14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile) and T-Mobile USA officially unveiled the Samsung Memoir touch-screen phone, which the two have announced together with photographer and model Helena Christensen, who gained a first hands-on experience with the Memoir. The new mobile phone comes with an 8-megapixel camera that delivers impressive functionality, and is slated for launch on February 25, 2009, exclusively at T-Mobile USA.
Helena Christensen used the Samsung Memoir as her official phone and camera for taking photographs during her travels around New York and Barcelona. “As a photographer it was great for me to be the first to try the Memoir and to really experience everything it is capable of doing,” said Christensen. “It’s very important that my mobile phone also double up as a great camera, that way I always have my camera on hand to capture images at any moment. That’s what a big part of photography is about.”
The new Samsung Memoir is able to leverage the digital imaging experience through its built-in 8-megapixel camera with Xenon flash, CMOS auto focus and 16x digital zoom. Users are able to adjust the brightness and flash from the camera's menu, as well as to change the default destination of images, or select a timer and zoom in or out.
Memoir also allows users to record video for up to 60 minutes or create customized slideshows of their images with music and various transition effects. The handset comes with a TV-out feature, allowing users to share custom slideshows, video or images on a television. The phone also comes with a proximity sensor, meant to adjust the backlight when the phone’s camera is used in different environments, while the screen is locked when it is brought near the ear to make or take a call.
The Samsung Memoir will come with the company's TouchWiz user interface, while also sporting new widgets that will offer users one-touch access to information and entertainment. They will also be able to share their photos online via flickr, Kodak Gallery, Photobucket and Snapfish. The device also sports a full HTML web browser which, coupled with T-Mobile’s 3G network, will allow users to download images or videos, while also being able to make instant updates to social networking sites. Other features of Memoir include multiple messaging capabilities, full touch virtual QWERTY keypad with haptic feedback and A-GPS.
The new Samsung Memoir will be showcased at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.