14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung, the South-Korean phone manufacturer, finds itself in a fierce fight against LG Mobile division for the number 3 spot on the handset market. Thus, it could not miss the chance to amaze at Mobile World Congress 2009, in Barcelona, through its new devices.
Some had been leaked before, but others came as a real surprise. One of the hottest devices showcased at Samsung's booth was, no doubt, the new Samsung i8910 Omnia HD. The latest high-end smartphone coming from the company is packed with powerful features that have turned it into one of the most attractive highlights at the MWC 2009.
Samsung i8910 Omnia HD features an amazing 3.7 inch OLED capacitive touchscreen with support for 16 Million colors and a 640 x 360 pixel resolution. The quad-band device includes an 8 Megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and video capabilities (1280x720 at 24fps). It also boasts a built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS function, digital compass, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps connectivity, 8GB or 16GB internal memory, and a microSD slot compatible with SDHC 16GB memory cards.
Samsung Omnia i8910 Omnia HD runs on a Symbian S60 5th smartphone touch UI, just like the one included with Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic handset. Still, you also get Samsung's TouchWiz UI, which has been installed over the Symbian platform as a homescreen plugin. Besides the fact that this is one of the first smartphones that can boast 720p HD video recording at 24fps, it also includes geo-tagging, face and smile detection and a Wide Dynamic Range setting.
Also showcased at MWC 2009, the new Samsung S8300 UltraTouch slider runs on the latest proprietary TouchWiz interface that has been greatly improved. Measuring only 12.7mm in thickness, the slider doesn't really impress through its design, as it has borrowed Samsung's standard slider form factor. This is one of the devices that had been officially announced by Samsung prior to its presentation in Barcelona. The phone packs the usual 8 Megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and video capabilites(VGA@30fps) that has become a standard with the latest Samsung handsets. The generous 2.8 inch OLED touchscreen display supports 262k colors and a 240x400 pixel resolution. It also includes an HSDPA 7.2 Mbps connectivity, a built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS function, an accelerometer sensor, a microSD slot card for memory expansion (up to 16GB) and geo-tagging, face and smile-detection functions.
Samsung M7600 Beat DJ is a music-oriented candy bar that seems to be based on the earlier Beat series layout. Only that this time, Samsung has continued its partnership with Bang&Olufsen to offer users an unprecedented music experience. The 2.8 inch OLED touchscreen display supports 16 Million colors and a 240x400 pixel resolution. Based on the same TouchWiz UI, the real deal for the handset is a new application called Best DJ and the new Disk UI music player interface. Other highlights of the slider include the UMTS 3G technology, a built-in 3.2 Megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and video(VGA@15fps), an MP3 player, an accelerometer sensor, a microSD slot card (up to 16GB), a 50 MB internal memory, a built-in GPS receiver with the A-GPS function and a 3.5 mm AV jack.
Samsung M6710 Beat DISC seems to be another music-oriented slider that has been showcased at the MWC 2009. It's a budget version of the M760 Beat DJ, and it also gets some nice features. It boasts only a 2.6 inch TFT display with support for 16 million colors and a 240x400 pixel resolution, an accelerometer sensor, an 80 MB internal memory and a microSD slot card for memory expansion (up to 16GB). The GPS is missing, but the device comes with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps instead of UMTS 3G. The same 3.2 Megapixel camera module has been embedded, with autofocus, flash and video capabilities. It runs on the same TouchWiz UI and features the new Disk UI music player.
One of the main attractions at Samsung's booth, besides the i8910 Omnia HD, Samsung i7410 is one of the first to feature a projector. Basically, the phone can project clips of HVGA resolution on a 5 to 50-inch diagonal. Official statements claim an autonomy of 60 to 80 minutes for movie projection, which is quite good considering the small size of the phone. Perhaps it's the 1440 mAh Li-Ion battery that helps with the long-lasting energy life. The slider includes a large-sized 3.2 inch TFT touchscreen display with support for 262k colors and a 240x400 pixel resolution, a 150 MB internal memory and a microSD slot card for memory expansion (up to 16GB). There's also a 5 Megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and video(QVGA 15fps) embedded with the device and the UMTS 3G technology for fast data transfers.
The last two handsets that have been showcased are Samsung S7350 Ultra s and Samsung S7220 Ultra b. The first one is, obviously, a slider (comes with the “s” name) and packs a 2.6 inch WQVGA display, a built-in GPS receiver, a 5 Megapixel camera with autofocus and PowerLED, face detection, geotagging and D1 video recording at 30 fps. The phone also features the HSDPA 7.2 Mbps connectivity, FM radio, a microSD card slot, a microUSB 2.0 and Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP. The Samsung S7350 Ultra s should be available on the market in March 2009, with an estimated price of 349 Euros.
Samsung S7220 Ultra b is a block form factor handset that boasts a smaller 2.2 inch OLED display supporting 262k colors and a 320 x 240 pixel resolution that features the accelerometer sensor function. Other highlights of the handset include an HSDPA 7.2 Mbps connectivity, a built-in 5 Megapixel camera with autofocus, video and flash, a microSD slot card, FM radio, a microUSB and Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP. The phone is expected to be released in March 2009 with an estimated price of 329 Euros.
