14 DAY TRIAL // Spotted last week, Samsung GT-S5830, also known as the Galaxy S Ace, has just been approved by the Global Certification Forum (GCF), the European equivalent of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). The certification received by the smartphone comes just in time for the Mobile World Congress (MWC) show, where the device is expected to be officially introduced.
In addition to the information leaked last week, the GCF website states that Samsung GT-S5830 is quad-band GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 network compatible and features HSDPA dual-band support (850 / 2100 MHz), which is quite unusual for Europe where 900/2100 MHz are the standard bands used.
Furthermore, according to rumors, the Galaxy S Ace smartphone runs on the Android 2.2.1 (Froyo) platform and is powered by a Qualcomm MSM7227 800 Mhz processor.
Other leaked specs include: Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n connectivity, 3.5 audio jack, microSD card slot for memory expansion, microUSB port, a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash (max camera resolution 2560x1920 pixels) and camcorder ( max resolution 1280x720 pixels).
The smartphone comes with a 3.5-inch with 262k colors support and 480 x 320 pixels resolution. Also, the TouchWiz 3.0 UI runs on top of the stock Android platform.
It seems that device has also made its appearance in China, where it has been certified by an FCC equivalent agency last week. The Galaxy S Ace has been dubbed as Samsung GT-S5570 for the Chinese market.
As a side note, it seems that Samsung plans to release more “mini” versions for some of its most popular handsets, but there's no telling which and how many of these devices will be “re-sized.”
The phone's price and release date will probably be known after the Samsung Galaxy S Ace is officially announced in February during the Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain.