Pantech Group(http://www.pantech.com), the leading Korean handset manufacturer, today announced that it has signed a landmark agreement with Orange - the second biggest mobile service carrier in Europe, - to supply branded UMTS phones in France.

The agreement with Orange, which is also the largest mobile service carrier in France, with around 23 million subscribers, marks Pantech's first partnership with a Europe-based global mobile operator.

The new product which will be made available through Orange, - the U4000 - is a modern and stylish UMTS phone. It features a video telephony function incorporating a 1.3 mega pixel camera and VGA camera, a 1.9 inch 260,000 color TFT and 72 polyphonic ringtones. Other features include Bluetooth, a Micro SD card slot and an MP3 player.

C'eine Thomas, Head of Product Marketing, Orange France, said: "We are happy to extend our supplier portfolio with Pantech's U4000, a product compatible with key services of Orange such as TV Live, Music download and video telephony."

With the signing of this deal, Pantech now provides its phones to all the three biggest carriers in France, having secured agreements with SFR and Bouygues Telecom earlier this year. Pantech Group plans to accelerate its business in France, with the aim of becoming one of the top five mobile phone brands in France by the end of 2008@

U4000 features include: Network: Tri-band / UMTS Size & weight: 95 x 43 x 16.5 mm, 90g Display: 1.9?260K TFT (size: 176 x 220 pixels) Camera: 1.3 Mega pixel + VGA dual camera72 polyphonic & MP3 ringtonesMemory: 30MB of user memory (+ Micro SD card slot provided) Video telephony / Bluetooth MPEG4, H.263, H.264 WAP 2.0, JAVA MIDP 2.0, DRM 1.0