It's a busy day today for Sprint, as, after releasing two new and rugged Motorola handsets, North America's third largest mobile carrier has also come up with two new Samsung phones, the M320 and M220.

 

Exclusively released by Sprint, both of the South Korean phones are clamshells targeted for users who don't want or can't afford feature-packed devices. Thus, neither of the new Samsungs comes with too many capabilities, bringing only the "essentials for communication and productivity."

 

From the two new handsets, the one that looks better and has more features is the M320, offered in a deep red color version. Samsung has included in it the following: a 128 x 160 pixel internal TFT display with 65K colors, a 96 x 96 pixel external CSTN display, a VGA photo camera, PictBridge, Sprint PCS Picture Mail, NFL Mobile Live, Web browser, Bluetooth, Speaker-independent voice dialing, Picture caller ID,

high-quality speakerphone, games, T9 predictive text input, To Do list, calendar, scheduler, calculator, alarm clock, world clock and stopwatch. The M320 measures 3.6 x 1.9 x 0.7 inches (when closed), weighs 2.7 ounces and comes with a 1000 mAh battery capable of lasting up to 4.4 hours in talk-time mode.

 

Samsung M220 comes in medium blue and brings about the same features the M320 does, save for the camera, PictBridge and Sprint PCS Picture Mail, all of which are missing. Also, the M220 has a weaker battery – an 800 mAh one said to provide up to 3.5 hours of talk time. The handset weighs 3.1 ounces and, when not flipped, it measures 3.5 x 1.9 x 0.8 inches.

 

The M320 has a higher retail price than the M220: $219.99 versus $179.99. Strangely, however, Sprint is offering the former for only $19.99 with a two year contract agreement and after a $50 mail-in rebate, while the 2-year contract price of the latter is of $29.99.