Samsung has a goal of capturing 10% of the global smartphone market, and with it’s announcement of bringing it’s Samsung Galaxy S variants to no less than 110 carriers expected to launch the handset simultaneously, they just might be able to pull it off. Today, the Samsung Galaxy S Pro is getting real on the Sprint network. The Galaxy S will be hitting Big Yellow as the Epic 4G, bro.
While the Galaxy S will be hitting T-Mobile as the Vibrant, Verizon as the Fascinate, and at AT&T as the Captivate, Sprint has taken to referring to their version of the Galaxy S Pro by the uber-hipster model name – Epic 4G. The Epic will be the very first keyboard toting Super AMOLED smartphone, which may not be all that exciting, but it’s still a first. Living in the Mission district of San Francisco, I only worry that the keyboard of the Epic won’t be able to slip into the skinny jeans of Valencia street’s finest hipsters.
If the gorgeous Retina Display of the iPhone 4 doesn’t impress you that much, or you’d just rather some more screen real estate, look no further. The Epic 4G and its Super AMOLED display should suit you quite well. According to the press release, the Epic’s display will offer you:
– The best representation of color on a mobile phone that matches original content, more than – 100 times the contrast quality of other leading displays
– Faster response time that reduces “ghosting” images
– Wide viewing angles to prevent blurring or distortion
– Thinner design to offer more accurate and responsiveness to touch
The one stand-out feature that the Epic will offer you that the Vibrant, Fascinate, or Captivate won’t is the front-facing camera that will allow video-conferencing. Whatever you think about said feature, this is still a great option to have, especially when all other versions of the device (other than the European version) lack this. The Sprint Samsung Epic 4G will be the only Samsung Galaxy S in the US and will be the only member of the Galaxy S family to sport a front-facing camera in the US.
The overall look of the phone, from what we’ve seen previously, doesn’t look anywhere near as sexy as the EVO 4G, but attaching a keyboard to such a powerful phone definitely can’t be a bad thing. We’ve yet to put hands on the Galaxy S Pro or any of its variants, so we’ll hold off on judgment of the keyboard.
So, it looks like the rumor of Samsung launching their Galaxy S on multiple carriers at once turns out to be true. We now have it available in a couple of countries, let’s see if they can get it out in 100 some odd countries in the near future.
Congratulations, Sprint, you’re getting another phone in your line-up that doesn’t suck. Samsung, thanks for looking into your past mistakes and making a great piece of Android hardware that delivers everywhere your past hardware hasn’t.