10-22-98 KT Freetel Unveils Self-Designed Phone; First PCS Operator to Attract 2 Million Subscribers
By Yu Kun-ha Staff reporter
Celebrating its passage of the two million subscribers mark, KT Freetel will introduce a self-designed handset for its personal communications services
(PCS) starting late next month.
KT Freetel is the first Korean mobile service provider to distribute handsets of its own design to customers.
''We have developed it relying totally on our in-house design capabilities,'' company president Lee Sang-chul said yesterday, unveiling the new phone.
KT Freetel's subscriptions will pass the two million mark today, the first among the three PCS operators.
The new handset, named Birdie, is a folder-type phone. KT Freetel has outsourced production to Hyundai Electronics Industries.
''Initially, we plan to release about 5,000 Birdies a month,'' Lee said.
Birdie differs from bar-type or flip-type handsets in several points. Its liquid crystal display, which is much larger than that of existing handsets, is
installed in the folder part of the phone.
This unique design is intended to enlarge the tiny number buttons in the body part so that users can press them more easily.
''PCS phones are a kind of information terminal. Using short message services, subscribers can send or receive text information. With larger buttons, it
is easier to type in information,'' Lee said.
For this reason, Birdie's designers have given it a larger LCD screen which can display five lines of information.
Birdie is also the first mobile phone in Korea with a graphic menu allowing users to select functions by choosing icons.
The new handset offers 90 minutes of talk time on a small-capacity battery and 270 minutes on a large-capacity battery. It weighs 118 grams and is
about the size of a cigarette pack.
Lee said a service provider should have expertise in handset design if it wants to develop services that can differentiate it from others.
''When you have handset design capabilities, you can develop handsets tailored to a specific category of users. Suppose a distribution company which
wants handsets featuring a software program that helps its employees work better. If you are totally reliant on handset vendors, you cannot make them
produce such handsets,'' Lee said.
For such a company, he added, PCS phones will serve as a kind of networking device tying the entire organization together.
''One of KT Freetel's marketing strategies is to promote PCS as a networking service. We intend to develop networks among our users,'' Lee said.
Meanwhile, Lee has been chosen as the Best CEO of the Year by the Korea Management Association. He was cited for his role in KT Freetel's
attraction of two million subscribers in the shortest ever period of time _ one year and a month since the service launch on Oct. 1 last year.
The association also chose KT Freetel as the winner of the grand prize in the customer value-oriented management category.
A prize-awarding ceremony was held at the Daehan Life Insurance Building on Yoido yesterday.
Lee is credited with making PCS more available to the public by abolishing deposit payments amounting to 200,000 won. He also takes credit for the
public perception that PCS is not simply a means of communications but a means of getting information.
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