Unveiled last November, the SGH-E250 is part of Samsung's strategy to target the low-cost market. The phone quickly sold 7.9 million units in the first half of the year, and joined the "ten million club" last month.

Until now, the fastest Korean cell phone to reach the 10 million point was Samsung's E-700, also known as the Benz phone, which took 14 months. The nickname came from the foreign press which praised the phone by calling it the "Mercedes Benz of cell phones."

The E-250 is the fifth Korean phone to join the "club", which also includes Samsung's Lee Kun-hee phone (the T100 - named for Chairman Lee Kun-hee who helped develop it), Samsung's BlueBlack phone (D500), and LG Electronics' Chocolate.

But while Samsung's other best-sellers picked up nicknames on their way to the top, the E-250 remains unnamed. "Giving a phone a nickname is part of the marketing strategy, and Samsung appears to be reluctant to have a low-priced phone represent its image," said an industry insider.

Samsung created the E-250 to meet the rising demand for cheap phones in emerging economies in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, China and Central America, and it is considered fairly expensive in those markets. Samsung therefore calls it a "premium entry phone," implying that it has both class and a friendly price.

On top of Samsung's brand value, the phone comes with an array of functions like a camera, MP3 player, video recorder, external memory slot and FM radio. All that is combined with a price tag of US$120, making the E-250 look extremely attractive.

An insider from Samsung said last Friday that the company's bright third quarter results were thanks in part to the sales of premium phones, such as the Ultra Edition, and low priced models, with the E-250 the hidden star behind Samsung's earnings surprise.

"With the continual expansion of the mobile phone market, the time needed to break the 10 million mark for domestic phones is getting shorter," said an industry insider. "It may be a bit of a stretch to compare the E-250 with premium models like the BlueBlack or the Benz, but it certainly plays an important role in targeting the emerging market."

(englishnews@chosun.com )