14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung, the South Korean manufacturer, and CNN International have reached an agreement according to which CNN's new mobile news application will be pre-installed on future released Samsung handsets, starting June 2008. For a period of six months, Samsung will be the only mobile phone producer to include the CNN application into its devices.
The agreement will bring "CNN Samsung phones" to Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America (no word about North America). Only selected devices will have the CNN application pre-installed, probably most of them being high-end handsets. These devices will provide users with easy access (one-click) to CNN's "newsgathering output" that includes a large number of both reports and images transmitted by CNN correspondents from around the world.
"This move provides our audiences with easier access to CNN International's first class multi-media news service," declared Ringo Chan, Vice President of Wireless and Interactive Content, Development and Distribution, Turner Asia Pacific. "The collaboration with Samsung underscores CNN's commitment to aligning with the best telecommunications partners in the business to provide consumers in the Asia Pacific region with a dynamic user experience and immediate access to our global news product, delivered through sophisticated technology."
Besides the latest global or local news, the CNN mobile application offers CNN video headlines, interactive maps and access to CNN's citizen journalism website where iReports can be submitted directly from user's handsets.
The first Samsung phone to include the Java-based CNN application will be G810, the high-end 5 Megapixel slider planned to be launched in May in Europe and in July in Asia.
Jongkyun Shin, Executive Vice President and head of Mobile R&D Team, Samsung Electronics, said about the new deal with CNN: "By embedding CNN International's content into our intensive range of mobile phones, Samsung is providing innovative new ways for consumers to experience and enjoy diverse multimedia entertainment through their mobile. With CNN International's solution, Samsung will be able to deliver its end users with the rich multimedia experience."
Currently the second largest handset manufacturer in the world, Samsung sold more than 150 million mobile phones in 2007 and plans to reach the 200-million threshold in 2008.