Vodafone K.K. today announces the development of the V604T by Toshiba, a new PDC (2G) handset that features a terrestrial analogue TV tuner and a separate, dedicated FM radio tuner. The V604T can also record parts of TV programs and capture stills for saving to memory. The V604T is scheduled to go on sale in late April 2006.

The V604T's integrated terrestrial analogue TV tuner allows customers to check TV programs easily on the go. The handset's "TV View Style" design enables customers to automatically activate the TV tuner for viewing in horizontal full-screen format by rotating the main display back 360 degrees while holding down a central side button. To get the best possible TV picture, a "TV Rod Antenna" can be positioned to any angle. Whenever a new message is received in TV mode, mail text is displayed in the lower part of the display as captions so customers do not have to worry about missing important messages.

The V604T comes with a separate, dedicated FM radio tuner so customers can enjoy FM broadcasts in stereo. In addition to memory settings for FM stations in all of Japan’s 47 prefectures, the V604T supports digital tuning so customers can tune channels to the nearest 0.1MHz. Customers can also listen to FM radio broadcasts in the background while browsing the web or messaging.