Worlds Thinnest Cell Phone Unveileld

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There is thin – Motorola’s hip 14.5 mm RAZR and 11 mm SLVR – and then there’s super thin, VK’s 8.8 mm VK2010 and VK2100 mobile handsets. Today, KTF Technologiesintroduced the slimmest cell phone of all, the remarkably thin 7.9 millimeter EV-K100, which weighs in at an extremely light 60 grams (2.1 ounces) as well.

KTF achieves the EV-K100’s extra thinness by cutting the thickness of the embedded antenna and extending its length to make up for the reduction in width, something rival VK insisted could not be done when its two ultra-thin phone models first appeared. A VK VP said 8.8 mm was the limit because even a tiny 7 mm antenna would have to be coupled with a pair of plates that would take up an additional 1.8 mm of space.

In spite of its size, KTF packs a lot into the EV-K100. Remarkably, there’s a MP3 player, 1.8-inch screen, 1.3-megapixel camera, and an ample 165 MB of memory—a good thing since the cell phone doesn’t integrate an expansion slot. An embedded electronic dictionary stores 333,000 words. There’s no sign of 3G cellular networking, however.

KTF has no plans to offer the CDMA network EV-K100 elsewhere right now; although the handset would be compatible with Verizon and Sprint networks in the U.S. Should it prove popular, a spokesperson for the company said, “Technologically, it is not a big deal to change our phone’s format from CDMA to global system for mobile communications (GSM) for the vigorous exports,” according TMCnet. GSM, not CDMA technology is used in most world markets.

So expanding beyond the manufacturer’s homeland of South Korea is obviously on the company’s mind. With super-thin handsets so hot these days, that’s not such a bad idea. KTF already makes phones for North American in cooperation with UTStarcom.

Last week, LG Electronics announced a tentative agreement to acquire KTF. LG is Korea’s number three mobile phone vendor, while KTF is the country’s fifth best-selling cell phone vendor. While the acquisition could move LG back up to number two, it may help KTF increase its international profile.

The manufacturer will start selling the EV-K100 next week through its current parent company (a carrier) in Korea for about 400,000 won (about $412).