Alltel has a new device for young but heavy texters. It’s the Samsung DoubleTake which prides itself with a sliding QWERTY keyboard, 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and so on. In a word, nothing special, yet enough for $39.99. That’s of course the price with at least 1-year service contract on a qualifying rate plan and after a $50 mail-in rebate. As for the color options, there are two versions – bold red and sleek charcoal gray, which seem designed for girls and boys, respectively… I guess. Alltel’s website has additional details for those who care.
Samsung has launched another Korea-only device marked as W920. It’s a decent phone which, as it’s slowly getting a standard there, comes with a S-DMB mobile TV receiver. Rest of the 12.9mm thick phone’s specs include a 3-megapixel camera, front facing camera for video calls, Bluetooth, media player, SOS function, e-dictionary and pre-installed TOEIC/TOEFL test apps for learning English on the go.
As I said, the Samsung SCH-W920 is made for the company’s domestic market only, where interested buyers can grab it for 500,000 won (about $425) in either black or white.
AT&T (NYSE: T) is adding two new touchscreen-equipped Samsung devices to its offering – Mythic and Flight, both which will be available on November 8th.
The first of the two, pictured on the left, comes with 3.3-inch display, 3.2-megapixel camera, Samsung’s well-known TouchWIZ UI, 3G, GPS, Bluetooth, and the ability to sing along AT&T Navigator, AT&T Mobile Music and AT&T Mobile TV services. The price is $199.99 on a contract after a $50 mail-in rebate.
As for the Samsung Flight, it’s a non-3G device that sports GPS, 2-megapixel camera, smaller touchscreen, and supports AT&T Navigator and AT&T Mobile Music services. This one’s obviously cheaper device, hence AT&T is asking $99, again on contract and after a rebate…
The public eye might be focused on headlining smartphones with bang-whiz features and sleek designs, but Samsung proves yet again that the low- to mid-level handset market is nothing to laugh at. Samsung has announced that it has sold 10 million Samsung Star touchscreen handset since its launch just six months ago, as expected. That’s a lot of handsets, sure, but it’s impressive to see Samsung moving that much volume in such a short time.
Increased consumer interest in touchscreen handsets helped drive sales of the Star. “We’ve entered an era where full touch-screen mobiles are mainstream devices, and we are very pleased with the broad popularity of the Samsung Star,” said Young-hee Lee, Vice President of Marketing, Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. “Samsung is aiming to take the lead in the global touch-screen mobile market with our diverse product line up and customized, unique marketing approach.”
The entry-level handset isn’t going to make headlines for their features or style, but we’re sure Samsung could care less.
My bud David over at TMoNews has managed to get his hands (from a trusted ninja) on a video look at the Samsung Behold II’s TouchWiz interface. The custom UI ‘Cube’ is certainly a different take on the traditional Android UI. Check it out.
Last I heard the Samsung Behold II will be announced at T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) on November 12th… with availability coming November 18th. Pricing is said to be around the $249.99 mark on a 2-year contract. Would you spend that much for a spinning cube, WiFi, 16GB of storage, and a 5MP camera with auto-focus and flash? Check out the video above if you haven’t already, and leave your thoughts in the comments.
What do you think? Awesomely awesome? Or colossal FAIL?
AT&T (NYSE: T)’s Samsung Jack is blessed with the Windows Mobile 6.5 update. The Korean giant announced the upgrade saying existing owners of the full QWERTY keyboard-equipped device will be able to experience the improved UI latest Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s mobile OS brings, better Pocket Internet Explorer, access Windows Marketplace, and also get free access to AT&T hotspots around the country.
And that’s about it. To upgrade your Jack, simply follow instructions on Samsung’s website.
Olympic Games are always a great way to spread your marketing message to a wide audience. Bell and Samsung know that, hence we have Bell’s Omnia II being unveiled as the official mobile phone of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
The announcement came just in time to celebrate the carrier’s newly rolled out HSPA network and should certainly help Bell get some love (and new subscribers) from around the country.
You know all about the Omnia II, so I won’t repeat its specs here. I’ll only add that those who own Samsung’s Windows Mobile smartphone will be able to download Samsung’s Wireless Olympic Works (WOW) application, which is used to keep track of the latest news and happenings during the Olympics. Cool for both Bell and Samsung!
November is shaping up to be quite the month for unveiling Android smartphones. With the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid already official and the Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) XPERIA X10 getting some time in the limelight, the Android space is looking fairly attractive. Next up? Samsung’s Behold II. As you can see from the invite that just hit our inbox, Samsung and T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) are gearing up to unveil the Behold 2 in all its AMOLED glory on November 12.
Details are scarce at this point, but we are expecting to see the Samsung Behold II going live on T-Mobile USA on November 18. Word on the street has the Behold 2 launching with a $249.99 price tag (with 2-year contract, of course). In exchange for your hard-earned cash, the Samsung Behold II will put a 3.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen capacitive, 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and flash, aGPS, WiFi, 3G and 16GB of built-in storage in your pocket.
Bell has today gone ahead and flipped the switch on their brand new HSPA network. Coupled with telus (NYSE: TU) launching their own tomorrow, Rogers (NYSE: RCI) will no longer have a lockdown on hot GSM handsets like the iPhone, and Canadians will get some much-needed choice in service providers. The only devices Bell was forthcoming about before today’s announcement were an HSPA+ internet stick, and MiFi mobile hotspot, but they have really opened up both barrels with their full HSPA family. Earlier today, you might have heard about the Bell BlackBerry Bold 9700, but there’s also the original Bold 9000 for $249.95 on contract, the LG Xenon (simple, full-QWERTY slider; $89.95 on contract), the Nokia 2730 (standard candybar; $29.95 on contract), the Samsung omnia II (touchscreen slate running Windows Mobile with TouchWiz 2.0; $199.95 on contract), Samsung Impact (A.K.A Highlight, touchscreen slate with voice and motion-controlled UI; $79.95 on contract), and of course, the beloved iPhone 3GS.
On top of devices, Bell is also announcing a new HSPA video calling service available on the omnia II and Xenon that not only works with other capable phones, but also through a Facebook app. Overall, this is a huge step for Bell and Canadian wireless overall, and it’s not over yet – we’ll be hearing more about telus‘ HSPA grand opening tomorrow. For a closer look at Bell’s full lineup, check their online store, or their HSPA landing page for more info on the new network.
Samsung is working on another Android-powered smartphone. It will be called Saturn i6500, and we know about that as it has recently got the WiFi interoperability certification (PDF link).
Details are scarce at the moment, but we do know it will come with WiFi connectivity feature. In addition, we could bet, once it’s released the Saturn will run the Android 2.0 Eclair and will most probably rely on an 800 MHz CPU. Moreover, it’s safe the specs sheet will include a GPS, HSPA radio, Bluetooth and a microSD memory card slot.
We’ve heard the Korean giant will launch the device at some point next year with estimated retail price of about 300 EUR, which is roughly $442. I’m guessing we’ll get all the details before or during the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which takes place in February. Stay tuned…
The public eye might be focused on headlining smartphones with bang-whiz features and sleek designs, but Samsung proves 
Bell has today gone ahead and flipped the switch on their brand new HSPA network. Coupled with 
