Pantech Co. made a comeback to the smartphone world with its own smartphone on Thursday after a 20-month hiatus, a litmus test for whether the South Korean firm will be able to regain its stature as the nation's No. 3 mobile phone maker.

The mid-tier Sky IM-100 hit the local market through two domestic mobile service providers - KT Corp. and SK Telecom Co.


Around 7,000 units were reportedly sold in pre-orders from June 24-29 in spite of fierce competition in the budget phone market.

The IM-100's factory price is 449,900 won ($430). But it is available for as low as some 100,000 won thanks to long-term service contract discounts offered by the mobile carriers and other promotion.

Pantech aims to sell 300,000 units within this year.

"Pantech seems to have fared relatively well in pre-orders," an industry official said. "As evaluation on the function and design of the smartphone is largely positive, a good accomplishment is expected."

It features a cube-shaped charger-cum-wireless speaker, called STONE, and a wheel key to adjust the volume.

It is 7.8mm thick and weighs 130 grams, equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 430 processor. The Android-based phone comes with 2GB RAM and a 3000mAh battery.

Several years ago, Pantech was widely known for its "Sky" mobile handsets.

It came under court receivership in August 2014 amid growing debts. It released the "Vega Pop-up Note" smartphone three months later but failed to stand on its own feet. It was acquired by a local consortium last year.

  The name IM-100 alludes to the English phrase "I'm back," since the number 100 in Korean is pronounced quite similar to the English word "back." (Yonhap)