SUNNYVALE, California, February 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- i-mobile brand in Thailand realizes retail premium and low return rates for TV handset models

Telegent Systems, the company that makes television mobile and Samart i-mobile, a leading Thai telecom provider, today announced that i-mobile is increasing the number of handset models that incorporate Telegent's free-to-air mobile TV technology to fuel growth in Thailand and throughout Southeast Asia in 2009. Samart i-mobile, which markets handsets under the i-mobile brand, one of the top ranked brands in the market, plans to build on the success of popular TV handset models such as i-mobile TV 535, i-mobile TV 530, i-mobile TV 523, i-mobile TV 620, and i-mobile TV 536 to drive more than 40% of 2009 unit sales from handsets with the free-to-air TV feature.

Telegent's mobile TV solution sets the industry standard for reception and picture quality providing -95 dBm sensitivity without compromising handset battery life, said Mr. Thananan Vilailuck, president of Samart I-Mobile PLC. This is a substantial improvement in performance over previous market alternatives, making Telegent the first company to provide a solution that finally satisfies and exceeds our technical and consumer requirements for the TV viewing experience. TV handsets have helped us to drive volume and achieve market share growth in 2008 and will continue to do so in 2009.

Mr. Vilailuck noted that i-mobile aims to maintain its leading position in the mid- to low-priced segment by differentiating its products and offering consumers better value-for-money. He continued, The company also continues to expand into overseas markets including India and Indonesia as well as countries where the brand has not been present such as UAE, Brazil and Western European countries.

Retail premium and low return rate for handsets with mobile TV feature

TV handsets have rapidly captured consumer's attention in Thailand by providing mobile access to their favorite news and programs -- whether kickboxing, soccer or popular TV series. i-mobile TV handsets currently deliver a sales price premium of 20-35% at retail compared to similar models without the feature. Return rates are the same or lower than comparable non-TV handsets, with TV-related returns at less than 0.15%. This demonstrates strong consumer satisfaction with the quality of the TV feature, a key factor in the growing success of TV handsets in the Thai market.

i-mobile's focus on small and attractive form factors, an intuitive user interface, localized content and handset quality and reliability raises the bar for the consumer TV viewing experience, said Weijie Yun, president and CEO of Telegent Systems.

About Samart i-mobile

Samart I-Mobile Public Company Limited is a Thailand-based mobile phone provider established in 1995. The company is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and has been named one of the Top 100 companies. Samart I-Mobile Public Company Limited engages in high-quality telecommunication and provides a variety of information technology including multimedia infotainment and interactive media content. The company operates its business in 3 main areas: mobile phones, multimedia, and foreign business. Samart I-Mobile is the distributor of i-mobile brand phones and other leading brands with unique built-in content called i-mobile Multimedia Package through its nationwide channels such as i-mobile by Samart shops, distributor shops and other channels. To date, i-mobile is operating mobile phone businesses in 7 countries: Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and India. For further information, please visit the website http://www.i-mobilephone.com.

About Telegent Systems

Telegent Systems is a leading fabless CMOS semiconductor company providing high performance, single-chip solutions enabling free-to-air and subscription mobile TV in mobile handsets, laptops and netbooks, and other portable devices. Telegent's solutions make television mobile, delivering both analog and digital broadcast reception with unparalleled sensitivity and picture quality in mobile and portable environments, ultra-low power consumption and the highest integration simplifying device design and manufacture. For more information, visit http://www.telegent.com.

Note to editors: Images accompanying this press release can be found at: http://www.telegent.com/news/graphics/imobile.html

Diana Jovin, VP Corporate Marketing of Telegent Systems, +1-408-990-7092, djovin@telegent.com; or Ms. Arjaree Suwangool, Acting Manager, Marketing Communications of Samart I-Mobile PLC, +66-2502-6445, Arjaree.S@i-mobile.Samartcorp.com