Sky Cell Phones

Never heard of Sky cell phones? I don't blame you! As a brand, Sky cell phones aren't nearly as well known as Motorola or Nokia, but they've got plenty to offer both in terms of unique designs and in terms of innovative features. Read on, fellow cell phone enthusiast, and find out what Sky is all about.

Sky Cell Phones

Sky is a subsidiary of Pantech, Korea's second largest mobile phone manufacturer. Whereas the main Pantech brand is used for a good number of their consumer level handsets, phones branded as SKY usually come with some fantastic features that you won't find anywhere else!

As is all the rage in Korea, particularly in metropolitan areas like Seoul, is Mobile TV, usually powered by something called DMB, or "digital media broadcasting." Using this, people can catch up on their favorite soap operas, watch sport highlights, and get all sorts of other interesting video all from their adequately equipped cell phones! That's something that we'd love to enjoy in Canada and the United States, isn't it? The infrastructure isn't quite here yet, but DMB has become a way of life for Koreans. Sky cell phones have played a big part in this revolution.

Can I Get One to Use in North America?

Unfortunately, at this time, most if not all Sky cell phones are not available in North America, at least directly. What do I mean by "at least directly"? Well, there appears to be a way to skirt the problem. If you happen to be a Telus Mobility subscriber in Canada, for example, you may be able to activate select Sky cell phones through certain dealers. Telus has an official policy to not do this, but there are outlets that are willing to do this for you (at a price, of course). The same can be said, it seems, about Verizon and Sprint in the United States. Korea is exclusively blanketed in CDMA-based networks, so GSM phones won't work there.

We here at LoveToKnow do not necessarily condone this behavior as it may a violation of your cellular service provider's terms of service (TOS). We can only tell you to proceed with caution.

Highlighted Sky Cell Phones to Gawk at

Wow, we never see cell phones quite like these in the United States and Canada. It's a shame that Pantech (Sky) doesn't convert some of these for use with Verizon, Bell Mobility and other North American providers.

• Sky IM-8500: While the sliding form factor isn't anything particularly new, it is interesting to note that the IM8500 comes equipped with "iPod-like navigation", letting you blast out those tunes just as well as any Apple device. It's also got a 2 megapixel camera and is available in grey, white, and pink.

• Sky IM-S100: I'm not really sure why the ad spot features a beautiful woman shaving off some facial hair (it's even got a tagline that reads "Homme Style"), but this skinny slider phone is quite the looker. Key features include 256MB of internal memory, built-in MP3 player, Mbank mobile banking, and an integrated dictionary.

• Sky IM-S130: Designed with the business person in mind, this sliding phone (yes, another slider) lets you view Microsoft Office and PDF files right on its color display. It also has a voice recorder function that can handle up to 60 minutes of audio. Keeping a good thing going, the IM-S130 comes with PictBridge support, automotous GPS, and a 15.9mm profile.

• Sky Toy Bar IM-R110: I told you that the people of Korea like mobile TV and this cell phone epitomizes that preference. While it may look like a regular candybar, the color display on this phone can rotate 90 degrees to provide a landscape-oriented screen, great for video watching. It makes use of an S-DMB (satellite DMB) connection. It's not cheap though, with an estimated street price of about US$600.