ZTE Corporation, one of China's leading telecommunications company, has announced the release of ZTE U990, touted as the world's first phone to come with both HSDPA and TD-SCDMA connectivity. The U990 was first unveiled during a ceremony that celebrated the company’s shipping of its 100 millionth mobile phone – an achievement that not too many handset manufacturers can brag with.

The new U990 has a high-speed transmission rate of up to 2.8 Mbps, the fastest transmission speed among the TD-SCDMA terminals available in the industry, offering consumers the best mobile experience today. The new model supports dual mode TD-SCDMA/EDGE allowing seamless transition between the two networks. Its HSDPA speed is capable of reaching 2.8Mbps for downlink transmission and 384kbps for uplink transmission, ensuring high-speed HSDPA service under TD-SCDMA network infrastructure in China.

The U990 handset runs on Windows Mobile 6.0 operating system the first time that a ZTE handset is integrated with a Microsoft OS. This combines both the features of high-end smartphone and the efficiency of TD-SCDMA HSDPA data transmission speed. ZTE’s U990 is a world-class 3G mobile handset device that adopts advanced touch-screen technology, and equipped with both GPS/AGPS navigation technologies that further enhance user mobile experience.


In addition, high-end business travelers will be able to take advantage of U990’s Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) features, a backwards-compatible digital mobile phone technology that allows improved data transmission rates.

“We are proud to be the first company in the industry to offer HSPDA mobile handset with TD-SCDMA intelligence, truly another significant achievement for our handset business. Our technology know-how and excellent product offering reaffirm our leading position in the mobile handset area. We are introducing this home-grown technology to worldwide market to provide end users the best mobile experience,” said Mr. He Shiyou, Executive Vice President of ZTE Corporation.

At the 100 Millionth Handset Sales Ceremony, ZTE also unveiled its global strategic plan in expanding to the 3G high-end market. As part of this strategy, the company has forged partnerships with the top 10 3G telecom operators in the world, demonstrating tremendous breakthrough in Europe, North America and Japan. In the previous two TD-SCDMA terminal tenders in China, ZTE obtained 30% of the bid, playing a significant role in offering advanced telecom services on its motherland.

ZTE has also been supporting major international events, the most recent one of which was the successful 2008 Beijing Olympics held in August 2008. ZTE was the largest supplier of TD-SCDMA handsets for the Olympics, supplying about 30% of the purchase order placed by China Mobile, thus making the company the biggest 3G provider of both network infrastructure and handsets of the global sporting event. The handset division was one of ZTE’s fastest growing units last year, with year-on-year sales revenues growing by 69.16%, shipping over 30 million handsets in 2007.

With accelerating market growth and ZTE’s strong terminal capabilities, the company has successfully gained the trust and recognition of various leading multinational telecom operators, solidifying its leading position in the global mobile handset industry. In the future, ZTE will strive to continue leveraging on the success of other global 3G telecom vendors to help promote and develop China’s 3G handset market.