The problem with selling licenses for spectrum -- any kind of spectrum -- is that there's an implicit assumption that the investment a company's going to make into buying the airwaves and building out the infrastructure necessary to take advantage of it is eventually going to pay off. For the winners of Germany's DVB-H license, though, the economics simply don't make sense; the country's carriers stone-cold gave up on the concept once they lost the license bid, instead turning to bundling DVB-T receivers to steal free signals designed for plain ol' TV reception. The winning bidder, Mobile 3.0, had intended to sell users on packages costing a handful of euros a month -- but "free" is a pretty powerful word, so even if there's a marginal battery performance disadvantage with the DVB-T setup, it's going to be virtually impossible for any pay service to fight it, especially when carriers are putting zero effort into making sure DVB-H tuners are on board their handsets. As best as we can tell, T-Systems' DVB-H trial wrapped up in December, so yeah, that pretty much spells the death of the so-called standard in Bavaria. What say you, EU?

[Via mocoNews]

We've known this gem was looming, but word on the street has the LG-KC1 finally hitting the hands of eager South Koreans. Amongst the niceties are a potent 806MHz Marvell Monahans CPU, 512MB of NAND Flash ROM, 128MB of SDRAM, WiBro connectivity, T-DMB mobile TV, integrated Bluetooth, a two-megapixel camera, and a 2.8-inch QVGA screen to boot. Unfortunately, it looks like this otherwise fantastically spec'd device is still running Windows Mobile 5 from yesteryear, and of course, the chances of it ever making it to US soil in the near future are essentially nil. Regardless, feel free to click on through for another picture if you enjoy the tease.

One of the most fragmented up and coming technologies in the mobile segment appears to be mobile TV. Europe's converging on DVB-H, Korea likes T- and S-DMB, Japan does one-seg, and the US seems to be moving toward MediaFLO. We can't necessarily expect a single device to support reception around the globe any time soon (if ever), but two in one is a good start -- and that'll soon be a reality thanks to a newly-developed chip from Sharp. The so-called VA3B5EZ915 (catchy name, if we do say so ourselves) supports both T-DMB and DVB-H while at the same time setting a new record for minimal power consumption. Theoretically, we guess this means travelers could get reception in both Europe and South Korea, though we're betting the more immediate application will be to unify Europe's few deployed T-DMB networks with the more popular DVB-H format without needing different lineups of phones for both. No word on when we might see the new chip in production handsets.

The scuttlebutt from Telecoms Korea says v2 of the LG Prada (KE850) is already in the works. Sorry US readers, they're not adding the 850MHz band just yet, the new version expected to hit in April will sport terrestrial DMB mobile television. Makes sense, since our friends on the Korean Peninsula loves 'em some mobile TV tech something fierce. But man, how did they convince the Prada execs to approve a design-mucking, telescoping antenna typically needed for T-DMB reception in Korea? By the way, that's our rendering pictured up there -- not LG's -- but we'll bet it's not far off from the final product. Anyway, with the US in the throws of a Qualcomm FLO fest, our apparently pedestrian tastes look even less likely to be fed anytime soon. Well, until June anyway.

Read -- Telecoms Korea (subscription required)

LG's no stranger to cramming DMB capabilities into its handsets, and practically everything else it has a hand in too, but the company has now announced a brand new chip that ups the ante over existing renditions. This new chip reportedly enables users to "watch real-time television programs for four straight hours," compared to the three hour "limit" currently in place, but we seriously question the toll it'd take on your retinas to stare at such a diminutive display for an entire sixth of your day. Nevertheless, the chip is supposed to enhance signals as well, giving off that TV delight to a broader area of recipients by upwards of "30 percent." Additionally, it's slated to consume a good bit less power than current implementations, and of course, will allow users to access real-time traffic data and utilize TPEG technology while on the move, and just in case all that in the palm of your hands wasn't enough to keep you occupied, you can actually enjoy attempt to view two programs simultaneously thanks to the PIP functionality that this chip delivers. Time to upgrade those specs, eh?

[Via BoyGeniusReport]

Although Samsung has already crammed T-DMB support into a plethora of its (sometimes oddly-designed) handsets, the sleek SPH-B5800 gets the honor of being the "world's first" that also integrates TPEG. While we knew the firm was working on the Transport Protocol Experts Group service last year, this phone marks the "first time" users can expect to receive live updates "about traffic, nice restaurants," or other points of interest surrounding them. Reportedly, the phone will receive new information "every five minutes" depending on your location, and will show a route and expected arrival time for any destination that perks the user's interest. On the DMB side, it purportedly sports a "full list of channels" to keep you occupied while cruising in the backseat. Other features on this snazzy slider include a 2-megapixel camera, electronic dictionary, "My Pet" game (long lost Tamagotchi sibling?), file viewer, and support for audio book playback. So if you're anxious to let your phone dictate where you eat for supper, you can snag the SPH-B5800 later this month for around 600,000KRW ($645).

[Via AVing]

Productivity everywhere stands to suffer for the next month or so as World Cup Fever sets in, but expect German productivity to take an even stronger hit -- carrier Debitel is using the tournament as the launching pad for its new T-DMB service. No word on how many games will be available for viewing, but we suspect there'll be enough to justify stealing off to the office bathroom at an alarming frequency. The service launches today along with the compatible Samsung P900, which will set you back €199 (roughly $250) with contract.

In the E3 fury that was last week, we managed to overlook that Samsung dropped a pretty major update into their 8GB i310 music phone – some of that sweet T-DMB mobile teevee sugar. That change bumps the model to an obscure SCH-B570. Other than some additional, unspecified multimedia capabilities, that's about all we know for sure. Though it's likely to carry the same specs as the i310: WinMo 5.0, microSD expansion, 2 megapixel shooter, Bluetooth with A2DP stereo audio support, TV-out, and integrated dual-speakers. Normally at this point, we'd tell you there's no chance in Hades we'll ever see this phone in these United States. However, with the FCC approving T-DMB phones of late, well... you just never know.

Setting the stage for some good 'ol mobile TV squinting here in The States, the FCC just approved Samsung's SGH-P900 T-DMB handset. Announced back in February for the European market, the P900 represents Sammy's first DMB handset push outside Korea and sports tri-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE, a 2 megapixel cam, Bluetooth, and MicroSD slot. But what makes this phone notable is support for digital mobile TV sure to slake that 2.2-inch mobile TV viewin' jones you may or may not be suffering. Now all that remains is for someone to launch a T-DMB service 'round these parts. Hello...anybody there, XM...anyone? [Warning: PDF link]

[Via Unwired View]

The design team at LG is getting plenty of mileage out of this swivel shell for for their DMB phones, with the LG-LB1500 as the latest in a long line of similarly styled units. Of course, we're not complaining. There's a nice big 2.2-inch QVGA display dominating the unit, and an overall thickness of 0.77-inches. There's also some sort of "IPS method" to enhance viewing, but we're rather low on deets. The phone should be available in May -- in Korea no doubt -- so we suppose we'll know more then.