Above : The new A1406PT 3G CDMA mobile phone

ASIA : Pantech Group, the number two mobile phone company in South Korea, today announced that it would supply its second CDMA model to the Japanese mobile carrier KDDI, starting in September. The new A1406PT handset features practical applications and a convenient design that will be targeted at middle aged and elderly mobile phone users.

The third generation CDMA mobile phone is to be rolled out in Japan through the partnership with KDDI, one of the top three mobile phone service providers in Japan, and will be sold under the Pantech and au brands, as part of an agreement worth USD110 million. au is one of Japan’s leading mobile phone brands and is owned by KDDI. Pantech expects to ship additional units of the A1406PT handset next year.

Customized for middle aged and elderly users, the model features special functions for security and convenience. Three ‘one touch’ keys, located under the main display, allow users to dial three different numbers quickly with one touch.

Keon C. Kim, Senior Vice President, Overseas Sales Division of Pantech, said: “The handset market in Japan is one of the most competitive and dynamic in the world, and the launch of the A1406PT looks set to give us a strong position among the growing segment of middle aged and older users. We feel that this launch underlines our advanced technology and our ability to tailor our products to meet customer demand, as well as consolidating our presence in the Japanese mobile phone market”.

The phone is equipped with a sizeable 2.4” LCD screen that shows enlarged letters and key pad buttons with larger letters. A security alarm, located on the upper folder, sounds when a button on the front of the handset is pressed in an emergency.

Other features on the A1406PT include a 1.3 mega pixel camera supporting video clip recording and viewing, MP3 ringtone, email and EZweb. Pantech plans to release the product in lighter colors, in white and pink.

Pantech signed an agreement last year to supply third-generation mobile phones to KDDI under the Pantech and au brand names, the first time that a Korean manufacturer had ever entered the Japanese handset market. The first Pantech phone - the A1405PT - has set records with sales of over 300,000 units since it was first launched last December.

The A1405PT phone was the smallest, lightest mobile phone ever to be launched in Japan, weighing just 98g. The successful launch of the phone resulted in KDDI awarding Pantech a special appreciation plaque for helping enhance the au brand in Japan. TheA1406PT has also received the ‘Friendly Design’ label from KDDI, which is bestowed upon models which are deemed to have outstanding usability, from design and functional perspectives.

The CDMA handset market in Japan is currently one of the world’s largest, next to the U.S., with more than 90 million mobile subscribers. Pantech plans to continue to apply its ‘select and focus’ regional expansion strategy to enlarge its share of the Japanese market.

A1406PT features:

- 800 single-band CDMA 1x 2000

- Dimension: 98.3 x 50.8 x 19.8mm

- Display: Main- 2.4” 260K QVGA TFT LCD (240*320 pixels)

- Sub - 1.2” 65K TFT (128*128 pixels)

- Smart mode/ Crime prevention buzzer/One-touch key pad

- 1.3M CMOS camera with flash

- EZweb/Cmail /email

- MP3 ringtone / 64 polyphonic ringtone

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