Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has unveiled “Samsung MAX,” its first open market phone in the CDMA segment.

Aimed to glut the growing CDMA market, the sleek slider Samsung MAX will be available to both Tata Indicom and Reliance Mobile subscribers.

“We expect to fuel the growth of the Indian CDMA industry through the launch Samsung Max in the open market. Fully feature loaded Samsung Max is launched to serve the Multimedia needs of the CDMA consumer. The availability of CDMA phones in the open market will provide Indian consumers freedom to choose network operator's of their choice,” said Hyundai Kim, Vice President and Head - CDMA Division, Samsung Telecommunications India Pvt. Ltd.

Samsung Max features a 1.9-inch 262k TFT large LCD screen, a 1.3 multimedia phone camera, an Indian calendar, a panchang, a mobile prayer, a Cricket scorer, a Hinglish SMS, Mobile Tracker, and SOS alert. The phone also has Bluetooth, R-UIM card support, expandable memory, an integrated FM radio, speaker phone, voice recorder and an MP3 player. The phone comes standard with a stereo headset and a data cable.

Mobile Tracker, SOS alert, and Call lock, which restricts others from making calls from- or receiving calls on- the owner's handset, are the security features Samsung Max.

"Samsung aims to roll out Max through open market distribution in a phase wise manner,” said, Dinesh Sharma, Marketing Head - CDMA Division, Samsung Telecommunications India Pvt. Ltd.

Samsung Max is currently available only in Delhi and Mumbai for Rs. 7,500, but it will be available in several other large cities by December 2007.