Pantech Group, the leading Korean handset manufacturer, has announced the launch of the IM-U160 handset, a new terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) handset that can be effectively used as a portable TV with its wide LCD screen. The new IM-U160 includes a 2.6-inch wide QVGA LCD screen, ensuring the richest and most visually enhanced TV viewing experience for mobile phone users. It also features an aspect ratio - the ratio of the width of the LCD display screen to the height - of 15:9, considerably in advance of the 4:3 screen ratios usually offered by other mobile phones. In practice, users can now enjoy the same visual experience as in a movie theater.

The spokesman, Man Gi Kim of Pantech Group said, “With the release of such a handset, offering a truly portable TV viewing experience, we will be on the right track to take the lead in the Korean terrestrial DMB market, a market rapidly growing up since the service was launched in January 2006.”

The IM-U160 has a touch sensor keypad on its upper slide, which permits an easy and quick navigation. The touch sensor keypad can also vibrate when its surface is being touched, offering quite a unique feel. The visual experience can be further enhanced when using the accompanying stereo earphones to function as the TV’s antenna, or a separate TV antenna which can be combined with the handset if needed.

The IM-U160 features a large internal memory of up to 184MB, which can be further expanded with an external Micro SD card, thus ensuring a full use of its multimedia capabilities. Other features include a 2 mega pixel camera with Auto Focus, delivering high-quality pictures, a PictBridge function, as well as an MP3 player.

The new terrestrial DMB phone will be launched in Korea this week under Pantech’s SKY brand, the leading Korean premium mobile phone brand. It will be supplied to all the major wireless operators in Korea, SK Telecom, KTF and LG Telecom.