(iTers News) - Pantech is launching a 5.6-inch screen “Vega Secret UP” following the successful launch of “Vega Secret Note,” its 6-inch large-screen smartphone, a few months ago. Like its predecessor, Vega Secret UP boasts the fingerprint recognition technology. Pantech is the first company in the world to produce an LTE-A phone equipped with the technology, and expects this feature will help to set Vega Secret UP apart from other Vega smartphones in the market. Vega Secret UP also satisfies consumer demands in terms of size and functions.

Vega Secret UP features FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), which enables users to enjoy more vibrant and dynamic sound. The phone is also equipped with a reinforced version of “Secret 2.0 Plus,” enhanced with a fingerprint recognition sensor for even greater security, and “Innovation UX,” through which users have access to differentiated, convenient and innovative applications. All of these are geared at increasing user enjoyment of the phone.

Pantech Vice President and head of its marketing unit Park Chang-jin said, "Our two-track approach, first with the launch of ‘Vega Secret Note’ and then with ‘Vega Secret UP,' a 5-inch smartphone tailored to consumers’ tastes, is expected to help Pantech regain its stature in the smartphone market.”

Maximized sound features through FLAC and “Sound Case”

Pantech released “Vega Number 6,” Korea's first full HD smartphone, in February 2013 in response to consumer demand for better screen quality. For Vega Secret UP, better sound quality was the focus. The phone is equipped with FLAC and a flip phone case, the “Sound Case,” which is attached to the phone and works as a speaker, and also supports DRE audio technology for a richer, more dynamic sound range.

Just as in Vega Secret Note, Vega Secret UP is equipped with Pantech’s original FLAC technology and significantly improved DRE SNR (signal to noise ratio) by Qualcomm, allowing users to enjoy sound very close to the original. The default speaker has also been increased, and the “Sound Case,” which enables users to experience rich and vibrant sound without the need for a separate device, was specially designed for Vega Secret UP.

Unlike conventional speakers, the Sound Case includes an oscillating speaker which delivers the vibrations of wave-emitting objects and reacts to different sounds and volumes depending on the inherent characteristics of the objects. Thus, volume and tone vary accordingly. For example, when the Sound Case comes into contact with materials that hold resonance, such as boxes, the case amplifier effect is similar to that experienced in a concert hall. These Sound Case features enable Vega Secret UP users to create their own speaker systems in connection with surrounding objects and share their listening pleasure with others.

The Sound Case is manufactured in the form of a flip case, and includes the existing functions of the smart flip, such as messaging, access to time, calendar and weather information, the ability to make or take calls, and use of the camera, music player, video, DMB and V Note, all through the flip cover window. As a promotional event, Pantech plans to give the Sound Case to the first 20,000 customers who purchase Vega Secret UP.

Enhanced privacy protection, “Secret 2.0 Plus”

Users of Vega Secret UP can enjoy an enhanced version of “Secret 2.0 Plus,” also featured in Vega Secret Note. The new version includes a fingerprint recognition sensor for greater protection of personal information, and offers the ‘‘Secret Blind,” which lets users hide their screens in crowded situations such as buses or elevators. Once the indicator icon on the upper bar of the phone is touched, the Secret Blind is activated and the screen is blocked. Users are able to choose images for the Secret Blind, the level of transparency, and the size of the blind screen area.

“Secret Mode” grants access to specific applications through fingerprint verification using a “Secret Key,” which allows for a quick switch from default mode to secret mode. Moreover, users can access their “Secret Box” without fingerprint verification, increasing usability. In transactions that involve bringing up confidential personal data, such as banking or login information, for instance, such data is stored in the Secret Box where it is entirely protected.

The display of Vega Secret UP is unlocked through fingerprint recognition, and another new privacy feature is the “Secret Phone Book,” which hides a user’s contact list.

Innovative UX, and an upgraded, easier-to-use design

- Stylish GUI

Vega Secret UP offers a flexible user experience (UX), satisfying a wide range of consumer preferences. Background images, icons, keyboards, dials and notification bars are all modifiable, with at least three choices available for each.

- Design Home

With the evolved Design Home feature, photos and icons can be arranged completely according to user preference. Not only are new templates available, but self-designed home screens can be uploaded through the phone’s import/export functions. All selections are stored in the “File Manager” for previewing before setting.

- Multi-window Function

Vega Secret UP has a multi-window function which allows for two applications to run simultaneously on a single screen. Many applications, including You Tube, Google Map, and G-mail, are compatible with the multi-window function. In the near future Pantech hopes to make video clips, messages and the photo gallery available through the multi-window function, with the ultimate goal being the running of up to 10 applications on one screen at the same time. This development would certainly make the phone a key multi-tasking device.

- Easy Screen On/Off

The screen of the phone is easily turned on and off by pressing the Secret Key located on the rear side of the phone or by touching the screen. If a user presses the Home Key and the Secret Key at once, the screen is turned on. And by pressing the Secret Key twice, the screen is turned off. By touching the notification bar, the empty area of the locked default screen and the flip case screen twice, the screen is also turned off. This minimizes electricity consumption stemming from the touch screen. Users can choose the mode of the screen on/off function.

- Do Not Disturb Mode

This mode enables users to ignore incoming calls or notifications of apps and alarms. Before sleeping, watching a movie or starting a meeting, the selected notifications can be turned off.

Vega Secret UP will be available in silky white or Irish black and will run on the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system.

Photos and videos by JH Bae