UTStarcom today unveiled its T66 dual-mode, dual-standby CDMA/GSM handset. The company also announced that it has signed a contract with China Unicom to supply T66 handsets for its World Wind dual-mode phone service.

"We're very happy that our advanced T66 dual-mode solution was selected by the top mobile service brand in China," said Simon Le, senior vice president of UTStarcom China. "We believe the contract lays the foundation on which we can continue to develop more best-in-class products for World Wind users by leveraging our expertise in dual-mode technology."

Targeted at middle- to high-end users, the T66 handset is designed to meet the needs of both business users and of consumers who want entertainment features. The CDMA and GSM modes of the T66 handset is designed to be able to stand by simultaneously, which can enable users to choose either mode at any time to make a phone call or send a short message. The original World Wind dual-mode phones could support either CDMA or GSM at any one time, but could not support both simultaneously.

The T66 has two 2.6-inch Thin Film Transistor (TFT) color screens and a 1.3 megapixel camera that supports several camera modes and digital zoom plus a built-in 64M T Flash. The handset is also designed to support MP4 film broadcasting and stereo sound, as well as MP3 broadcasting and a music information display. The T66 has a classic, stylish shell design with three groups of functional buttons and a flashlight. The handset will be available in both black and silver.