South Korean SK Teletech, a subsidiary of SK Telecom, unveiled a satellite DMB phone, IMB-1000, featuring touch screen.

IMB-1000 supports satellite DMB service and cdma2000 1x EV-DO. It features a 2.4-inch QVGA, 260K color TFT LCD. The side-slide phone has stereo speakers on both sides of LCD, 2M pixel CCD camera module, MP3 player, VOD service, electric organizer and 100MB memory.

It is not yet known whether the IMB-1000 will be available outside Korea.

Forward Concepts has released an in-depth study of the worldwide market for cellphones, and the chips that go into them. The 560-page report forecasts handsets, chips, device manufacturers and service operators.

The report finds that 2004 cellphone shipments reached 715 million units, including inexpensive PHS/PAS (Personal HandyPhone Service / Personal Access System) units in China. 2005 sales are expected to increase by only 4.5 percent to 746 million units as demand for older technologies drops, offsetting strong gains by newer technologies. Forward expects TDMA shipments to drop 30 percent this year and even GSM should see a 23 percent decline.

On the other hand, cellphones supporting newer high-bandwidth technologies are expected to see sharply higher shipments. The report anticipates the following sales increases in newer technology cellphones for 2005:

• EDGE: up 51 percent to 60 million units
• WCDMA: up 165 percent to 45 million units
• CDMA2000 1xEV-DO terminals: up 65 percent to 16 million units

The 2G PHS is being rapidly displaced in Japan by newer technologies but is gaining ground in China, Taiwan, India and other countries owing to its low cost. Forward expects PHS sales to go up by 24 percent and reach 77 million units.

Samsung Electronics will showcase its third satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) phone (SCH-B200) at MIPTV / MILIA in Cannes, France from April 11 to 15, following the release of the SCH-B100 and SCH-B130.

Samsung’s new B200 boasts a horizontal screen that allows users not only to benefit from easier viewing of DMB services, but also to comfortably enjoy multimedia functions, such as photography and games. In addition, it is the first model to adopt Samsung’s innovative “slide and rotation” form factor, where the screen slides up and rotates horizontally, further enhancing user convenience.

Its large capacity battery (1300 mAh) allows users to continuously view the screen for more than three hours, resolving the battery-depletion problem that has plagued DMB phones. The B200 also has a 2-megapixel camera, allowing users to enjoy photo quality that is as good as digital cameras. The versatile phone offers a variety of multimedia functions, including MP3 player and video viewing and users can enjoy clear video reception through the phone’s 260,000-color, 2.2-inch wide LCD screen.

Moreover, the B200 provides a TV-out function, while supporting an external memory and offering a file-viewing function which allows fingertip access to a variety of files, such as Microsoft Word and Excel.

Samsung Electronics plans to release the B200 within the first half of this year. The company launched Korea’s first satellite DMB phone (SCH-B100) in January of this year and has recently completed the development of a terrestrial DMB phone (SPH-B1200).

The MIPTV / MILIA is one of the world’s largest broadcasting and audiovisual exhibitions. Traditionally an exhibition for broadcasting and film companies, more and more telecommunications companies are participating in the event with the growing convergence of the telecommunications and broadcasting industries.

SCH-B200 Specifications

Samsung introduced 3D game phones (models: SPH-G1000, SCH-G100) with vibration and a 3D accelerator chip which includes a mixed graphics capability that displays 2D and 3D images simultaneously for a greater visual effect. It also supports wireless gaming over WAN and has surprisingly good ergonomics for the ultimate gaming experience.

Dual speakers are built into the phone to provide high true-to-life stereo sound during play of games. The G1000 comes in a slide-up design and includes a 2.2-inch, 262,000-color TFT-LCD as well as a 1.3-megapixel camera and TV output support, which sounds like you can hook this up to television when you get tired of gaming on a tiny screen.

Some specifications:

The product will be available in Korea next week. There are currently no plans to expand its availability to other parts of the world.

Nokia has announced the 8800 and 8801 (US version). The Nokia 8800 is a very high-end fashion type phone. The body of the phone is stainless steel and it uses high-grade ball bearings for the unique pop up action which reveals a number of distinctive details, each meticulously considered and researched to complement the prestige and quality of the device.

Features of the Nokia 8801 and 8800 include:

The Nokia 8800 is expected to begin shipping later this quarter in Europe while the Nokia 8801 should ship in the third quarter of 2005.