The SGH-i520 developed by Samsung Electronics/Yonhap

Samsung Electronics is to unveil a new-generation high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) gadget at the Symbian Smartphone Show 2006 which opens in London on Tuesday. The SGH-i520 applies HSDPA technology to the Symbian 9.2/ S60 3.1 operating system for smartphones and works at download speeds more than five times faster than existing ones.

Smartphones combine the features of personal digital assistants and mobile phones, allowing users to access the internet, transmit data and manage their daily schedule. There is a growing demand for them in Europe. Symbian-based smartphones account for 65 percent of the global market, but the fast growing HSDPA market is likely to boost demand.

At 17.9 mm thick, the Samsung phone is the slimmest among available slide-phones and comes with a 2.3 inch LCD screen and a sophisticated touch keypad. The Korean electronics maker has introduced several Symbian-based smartphones in Europe since August last year, this being the fourth.

(englishnews@chosun.com )