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Samsung to introduce i-mode phones
http://www.eet.com/sys/news/OEG20030310S0053
By Yoshiko Hara

EE Times
March 10, 2003 (2:45 p.m. EST)


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TOKYO — NTT Docomo Inc. has signed up Samsung Electronics as the first non-Japan-based supplier of i-mode mobile phones. The two companies have agreed on the joint development of mobile phones for i-mode services on the GSM/GPRS platform.
Only NEC Corp. and Toshiba Corp. have been supplying the GSM/GPRS handsets for i-mode thus far.

Like the i-mode phones used in Japan, the Samsung phones will include a compact Net Front browser developed by Access Co., Ltd. (www.access.co.jp) and Java. The phone is scheduled to hit the market in early 2004. Samsung is expected to show a prototype at CeBIT 2003, which will be held this week from March 12 - March 19 in Hanover, Germany.

The i-mode is Docomo's propriety mobile internet platform, and is now offered in five countries outside of Japan via GSM/GPRS wireless networks. E-Plus is offering the service in Germany, KPN Mobile in the Netheerlands, KG Telecommunications Co., Ltd in Taiwan, BASE N.V./S.A in Belgium, and Bouygues Telecom S.A in France.

"NTT DoCoMo's i-mode offers mobile users a variety of options to maximize their wireless experience. We believe that the adoption of i-mode into our phones will enable us to establish the mobile communication context of satisfying customers' various needs," ByungDuck Cho, executive vice president of the mobile communication R&D Team of Samsung Electronics said.