Samsung mobile takes on the world
Samsung Electronics has vowed to release a more advanced 'world phone' model that straddles competing third-generation (3G) network systems, to trump handset rival Nokia.
Senior executives of the Asian electronics giant said that an initial model had been released in South Korea, where there are networks operating on the United States-developed CDMA (code division multiple access) system and Europe's Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) system, which is based on the popular global system for mobile (GSM) standard.
Park Sang-jin, Samsung's president and chief executive for Southeast Asia and Pacific operations, said network operator demand would determine when Samsung releases the model outside the Korean market.
'We will determine interest for a CDMA/WCDMA model after we release our CDMA/GSM and CDMA/GPRS [general packet radio service] handsets,' he said, noting that business travellers were the target market.
The announcement comes days after Nokia launched the 6630 world phone, which allows operation across WCDMA and high-speed GSM network platforms such as GPRS and Edge (enhanced data GSM environment). The 6630 will appear worldwide in the fourth quarter.
Samsung, which had about 13 per cent of the world market in mobile-phone sales in the first quarter, showed off its first WCDMA 3G phone as part of the launch of 20 new regional models at the CommunicAsia trade show.
The company's clamshell-form WCDMA phone, the Z105, has started shipping to Europe and will soon appear in Asia. This model also operates across second-generation GSM and more advanced GPRS networks.
The race to release more function-rich models in the market is expected to aid second-generation mobile-phone users when it comes to making the switch to 3G.
'We all have to get the market going quickly,' said Agnes Nardi, managing director at 3 Hong Kong. 'Availability of new 3G handsets is a key element to engaging more customers.'
The Hutchison Telecom unit, which operates a WCDMA network, has three models from NEC and two from Motorola available to subscribers in its catalogue.
