14 DAY TRIAL // The Korean company just released a new “toy phone” for the Asiatic market, tagged Samsung Nori (SHW-A220S). The device will be available in South Korea for about 600,000 won (aprox. $511 USD). The phone targets people that like to customize their phone, but mostly youngsters who are quickly getting bored by their handsest.
Samsung Nori is a mid-entry phone and features a 3-inch touchscreen display (240×400 pixels resolution), a 3.2-megapixel camera, as well as secondary 1.3-megapixel camera in the fron, 3G compatibility, Wi-Fi connectivity, T-DMB, built-in GPS receiver, Bluetooth 2.1, Etiquette mode, SOS feature, microSD memory slot (up to 16GB) and 1000mAh battery.
As the name suggests, ‘Nori’ means ‘play’ in Korean, the phone is targeted at the “new generation” in the market, who has a keen interest in customizing and personalizing their phones to their own tastes. Further, the phone is a follow-up of the Corby and Yu-Na’s Haptic phone, that had a huge success in South Korea, but also on the whole Asian continent.
The Nori comes equipped with a total of eight kinds of character protection film and stickers (adhesive on the front body or back), offering user the possibility to express their personality by selecting any likable UI accordingly.
While this is advertised as a step forward in mobile convergence for Samsung, the phone is rather childish, which is exactly why we don't think it will see localization outside Asia. Most likely the phone will have some success on the Japanese market too, in case Samsung decides to launch it there also, but I'm pretty sure the device would be an epic fail in Europe.
Samsung Nori (SHW-A220S) will be available in Beige, Pink and Blue colors starting this month only in South Korea. The touchscreen phone is probably an exclusive launch for Asiatic continent.
