SEOUL, March 9, 2006: Pantech Group – the number two mobile phone manufacturer in South Korea – today announced that it has been honored for the second consecutive year at the prestigious iF (International Forum) Design Awards for excellence and innovation in the design of cellular phones.
Three of the company’s products were recognized at the awards ceremony: the PG-6200 handset, recently renamed the G-6200, and the ‘WIDE CUBE’ and the ‘Transformer’ concept models. At last year’s iF Design Awards, Pantech was honored for two of its flagship phones, the PH-L4000V camcorder phone and the PH-S4000 MP3 player handset.
Sung-Kyu Lee, President & CEO of Pantech&Curitel Communications, Inc., said: “Our focus on design is one of our primary competitive strengths. More than half of our employees are committed to R&D, with a view to producing new designs that have not been seen before in the global mobile industry. It is a huge endorsement of our product development strategy to have our designs honored by prestigious institutions like the International Forum”.
“These models not only represent the design innovation of Pantech, but they also signify the positive synergies arising from the merger last year of SK Teletech into the Pantech Group. Going forward, as we develop the Pantech brand worldwide, our capacity to produce new and exciting handset designs will be a cornerstone of our strategy to maintain and increase consumer satisfaction and brand loyalty across all markets,” said Mr. Lee.
The G-6200, a biometric multimedia phone having fingerprint recognition functionality, was selected as a winner in consumer electronics. It reveals its major design attributes when folded, revealing a unique side contour in the form of a smooth flowing curve.
The WIDE CUBE advanced concept phone is designed to give consumers a more user friendly mobile experience, while showcasing more innovative functionality. The luxurious design is optimized for digital camera and DMB/MOD applications. The Transformer handset is designed to combine numerous multimedia functions with clarity of layout and ease of use. Its large, portrait-format touch screen vertically slides with a folding leg support for TV function.
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 www.pantech.com or www.curitel.com/english.
About the iF (International Forum) Design Award:
The iF (International Forum) Design Award is among the most important design competitions worldwide, attracting over 1,800 entries from 30 different countries every year. The award has been given since 1954 and is one of the most prestigious design awards along with the IDEA Award (Industrial Design Excellence Award) in the U.S. The iF jury, composed of top international designers, not only critically examines and selects the award-winning entries, but also guarantees the iF’s special status. The iF is awarded on 10 different categories of criteria such as practicality, stability, durability, ergonomics, creativity and harmony with nature. As a result, the recipients of the award prove their levels of excellence in product design and competitiveness.
