Toshiba and Nanjing Postel Wong Zhi Telecommunications to Introduce China's First Mobile Phone that Supports Motion Picture E-mail

26 February, 2003


Beijing--Toshiba Corporation today announced that its "T618X" mobile phone would bring movie mail communication to the Chinese market when it is launched there in early March. The phone was developed expressly to provide advanced services over China United Telecommunications' high-speed cellular network and it will allow users to take, transmit and receive video mails up to 15 seconds long.

T618X will be brought to market by Nanjing Postel Wong Zhi Telecommunications Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Toshiba Corporation, Nanjing Postel Telecommunications Co., Ltd, (a subsidiary of China Putian Corporation) and Hong Kong's Wong's Industrial (Holdings), and will offer the movie mail service via "U-Mail", the CDMA-1X-based high-speed cellular service operated by China United Telecommunications Corporation.

"U-Mail" maximizes high speed data transmission on CDMA-1X networks and supports the transition from simple voice-based communication to richer, audio-visual communication. It extends the scope of mobile communications to include e-mail with motion pictures and Internet access. Toshiba drew on know-how gained through its close collaboration with Japan's KDDI for 3G service, and partnered with Nanjing Postel Wong Zhi Telecommunications and China United Telecommunications Corporation to develop a phone perfectly matched to "U-Mail".

T618X integrates a 310,000-pixel CCD camera and can record up to 15 seconds of motion picture, as well as still pictures. Toshiba's MPEG-4 technology is used to compress movie images that are transmitted through "U-Mail" to mobile phones and PCs. The phone can also reproduce high resolution still and move images on its 2.1-inch low temperature polysilicon LCD, which supports 260,000 colors.

China is the single fastest growing market for cellular phones. Subscribers now number over 200,000,000, and since last November the country has been able to boast that it had more mobile phone users than any other. A new wave of growth is now expected, as China United Telecommunications' 144kbps CDMA-1X "U-Mail" service and WAP-based services bring advanced data transmission services into the mainstream.

Nanjing Postel Wong Zhi Telecommunications started business in 2002, following December 2001 approval from China's State Development Planning Commission of its application to develop, manufacture and sell CDMA-based mobile phones in China. Through cooperation with China United Telecommunications and China Putian group, Toshiba and Nanjing Postel Wong Zhi Telecommunications will continue to introduce attractive, timely products that expand China's mobile phone market.


Information in the press releases, including product prices and specifications, content of services and contact information, is current on the date of the press announcement,but is subject to change without prior notice.