I have no idea why the Samsung Verizon 4G Android smartphone didn’t get a snazzy name like the Thunderbolt or the Bionic but it’s still looking like a pretty darn good device and we got some hands-on time at CES 2011.
The first thing that jumps out at you is the 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, as this is supposed to increase the number of sub-pixels by 50 percent from Super AMOLED displays like the one found on the Galaxy S phones. The Samsung Verizon 4G LTE Android smartphone makes a great first impression with that screen because it’s incredibly vivid, bright and sharp.
The rest of the hardware of the Samsung Verizon Android 4G LTE Android smartphone isn’t much to crow home about though. The plastic back cover felt a bit cheap and reminded me of the Omnia II in a bad way. The four home buttons are physical keys and they were responsive and had nice feedback.
Look for an 8-megapixel camera with an LED Flash, a front-facing camera for video chatting over 4G and it has a 1 GHz processor inside. Along with support for Verizon 4G LTE, it has WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and all the things you’d expect from a smartphone nowadays.
The Samsung Verizon 4G LTE Android smartphone will launch with the 2.2 Froyo version of the software with the TouchWiz UI we’ve seen on the Galaxy S devices. We’re a bit bummed that it won’t be 2.3 Gingerbread but it will be able to get that update once Samsung gets around to it.
The Verizon 4G LTE is really appealing to me, especially because you’ll be able to use the device as a mobile hotspot – something we could have used in Vegas for CES 2011. Still, there’s no word on monthly pricing, battery drain, or a solid release date, so we’ll have to reserve judgement until we can play with this thing on a long-term basis.
Also, get a super cool name, please. Any suggestions?
