among the laundry list of flaws reported are this model's small, dim screen, barely acceptable MP3 and call audio quality, lack of even EDGE-speed data, sub-four-hour battery life, limited filetype support, and flaky Bluetooth connection. Still, PC Mag's Sascha makes a good point when he compares the VK2020 to a hot date, in that you're a lot more likely to accept its faults just because it looks so damn good. If you're the type that rushed out to buy LG's silly Style-i non-hands-free, non-headset Bluetooth headset when it became available from Verizon this week, then you'll probably be just fine with forking over $400 to Dynamism in order to sport one of today's hotter-looking imports.
