Mobile Behavior: an Omnicom Group Company

Mashable reports the iPhone has been cleared for launch by the Korea Communications Commission, and it could be available for consumers in South Korea by the end of the month.  Although Apple has not made any comments, a newspaper in South Korea, The Chosun Ilbo, states that KT Corp, a local service provider, “will begin taking online reservations from Thursday and distributing the smartphone starting Nov. 28.” KT aims to initially sell 150,000 iPhones at a price of approximately $215 to $260. Both the 3G and 3Gs will be sold in Korea.

[via Mashable]

Handsets
BlackBerry Storm
The BlackBerry Storm - first touchscreen from the business-first folks at BlackBerry - will be available this fall exclusively through Verizon Wireless in the U.S. and Vodafone in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. This, plus the long-awaited arrival of the first Android handset, shows that the iPhone may finally have some competition and that the era of the touchscreen is officially upon us.

Trends and Research
Study: 93 Percent of Americans Want Companies to Have Presence on Social Media Sites [ReadWriteWeb]
93 percent of Americans believe that businesses should be present in social media and 85 percent believe that they should be interacting with consumers – according to the 2008 Cone “Business in Social Media” study. It's a short step to mobile from here, folks.

Hispanic Teens Increasingly Important Wireless Consumers, According to MultiMedia Intelligence [MarketWatch]
The growth of mobile phone use among Hispanic teens will be 2-3 times that of the overall U.S.-teen market in the next five years - according to MultiMedia Intelligence in their recent report on the current state and future of mobile phone use among this demographic.

Religion
Church encourages texting during sermons [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Confused about how to engage children who feel worship services are too old fashioned? In O’Fallon, Missouri, the Morning Star Church encourages teens to text their questions during church to a moderator who then sends relevant material to the Reverend’s laptop for incorporation into his sermon.

User-generated Content
Xtranormal Launches Text-to-Movie Making
Like Animasher before it, Xtranormal is all about making your own movies. Unlike Animasher, you can add dialogue, control character expresssion, movement - even change accent! No giant, floating Oscar Wilde though ... will the literary mavens stand for it?

Asia
A Day in The Life of a Mobile Phone in Seoul [m-trends]
Everyone knows South Korea's phone culture makes the rest of us look like little leaguers at the All-Star game. Well, this probably won't change your opinion, but it is neat to take another glimpse at the future before it comes down the pipeline.

Trend: M-commerce Booming in China [CScout]
Mobile monetary transactions have a big future in China. With the world's largest number of mobile subscribers, China is already off to a headstart in developing this infrastructure. However, mobile has yet to completely infiltrate all rural areas of the country, so it will be awhile before billfolds are thrown by the wayside completely.

User-generated photo blog Fotolog goes mobile [Mobile Marketer]
After surpassing the 20 million mark for members, Fotolog – "the world’s number one photo blog" – decided to take it on the run with mobile.

Lonely Planet Goes Mobile With Nokia [Mobile Content Today]
Popular travel guide Lonely Planet is teaming up with Nokia to sell city guides and maps to Nokia 2.0 users.

KCC reports South Korean mobile statistics [WirelessWatch]
The Korean Communications Committee is reporting 45 million cell phone users in South Korea – which equals 91 percent penetration. 43 million of these also have wireless Internet.

Commercial Craze: Moving Signs In Tokyo And Osaka [pingmag]
Popular attention-getters in Japan are "moving signs" or 3D advertisements--a drumming clown, a giant moving crab, a professional wrestler dressed like Elvis. We can't say this has the typical "wow" factor all things Japanese inspire, except maybe "wow, that looks annoying."

Cell Phone Disco - LEDs, Music and Mobile Phones (VIDEO) [Trendhunter]
This trippy art installation combines music with moving LEDs that react to mobile phone radiation and frequencies as people walk past.

YouTube Community at VloggerHeads? [NewTeeVee]
Middle-age, video-blogging men tired of YouTube’s popularity and youthful vibe have rebelled and created their own video sharing site—VloggerHeads—where they post self-describe boring videos without anyone making fun of them.

CollegeHumor.com debuts ad-supported mobile games [MobileMarketer]
CollegeHumor.com has partnered with mobile gaming guru Greystripe to release a slew of ad-supported games--just in time for back-to-school!

Activists promote safe sex in India with cellphone ‘Condom, condom!’ ring tones [Mobile Industry Review]
India has taken awkward to another level. In hopes of breaking the stigma surrounding sex, the BBC group has released a mobile ringtone with a professional singer chanting “condom” 50 times in succession.

KDDI's au design project creates cellphones that double as instruments [EngadgetMobile]
The KDDI and Yamaha partnership are churning out some excellent mobile/instrument concepts like “Strings for fingers,” “Sticks in the air,” and “Key to touch.” Awesome for people who cannot afford both a cool mobile phone and uber-expensive drums set.

Visa and Eight Banks Test Real-Time SMS Notifications For Transactions [Gizmodo]
Users can choose to receive SMS notifications for any withdrawal or transaction over a specified amount. If the amount is not legit, simply alert your bank via SMS to catch the identity thief.

Intel moves to free gadgets of their recharging cords [International Herald Tribune]
The microprocessor magnate will demonstrate its new wireless recharging capabilities today which broadcasts 60 watts of power over a two feet radius. We'd hate to get in the way of that. Unless it gives you super powers...hmmm.

The Japanese Mobile Music Difference [eMarketer]
Japanese mobile music downloads are seeing huge growth—48% from Q1 2007—with artists releasing exclusively on mobiles and customers purchasing more with their mobile phone.

Data Umbrellas, Openings For Social Interactions [PSFK]
We know when people do not want to interact—headphones in ears, sunglasses over eyes, book in face—but could mobile phones help give off signals that open us up to interaction?

Choose Your Own Adventure, Youtube Style [PSFK]
SMPFilms' “Find Sparta” on YouTube lets you choose the path the main character needs to take to find his missing cat.

What I did on my summer vacation... cosmetic surgery! [Shanghaiist]
Plastic surgery is quite popular in South Korea, and now the trend is showing up in China with Shanghai teens using their summer break to go under the knife and heal all in time for school to start!

Mobile Search Trends Show Economic Decline And Rise In Pizza [TechCrunch]
People are using mobile search more for pizza joints than "pricier" eateries like Applebee’s, Red Lobster, and Olive Garden. This could reflect the weakening economy, as well as a rise in college students using the mobile web late-night.

Why the media is on the move [The Sydney Morning Herald]
Mojos—Mobile Journalists—are on the rise with better data plans, high tech phones, and audiences that view their stories on lifecasting sites like Qik.

12 Seconds To Say 'Good Morning' [Ypulse]
New lifecasting site 12 Seconds lets others see your thoughts in quick 12 second videos, fueling what Anastasia calls "sound bite exhibitionism."
PS - Thanks for the shout out as a top youth trend site, Anastasia!

New cell phones keep you healthy [NetworkWorld]
Japanese manufacturers are trying to prove that phones can keep you healthy through applications like blood pressure monitors and run trackers.