[THE INVESTOR] Pantech, one of top three mobile phone manufacturers in Korea, showcased its new smartphone IM-100 on June 22 at its R&D center in Seoul, unveiling its ambition to recover lost ground.

IM-100 -- pronounced as “I am back” with the number pronounced “back” in Korean -– will begin sales starting next week.

Pursuing minimal design, the company excluded its logo on the new mobile phone, which comes in two options: white or black. The 7-millimeter-thick mobile phone incorporates a wheel key that was made to arouse “analog sensibility,” the company said. The wheel key renders users flexibly to adjust sound across 100 volume levels.


IM-100 also comes with a slab that wirelessly charges the phone and also works as a speaker, mood lamp and alarm, the company said.

In terms of the competitive technology market, Moon Ji-wook, president of the company, said the mobile manufacturer “truly pondered on how it can help people be more joyful by using its product rather than simply focusing on technology specifications.”

By Park Yu-na (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)