14 DAY TRIAL // On Wednesday, Pantech Co., leading South Korean mobile phone maker, announced the launch of its first device powered by Google's Android operating system, the Pantech Sirius. Powered by the latest version of the mobile platform, namely Android 2.1, the new handset might become available for purchase via carriers like AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. in the US, as well as via Japan's KDDI Corp.
At the same time, the new Pantech Sirius is destined to make an appearance on the Korean market, offering users fast access to social networking sites, along with an enhanced mobile web experience. The handset sports a large 3.7-inch touchscreen display and includes support for Flash videos, while being powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm Inc. It should be put on sale in South Korea via SK Telecom Co., featuring a price tag of 900,000 won (around US$800).
According to a recent article on Yonhap News, the company's executives expect for the Android operating system to prove a great competitor against Apple Inc.'s iPhone in South Korea, even if the latter topped 500,000 in sales in four months. “Pantech aims to focus on the Android system for its smartphone business, with up to 10 models expected to be released this year,” the news site reports.
The specifications list of the new Pantech Sirius includes, beside the 3.7 inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen display and the 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 5-megapixel photo snapper, 500MB of internal memory, a memory card slot for additional storage space (with an 8GB memory card included in the package), along with Wi-Fi, T-DMB, DivX support, and others more.
For what it's worth, the handset boasts quite appealing features, and it might easily prove a great option for users, being able to easily compete against some of the currently available high-end Android-based devices. While Pantech Sirius' arrival in South Korean seems to have been already nailed down, it remains to be seen whether the handset becomes available on other markets too.