14 DAY TRIAL // Regional carrier SaskTel has just listed the Galaxy 550 Android-based smartphone on its 'Coming Soon' webpage, thus confirming that the device will soon hit shelves.
Although no release date has been specified yet, it is likely that Samsung Galaxy 550 will be launched in the next few days.
SaskTel has also price tagged the phone, which will be available for as low as $29.99 with a new three-year contract.
Potential customers who wish to avoid being tied by a long-term contract can choose to pay $249.99 upfront for the device.
The carrier offers additional price options for the Galaxy 550, such as $99.99 with a new two-year contract or $199.99 with a new one-year contract.
However, customers should be aware that of the fact that a $25.00 one-time activation fee applies to all-new cellular activations and appears on their first SaskTel bill.
The Samsung Galaxy 550 is a sleek, compact and pocket-friendly smartphone with lots of great features inside.
Even though the carrier is expected to launch Samsung's Android flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S II, the mid-budget Galaxy 550 is still an interesting choice for Android fans looking for a medium priced handset.
Samsung Galaxy 550 was announced one year ago and hit shelves in August 2010. The phone only made its debut in Canada in November, though it was delayed twice for unknown reasons.
Currently, Canadian customers can obtain the Galaxy 550 for free via Virgin Mobile, which had a limited time exclusivity over the smartphone at launch.
Specs-wise, the Galaxy 550 is equipped with a low-performance 600MHz processor and runs Google's Android 2.1 (Eclair) platform.
The phone comes with a 2.8-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with 16 million colors and 240 x 320 pixels resolution.
It also sports a mediocre 2.0-megapixel camera, 90 MB of internal memory and microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 16GB, 1GB memory card included).
The connectivity options are among the strongest points of the phone, as the Galaxy 550 features support for HSDPA (7.2 Mbps), WiFi 802.11 b/g and DLNA, GPS with A-GPS support, as well as Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP.
The smartphone comes bundled with Samsung's proprietary TouchWiz 3.0 UI, as well as Layar Reality Browser, Social Hub, Allshare and Swype.