Sprint announced it will offer a new Samsung mobile phone, Samsung M520, to enlarge its 2008 handset line-up. M520 comes after another device made by the South Korean producer was announced, the Samsung Ace smartphone, and is the first Power Vision phone to come in a slim, slider form factor.

Samsung M520 offers users easy ways to surf the Internet, watch live television, find local points of interest, download music or use GPS. The phone operates on Sprint's Mobile Broadband network, hence it provides access to the carrier's exclusive services like: Sprint Navigation (powered by Telenav), which offers GPS-enabled visual and audio turn-by-turn driving directions, more than 10 million local listings and one-click traffic rerouting; Live Search (by Microsoft), for voice-enabled access to directory information, interactive maps, GPS-enabled directions and one-touch click to call access; Sprint Music Store (browse and download music directly to your handset); Sprint Exclusive Entertainment, the only sports and entertainment video programming network specially created for mobile phones; and Sprint TV, which offers customers more than 50 channels of live and on-demand content.

"We are pleased to introduce this simple-to-use and inexpensive slider phone into our robust Power Vision portfolio," said Danny Bowman, Sprint's vice president of Customer Equipment. "Accessing services that are useful and entertaining is truly effortless with the M520 by Samsung. Customers will appreciate the uncomplicated menus and smooth multi-tasking capabilities."

Samsung M520 measures 4.01 x 2.04 x 0.5 inches (101 x 51 x 12.7 millimeters) when closed, weighs 2.8 ounces (79 grams) and comes with essential features like Wireless Backup, picture caller ID, stereo Bluetooth with audio caller ID and microSD card support for up to 4GB of extended memory. Moreover, the handset packs a 1.3 Megapixel camera with camcorder functionality, a 2.1 inch TFT color display and a LiIon battery that can provide a talk-time of up to 3.5 hours.

Available in all Sprint retail channels and on Sprint's website, Samsung M520 can be bought for $49.99 with a $50 mail-in rebate and 2-year contract.