Ericsson introduces Chines input in latest mobile phones

Ericsson introduces Chinese input in latest mobile phones - New Feature demonstrates Ericsson commitment to meeting customer needs Ericsson announced today that all new ranges of Ericsson mobile phones will include a version that supports Chinese input technology. By using the keypad, you can send and receive messages with Chinese SMS, as well as store Chinese names into your mobile phone - all in Chinese characters. With 10,000 characters, the widest selection available from any mobile phone manufacturer, users will always be able to find the precise characters to make themselves heard. Ericsson is one of the first mobile phone manufacturers who will offer a Chinese keypad and the ability to send Chinese SMS in their products. The first Ericsson mobile phone with these features will be released in the second quarter. "Meeting customer needs has always been the key to our success," said Mr Philip Rambech, General Manager, Product Management, Ericsson Telecommunications Asia Pacific. "We believe that a great majority of users would welcome Chinese input and text, especially in China/Hong Kong and Taiwan. With 30 million mobile phone users in China alone, we are confident that our products will be very popular." Chinese input in Ericsson mobile phones is easy to do. Users can choose to use Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, or a combination of both, character sets. There are three input methods available - Zi 8 Input, Pinyin or Bopomofo. The input methods were developed by Zi Corporation and licensed to Ericsson. Zi 8 Input Zi 8 Input is a new technology based on the written form of Chinese and therefore on the order of strokes. You start by keying in a stroke using the keypad and adding on to it until the character is complete. With each stroke, six characters that best match the one you are writing will appear on the bottom row of your screen. If you see the character you want displayed on the bottom row, you can select it and add it on to your message. Zi Input (Pinyin) Pinyin and Bopomofo are based on the pronunciation of Chinese characters. Pinyin uses 26 Roman letters to represent the Chinese language. By keying in the 'spelling' of the word in Roman characters and adding the tone of the character, you will be able to select the character you are looking for. Zi Input (Bopomofo) Bopomofo is the preferred phonetic input method for people in Taiwan. Instead of using Roman characters, it uses the special letters of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, called Bopomofo letters. In addition to sending and receiving short messages in Chinese characters, you can store and edit Chinese names in the phonebook. The number of Chinese names you can store depends on how large a memory each phone model has. Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over. Please visit Ericsson's Press Room at: http://www.ericsson.se/pressroom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Julie Leong, Chee Soo Leng, Edelman Public Relations Worldwide Phone: +65 334 3413, Fax: +65 334 1676 E-mail: jleong@edelman.com.sg, slchee@edelman.com.sg Lisa Johnson, Manager Public Relations, Events and Sponsorship Ericsson Telecommunications Asia Pacific Phone: +65 350 1640, Mobile: +65 9639 5494 Jan Ahrenbring, Vice President Marketing and Communications Ericsson Mobile Communications Phone: +46 8 764 1460, Mobile: +46 70 590 9900 E-mail: jan.ahrenbring@ecs.ericsson.se