Models pose with the latest smartphone Nexus One during last month’s unveiling ceremony. KT will market this premium Android phone next week. / Courtesy of KT |
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff reporter
KT, the nation's second-biggest mobile carrier after SK Telecom, said Thursday that the premium Android smartphone ― Nexus One ― will be on local shelves starting from next week.
"We will get pre-orders for the Nexus via its official online shopping mall ― phonestore.show.co.kr ― from June 21. Initial volume will be 4,000 units," a company spokeswoman Kim Yoon-jeong said.
Nexus One is a critical device for KT as the carrier has been unable to secure more smartphone models from the nation's top handset vendor Samsung Electronics after Samsung turned to SK Telecom in a retaliatory action over KT's exclusive partnership with Apple for iPhones.
The Nexus is equipped with the latest Android mobile platform ― version 2.2 ― boosting data processing speed by fivefold at maximum compared to the previous 2.1 version. The phone also offers 16GB external memory to help users access more applications.
The system is also being offered with echo cancellation and enhanced Wi-Fi connectivity, the spokeswoman added.
Suggested retail price has been set at 699,600 won ($576). But consumers could get the Nexus for 150,000 won under a two-year contract with a 45,000 won billing package per month.
If a customer registers with a 65,000 won package service on a monthly basis with a two year contract, the device will be sold for just 18,000 won, KT said in a statement.
"We will sell the Nexus at our sales offices across the country from July," she added.
KT earlier said it will start selling Apple's iPhone 4 in July. KT is still planning the price and the subscription method for the device.
Apple unveiled the upgraded version of the iPhone, and the device will be available on June 24 in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
Shares of KT retreated by 0.54 percent to end at 46,000 won on the nation's main bourse, the bourse operator KRX said.
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