Samsung builds mobile phone, MP3 player and PC into a single device

Samsung Electronics of Korea has developed the “Mobile Intelligent Terminal” a new CDMA wireless broadband device that combines the capabilities of a mobile phone, and MP3 music player and a personal computer.~ ~ The new gadget was first shown to the public a couple of days ago at a mobile WiMax conference held in the South Korean capital, Seoul. It weighs in at about a pound and comes with a five-inch screen, a 30 Gigabyte hard disk and an unusual fold-out display screen.

It provides Internet access on the move, video telephony and is also a TV set.~ ~ Samsung’s vice president of mobile R&D, Kim Hun-bae, says the new piece of kit is the first in the world to double as both a WiMax terminal and a mobile phone.~ ~ The device, that, as yet, has no name and no price tag, will be introduced commercially during the fist half of next year and, if successful, will later be marketed in the US and other countries that have a strong CDMA presence.~ ~ Samsung has long been a champion of WiMax technology and has been pushing hard to have it ratified as a global standard. South Korea meanwhile is the first country in the world to commercialise the technology that is used to provide fast wireless broadband connections and mobile roaming over distance.~ ~ Trials of the projected WiMax network that will cover the whole of Seoul are now well under way, and it is expected that it will go live “early next year”.~ ~ Meanwhile, in the US, Sprint Nextel has announced that it will launch WiMax networks in some states in the latter part of 2007. Network equipment will be supplied by Samsung, Motorola and Intel.~