Daily Marauder

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In what could be the first in a wave of foreign smartphones to enter South Korea, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Bold will launch this month on SK Telecom, the country’s largest carrier, the companies announced Tuesday. RIM won a special waiver from regulatory authorities to circumvent software mandates that has made it difficult for non-Korean companies to compete in the country, but that could change in April when a government move to abolish such a rule takes effect. ClipSyndicate/New York Financial Press (12/16) , The Washington Post/The Associated Press (12/16)

Prolific mobile games producer Glu Mobile launched a pair of new games for the iPhone and iPod Touch: The Dark Knight: Batmobile Game, co-published with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, and Bonsai Blast, an original Glu title. (Cynopsis 12/17)

Return to cookie mountain indeed, because a new program called Television for iPhone is now available and offers “50 shows from 30 channels” on demand. It’s not live TV – that would be hard – but it’s basically rehashed content CNN, CBS, and Comedy Central. (http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/12/17/tv-on-the-radioiphone 12/17)

Taxi applications on the App Store are a dime a dozen, but for the most part they’re just glorified phone directories that don’t really make it any easier to call a cab. Taxi Magic, a new app that recently went live on the App Store, is doing what the others can’t: on-demand cab service from your iPhone at the push of a button. The application connects directly into Taxi routing systems, allowing users to book cabs without ever needing to speak to an operator. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/16/taxi-magic-hail-a-cab-from-your-iphone-at-the-push-of-a-button 12/16)

Seattle-based outdoor gear coop REI launched a new iPhone app powered by Zumboi geared toward skiers and snowboarders. It provides up to date temperatures, snow conditions and the number of open lifts at over 1800 GPS accesses ski resorts worldwide. There’s also an e-commerce component. (Cynopsis 12/17)

AT&T has begun selling refurbished iPhone 3G handsets for $150, compared with its usual $199 price tag — with a two-year contract — for the 8GB models and $250 for smartphones with 16GB of memory. The discount is part of AT&T’s previously announced move to expand iPhone sales to its Web site for first-time customers. InformationWeek (12/16)

Vodafone and Last.fm will bring the music service’s social-networking features to selected Nokia handsets under a new partnership they announced, adding that the new application will include a function that automatically builds an online music profile for users based on their listening habits. cellular-news (U.K.) (12/17)