Pantech's Sky cellphone division announced a 1GHz Snapdragon-based Android smartphone in Korea. The Sirius IM-A600S is equipped with an 8GB flash card, WiFi, T-DMB mobile TV, an HDMI port, and a 3.7 inch, 800×480 AMOLED display, says the Korea-based Sky.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon has come to dominate the market for high-end smartphones, especially those running Android. The latest contender bearing the full-speed 1GHz version of the ARM Cortex-like processor is the Sirius IM-A600S, launched this week by Pantech under its Sky division.

Aimed at the Korean market with localized features including T-DMB (Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) mobile TV reception, the phone is available for pre-sales reservation on Apr. 20, says Sky. The company is marketing the phone using a story-telling approach via its space-themed "Androian Campaign."

Sky's Sirius launch

Sky accompanies the 1GHz Snapdragon with 500MB of RAM and an 8GB flash card, in a slot that can handle up to 32GB, says Sky. The phone's 3.7 inch 800×480 display uses AMOLED technology for improved contrast and color saturation, says the company. The Sirius IM-A600S is also said to offer WiFi.

Sirius IM-A600S

If the above specs sound familiar that's because, aside from a slightly different RAM allotment, they match those of the HTC Incredible phone announced by Verizon yesterday. The Sirius specs are also very similar to the Google-branded Nexus One.

In Korea, the Sirius will go up against the somewhat similarly spec'd Motorola Motoroi Android model, as well as the Samsung SHW-M100S, both offered by SK Telecom. LG is also introducing a version of its fairly high-end Eve Android phone for the Korean market.

Sirius IM-A600S detail
(Click to enlarge)

Like the Motoroi and SHW-M100S, the Sirius IM-A600S offers a T-DMB receiver for Korean mobile TV. The phone is also supplied with a five-megapixel autofocus camera, says Sky. In addition, the phone offers 720p encoding and decoding, an HDMI port, and DivX video support, says the company. An optical joystick is also provided. 

Available in Rose Gold, Titan, and White, the Sirius IM-A600S measures 4.86 x 2.50 x 0.45 inches (123.5 x 63.5 x 11.5mm) and weighs 4.83 ounces (137 grams), says Sky. That weight appears to reflect the larger 1400mAh battery option. With the 1150mAh model, the phone weighs 4.51 ounces (128 grams).

The Sirius IM-A600S runs Android 2.1 and offers an Adobe Flash enabled browser, says Sky. Other software features are said to include instant messaging, calendar, and mapping applications. Support for Twitter and "Me2Day" are also offered, says the company.

Stated Lee Yong-jun, executive director of Division of Domestic Smartphone Marketing at Sky, "We expect that Sky's 'Androian campaign' will create sensational reactions, especially among the young consumer basis, with its unique and creative emotions."

Availability

The Sirius IM-A600S from Pantech's Sky division will be available for pre-sale at an undisclosed price on Apr. 20, with shipments beginning in May.

The Korean-language Sirius page may be found here. Sky's Androian Campaign website may be found here.

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