Legit Reviews

SEOUL, March 7, 2006: Pantech Group - the number two mobile phone manufacturer in South Korea - today announced plans to showcase more than 30 of its most advanced handsets at Telexpo 2006, one of South America’s largest and most prestigious information technology trade shows, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Pantech aims to use its participation in Telexpo 2006 to maintain the momentum of its ongoing growth across Central and South America. Within the last six months, the company has signed supply agreements with two of the continent’s leading wireless solutions providers and is already ranked among the market leaders in several countries in the region.

Kis Kim, President, Pantech Brasil Comercializacao de Celulares Ltd., said: “The whole Central and South American region has become increasingly important for us in recent years, with rising demand for mobile phones and services in key markets, particularly Brazil. We plan to use our presence at Telexpo to demonstrate the breadth and quality of our product range and how this will help drive our market share across all markets”.

The handsets to be unveiled at the Telexpo trade show will include eight models that are to be specifically aimed at the Brazilian market. Among this group will be the PG-1600 and PC-7300 phones, slim slider phones with camera functions. Also on display will be four third-generation GSM models, satellite and terrestrial DMB handsets and the unique ‘Slim-Series’, composed of the PG-1400, PG-1500, PG-3500 and PG-3600 phones.

Other models to be displayed will include the IM-U110 phone, which boasts the world’s largest flash memory capacity (1 gigabyte) for a handset, the IM-8600, which has a 5 mega pixel rotating camera, and the IM-U100, which features a 2.6 inch wide TFT LCD screen, among the largest of its type in the mobile handset sector globally.

In order to further highlight the constant regeneration of its product range, which is one of the company’s primary strengths, Pantech will also demonstrate the PT-S160, a satellite DMB phone which incorporates PMP features and the PT-K1800 terrestrial DMB handset which includes unique remote control applications.

Last year, Pantech signed an agreement to supply 200,000 CDMA handsets to Vivo, the largest Brazilian wireless service provider, as part of its plan to increase total exports to Brazil to more than 1 million units of CDMA and GSM phones, including 3G mobile handsets, during 2006. Brazil represents 41% of the total mobile market in Central and South America, with over 80 million subscribers, and is among the top five handset markets in the world.

Pantech has strengthened its customer service network in Brazil with the establishment of 270 24-hour service outlets, further enhancing its foothold in the market. The company plans to launch 20 handsets this year designed to meet the needs of Brazilian consumers, along with increased brand development via sports marketing, corporate social responsibility activities and online promotions.

Pantech is also seeking to build up its presence in other markets in South America, including Mexico, Argentina and Colombia. The ongoing development of its operations in Central and South America will be essential to Pantech’s long term plans to become a global top five handset manufacturer.

About Pantech:
Pantech, through its affiliates - Pantech Co., Ltd., Pantech&Curitel Communications, Inc. and Pantech C&I Co. - is the number two mobile phone company in South Korea and is the seventh largest handset manufacturer in the world. Pantech has been responsible for a number of breakthrough innovations in the mobile technology sector, including the introduction in 2004 of the world's first fingerprint recognition camera phone, as well as award winning camcorder, MP3 and DMB phones. In 2005, Pantech affiliate Pantech&Curitel Communications acquired SK Teletech Co., the handset manufacturing arm of SK Telecom, the number one mobile network operator. The SKY brand, originally marketed by SK Teletech as the most popular premium handset brand in South Korea, has since become part of the Pantech brand portfolio. Pantech markets its products under the SKY and Curitel brands in the domestic Korean market and under the Pantech brand overseas. Pantech collectively has approximately 5,000 employees and 22 regional sales offices worldwide. For more information on Pantech, please visit http://www.pantech.com or http://www.curitel.com/english