Time for MIT

‘Mobile phone or PDA?’

The market of next generation information terminal market over mobile phone and PDA has become red hot.

On a popularity trend of wireless internet, the mobile phone manufacturers have produced the information terminal of new concept called as Mobile Intelligent Terminal (MIT·).

MIT integrated the existing mobile phone and PDA functions, but it is completely different from PDA Phone or Smart Phone in terms of a shape and function. Compared with Smart phone which adds the function of electric organizer to the mobile phone, it has stronger function of computer and internet function and smaller than PDA.

It is the strategy product designed by mobile phone companies against PDA phone of PC and PDA companies.

In domestic market, Samsung Electrics has first launched ‘Anycall MIT (model name:M330) which combines functions of mobile phone, PDA and Internet. It is the product of a combination PDA and mobile phone with a large Liquid Crystal Display (160 X 240) of 256 colors touch screen.

It has the multi-purposes internet functions which can perform the e-commerce and corporate intranet and confirm emails at the maximum speed of 144Kbps accessing internet through mobile phone network. It also contains ‘Handystory software’ which shows the internet information on PDA screen.

Initial products used Palm OS for operating system (OS). There will be products which use OS of Microsoft Pocket PC, Linux and Symbian will be launched in the market.

It also can take a picture and image by attaching an external connectivity camera. Its price is about 700,000 won.

Such as Nokia and SonyErisson, mobile phone companies have actively captured MIT market.

The world top mobile phone company, Nokia has launched ‘Nokia 3650’ of 130g with 4096 colors LCD. As the product integrating functions of Internet, individual information management and mobile phone, it can take images and pictures using the built-in camera and send to other persons.

SonyErisson, a joint venture of Sony and Erisson has launched ‘P800’ of the same functions. It can be the digital camera, image and MPC player as well as the mobile phone and internet.

Gim Haeng-Wu, the director of wireless business department, Samsung Electrics expected “The world market scale of MIT will increase to US$ 240 million in 2004 and so will outtake the PDA market. It will reach US$ 576 million in 2006 and so will occupy 10% of total mobile terminal market.”

Tae-Han Kim freewill@donga.com