Filed under: Others, Helio, Misc

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.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

A judge got so pissed when an elderly woman's cell went off that he stepped down from his seat, ordered her to hand the phone over, and chucked it out into the hall. The phone was, of course, broken when the woman went to go get it. After that, the judge wanted the deputies to confiscate all cellphones in the room.

I mean sure, you may get pissed that cellphones are going off, but if you're a judge, you probably shouldn't be acting like a jerk on the job. Best of all was his non-apology after the incident. "I regret that I had to take such severe measures." That's pretty much telling a guy you punched "I'm sorry your face got in the way of my fist." – Jason Chen

Judge shows just how much he hates cell phones [CNET]

Filed under: Culture

In a decision being touted by prosecutors as a major victory in the war on inmate cellphone usage, jurors slapped Texan Michael Manor with a surprising 40-year sentence for what they considered the very serious crime of possessing a cellphone in prison. Manor, who was already serving 32 years on auto theft charges, was not even charged with using the phone for criminal purposes; rather, the long sentence comes as a result of a new zero-tolerance cellphone policy in the Texas prison system, where the offense was recently given third-degree felony status. Corrections offers are also a target of the crackdown, with prosecutors promising to bring offenders in front of juries instead of offering them probation, although there are concerns that the stricter penalties may actually make smuggling appear more lucrative.

[Via textually]

Filed under: Sprint-Nextel, CDMA, Misc

The endless barrage of legal fallout resulting from Sprint Nextel’s merger continues, the latest onslaught coming from iPCS, a Sprint affiliate operating throughout much of the Midwest. According to Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, the merger violated Sprint’s agreement with iPCS to not infringe on their territory (a common theme in affiliates’ lawsuits) and is demanding that Sprint file a plan for divesting itself of its Nextel operations in Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, and Nebraska by September 6. Naturally, Sprint intends to appeal “vigorously,” though as in so many other cases, an acquisition ultimately seems possible — if not probable.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments