SAMSUNG Electronics Co. on Tuesday showed off a three-way gadget that's a phone, personal computer and music player tailored for an emerging wireless broadband technology.

The Mobile Intelligent Terminal was unveiled at a Samsung-sponsored industry conference on Mobile WiMax, which is just coming into use and promises fast broadband connections over long distances.

The device weighs about a pound and contains a fold-out keyboard, 5-inch screen and 30 gigabyte hard drive. It runs the full version of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system and also supports the

CDMA mobile phone communications standard, which is used in

South Korea and other countries including the United States.

Kim Hun-bae, Samsung vice president for mobile research and development, told reporters that the gadget is the world's first WiMax device that also works as

a mobile phone. It also can access the Internet, make video phone calls and display television as well as other video.

The Suwon, South Korea-based company said it plans to launch t h e device in

South Korea during the first h

alf of 2007. Sams

ung didn't mention any plans for marketing the device in the U.S. and other markets. It also didn't provide a price.

WiMax has been strongly backed by Samsung, which is cooperating with U.S. companies Intel Corp., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Motorola Inc. to commercialize it in the United States.

South Korea is the first country to commercialize WiMax, which promises fast wireless broadband connections and mobile roaming. Limited trials of Mobile WiMax

are

under way in South Korea, with plans to cover the capital, Seoul, by early next year.

Sprint Nextel has said it aims to launch WiMax networks in

some U.S. markets by late 2007, working with Samsung, Motorola and Intel.

Samsung is confident WiMax technology will soon become a global standard, a top executive said Tuesday.

"We have established a standard in (South) Korea, but it won't take long to spread throughout the world," Lee Ki-tae, president of Samsung's telecommunication network business, told reporters.