Google Android gets boost

The Google-backed Open Handset Alliance has added Vodafone and Sony Ericsson, along with 12 others, to its roster, boosting the open source Google Android mobile and wireless operating system, according to eWeek.

Android is gaining momentum with the T-Mobile G1 and promises of future phones in 2009 from Sprint, Motorola and others.

The Open Handset Alliance, a group committed to creating and promoting smartphones and devices based on Google's Android mobile operating system, now has 47 members.

LG Electronics has revealed a modem chip that could offer users up to eight times the connectivity speed of current smartphones, reports InformationWeek.

The chip uses Long-Term Evolution (LTE), a technology that's expected to be a main contender for the next generation of mobile broadband.

The company said its 4G LTE processor could power smartphones that get 60Mbps downloads and 20Mbps uploads.

In April, South Korea will open its home market to advanced cellular phones using foreign platforms, reports Market Watch.

This is to allow the entry of handsets such as Apple's iPhone and Research In Motion's BlackBerry.

A rule set in 2005 forced advanced cellphone devices to use Korea's Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability, or WIPI standard. The move effectively prevented foreign wireless handsets, such as the iPhone and BlackBerry, entering the market.