ASIA Korea : Samsung Electronics announced the introduction of High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) phones for the first time in Europe through cooperation with Vodafone, the largest mobile operator, and Qualcomm, a leading developer and innovator of advanced wireless technologies.

Samsung, Vodafone and Q ualcomm, all at the top of their respective fields in creating wireless products, services, and complete system solutions, have been closely working together since 2003 to bring high-speed, affordable wireless access to the market earlier than expected .

Samsung is currently developing the first commercially available HSDPA phone to be launched exclusively for Vodafone and plans to demonstrate the technology at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2006 in Las Vegas .

Qualcomm' s Mobile Station Modem ™ (MSM™) with integrated multimedia capabilities helped Samsung to introduce the HSDPA-capable mobile phone ahead of schedule.

Kitae Lee, president of Samsung Electronics' Telecommunication Network, said “Samsung is proud to commercialize HSDPA technology with Vodafone and Qualcomm, opening up a variety of multimedia applications at quicker speeds and lower costs.” He added, “Samsung is known for providing innovative handsets that harmonize the latest features and unique form factors and we will continue such innovations in our HSDPA phone line-up.”

Peter Bamford, Chief Marketing Officer of Vodafone said “Our continuing collaboration with Samsung will provide customers with high quality mobile phones which will enhance their current experience of 3G services.”

“We are pleased to be part of these efforts that have resulted in the commercialization of HSDPA technology for Vodafone's subscribers,” said Dr. Sanjay K. Jha, president of Q ualcomm CDMA Technologies. “Samsung's mobile phone enabled by Q ualcomm technology brings new multimedia and data services to wireless users in Europe , and we look forward to further collaborations that will make these next-generation capabilities a reality for people around the world.”

HSDPA technology offers breakthrough data speeds. By delivering low cost, rich content applications, customers can enjoy a variety of multimedia services including higher speed internet access and video sharing.

Currently, Samsung is a major mobile phone provider for Vodafone's 3G and GSM/GPRS services. Thanks to the established partnership between Samsung, Vodafone, and Qualcomm, all parties can enrich customers' multimedia experiences with a true next generation service for the first time in Europe .