Pantech Wireless, Inc. (PWI), formed in 2002, is the North American subsidiary of Pantech, one of Korea’s three largest mobile phone manufacturers.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Wireless |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
Key people | Beyong-Yeop Park: Founder, CEO Charles Park: CEO, NAM Wyatt Whaley: Vice President, Product Planning, NAM |
| Website | www.pantechusa.com |
Background
editPWI has created wireless products for major North American carriers including AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and Virgin Mobile.
Benchmark handsets created by PWI for the North American market include the popular line of dual-sliding, double-keyboard devices such as the Pantech duo, Matrix, and Pantech Matrix Pro smartphone. PWI also manufactures Slate, “world’s thinnest phone with a QWERTY keyboard,”[1] and C3b, “the world’s smallest camera flip-phone.”[2] Additionally, PWI created the Breeze, a handset that utilizes the principles of Universal Design, which are a set of guidelines that ensure consumer electronics products are of optimal ease of use for customers of all ages, and those with disabilities.
Products North America
edit| Product Name | Date | Carrier |
|---|---|---|
| Hero | May 2006 | Helio |
| DM-P100 | Apr., 2006 | Disney Mobile |
| C300 | Jun., 2006 | AT&T |
| PN-218 | Aug., 2006 | Alltel Wireless |
| C120 | Oct., 2006 | AT&T |
| C3 | Nov., 2006 | AT&T |
| Ocean | Feb., 2007 | Helio |
| C3b | May, 2007 | AT&T |
| DM-P205 | May, 2007 | Disney Mobile |
| C150 | Jul., 2007 | AT&T |
| Pantech duo | Oct., 2007 | AT&T |
| Pantech duo (red) | Feb., 2008 | AT&T |
| Breeze | May, 2008 | AT&T |
| C610 | Oct., 2008 | AT&T |
| Matrix | Oct., 2008 | AT&T |
| Slate | Oct., 2008 | AT&T |
| C630 | Dec., 2008 | AT&T |
| Ocean 2 | Feb., 2009 | Virgin Mobile |
| Matrix PRO | Feb., 2009 | AT&T |
| Breeze (black) | Feb., 2009 | AT&T |
| Link | Apr., 2010 | AT&T |
| Breeze II | May, 2010 | AT&T |
| Pursuit | Jun., 2010 | AT&T |
| Ease | Jun., 2010 | AT&T |
| Laser | Oct., 2010 | AT&T |
| Crossover | Jun., 2011 | AT&T |
| Breeze III | Jul., 2011 | AT&T |
| Pursuit II | Jul., 2011 | AT&T |
Pantech Company Timeline
edit- 1991: Established Pantech Co., Ltd
- 2002: Established Pantech Wireless, Inc. (PWI) in North America
- 2003: Formed a J/V – Dalian Daxian Pantech Communications Co, Ltd in Dalian, China
- 2003: Company begins developing Pantech branded products
- 2004: Pantech debuts first GSM handset with fingerprint recognition
- 2005: Acquired SK Teletech owning SKY brand, the most upscale premium brand in Korea
- 2005: First entered Japan market among Korean handset makers delivering 1st model to KDDI
- 2006: First PWI branded device, PN-218, offered through Alltell
- 2006: PWI launches C300, “world’s smallest camera flip phone,” with AT&T
- 2006: PWI manufacturers Ocean, first dual-sliding, double keyboard handset, created for Helio
- 2008: Slate, “world’s thinnest phone with a QWERTY keyboard,” created for AT&T
- 2009: Launched Breeze, an easy-to-use and “top performing” handset for AT&T
- 2009: Launched ‘Matrix Pro’, a dual sliding smart phone for AT&T
- 2010: Launched Impact, Pantech's first haptic, dual key-board 3G Quick Messaging phone for AT&T
- 2010: Launched Reveal, a slider with simultaneous numeric and QWERTY keypad 3G Quick Messaging phone for AT&T
- 2010: Link, Pantech's ultra-slim and sleek messaging phone launches at AT&T
- 2010: Launched Breeze II, the successor to the Breeze, easy-to-use handset for AT&T
- 2010: Pursuit launches for AT&T as Pantech's first phone with touchscreen
- 2010: Launched Pantech Ease, the first simplicity-centric phone for AT&T with keyboard and touchscreen
- 2010: Laser, AT&T's thinnest phone with sliding keyboard, is launched
- 2011: Crossover, Pantech's first Android smartphone in the U.S., is launched
- 2011: 20th Anniversary of Pantech Wireless, Inc., U.S.-based subsidiary of Pantech Group
- 2011: Pantech announces exclusive handset sponsorship of Dew Tour
- 2011: Pantech announces sponsorship of Dew Tour Pro Athletes, Bucky Lasek, Brett Banasiewicz, Greg Lutzka, Ryan Devenzo
- 2011: Inaugural Pantech Open in Ocean City, MD for Dew Tour Action Sports Competition
Awards
edit- 1995: Pantech creates the world’s first CDMA product
- 2005: Pantech honored with the Best Mobile Phone Application distinction at the Asian Mobile News Award
- 2005, 2006, 2007: Pantech receives seven iF Design awards and four red dot Design awards for excellence and innovation in mobile phone design
- 2007: Pantech’s IM-U200 (Korean market) awarded ‘Best of Innovation’ at CES International
References
edit- ^ "Pantech and AT&T Debut "World's Thinnest QWERTY Keyboard" Handset" (Press release). Pantech Wireless. 2008-08-14. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
- ^ The world's smallest flip camera phone, CNET, 2008-05-15, retrieved 2009-09-24
