Posts Tagged ‘Samsung’
AT&T and worsening bandwidth crisis
Last week at the CTIA, AT&T acknowledged that it is having issues with the bandwidth and how the some users were utilizing lot of data bandwidth and how it was impacting the service. Clearly, AT&T has its hands full satisfying demand for data bandwidth with its existing user base which according to research has increased 5000 times over the last 3 years. Inspite of this, hardware manufacturers continue to launch new products on the AT&T network. We know that Dell is planning to launch its new Android-based mobile phone on the AT&T network. Today, Nokia announced that it will launch its new netbook, the Booklet 3G on the AT&T network for $299.99. Not to mention, RIM launching its new white Blackberry Bold, LG & Samsung continuing to provide additional new products. Given all this, I have just one question: What are they thinking?
From a business sense, it is logical to go where your consumers are. Granted, AT&T has one of the largest customer base in US and have been very successful with iPhone. But, given the bandwidth crunch AT&T is facing, if I am one of the executives making this decision, I would really not want to launch on this network, especially if it is a new product. Ultimately, no matter how good a device, customers buy the complete package: mobile device and the service. And if the customer is not going to have a quality experience on my device because of issues at the service provider, guess what they are going to say: the device is no good, since it keeps dropping the connection. I know this is not the device fault because I am enough of a geek to know what is causing this. Even an average consumer may have heard or know that connection loss may not be the fault of the device. But, if it occurs repeatedly, most consumers will give up on the device, much like I have the iPhone which I use only as a secondary phone. For my business, my primary phone is still a Blackberry 8830 on the Verizon network.
Already, living in Silicon Valley, I am reminded daily of the AT&T bandwidth issue on my iPhone. Sure, AT&T is working on fixing this issue and I know that because I got a mailer from them stating that they have improved the coverage in my area. Guess what, inspite of that, my iPhone keeps dropping the calls atleast 3-5 times a day. I am truly dreading what will the impact be on the AT&T network once the new devices are in consumer hands.
Samsung’s 12Mpxl Pixon reviewed
The Register over in UK, today reviewed the Samsung Pixon GT8910, the world’s first 12Mpxl camera-phone. First off, with 12Mpxl camera, Xenon Flash, 720X480 pixel video capture, 5X zoom, on-phone Photo editing and sharing capabilities, it is more camera than a phone. None the lesss, it does have its phone and other features like:
- 7.2 HSPDA and WiFi support
- GPS
- 150MB on-board memory with 16GB micro-SDHC card support
- DiVX playback
- MS Office applications
- Samsung’s TouchWiz UI
Certainly a lot of cool features in a small package. The Register thinks it is better to go for a stand-alone camera with same resolution and features rather than this phone. If that is the general sentiment for this phone, have we then hit the proverbial class ceiling where any more resolution is simply not worth it in a camera phone?
Samsung Tocco Lite announced in UK
Samsung today announced the launch of Tocco Lite, aka S5230. This mid-range touchscreen phone comes with some nifty widgets for Facebook, Youtube and MySpace, though without the 3G connectivity. Here are the rest of the features for the phone:
The phone is expected to launch in May in UK, no US or other availability have been announced yet.
[Via Engadget Mobile]
Samsung may launch Omnia Pro in July
According to rumors flying around, Samsung is preparing a new phone to add to its Omnia family, called the Omnia Pro. This new phone will have a full QWERTY slider behind the touchscreen Omnia. It will also include a 5Mpxl camera with autofocus, flash, image stabilizer and video recording and will operate on Windows Mobile 6.1 upgradable to 6.5. The phone is expected to retail for €500 ($662) and expected to launch in July.
Samsung to launch the Android powered I7500 in June
Samsung today announced that it will launch its first Android powered phone, the i7500 in Europe beginning in June 2009 for €300 ($398). This phone will have a 3.2 inches, 320 x 480 pixel AMOLED touchscreen and will operate on tri-band GSM with HSDPA support. Additional specs include:
- HSDPA 7.2Mbps / HSUPA 5.76Mbps (900 / 1700/ 2100MHz) EDGE / GPRS (850/ 900/1800/1900)
- 3.2″ HVGA(320×480) AMOLED
- 5 MP Camera (Auto Focus), Power LED
- Video: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV, Audio: MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+, WMA, RA
- Full Web Browser Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Android Market Connectivity
- Bluetooth® 2.0, USB 2.0, WiFi, MicroUSB, 3.5mm ear jack
- Internal memory: 8GB External memory: Micro SD (Up to 32GB)
- Size 115 x 56 x 11.9mm
While the US launch has not been announced, the 1700 GHz support could make it possible for a future T-Mobile USA launch.
[Via Engadget Mobile, Unwired View]
Samsung Omnia HD gets video review
The follow-up to Samsung’s hugely popular Omnia, the Omnia HD was announced at the MWC in Barcelona a few weeks ago. Since then reviews of this highly anticipated and exciting device have been flying of the wall. Here is one video review from Megawhat.tv
[Via Phone Reviews]
MWC Day 2 Recap: Android, Android Everywhere!
It was day 2 (almost on its way to day 3) of the MWC in Barcelona and it was Android’s day to shine. Several carriers and smartphone makers announced today that they will be launching devices powered by Google’s Android OS. First up, Vodafone announced that it will launch HTC’s Magic, the keyboard-less G1. Following up on Vodafone’s announcement with 1-2-3 punches, Heuwei launched its sleek-looking Android device; Acer is working on 2 Android based devices while Samsung does one better by launching 3 Android devices and potentially a Linux Mobile phone too.
In other news, Nokia announced that it will bundle Skype software on all its N-series phones starting with the N97. Also, a group of 17 phone manufacturers and carriers, under the auspices of GSM, adopted the universal charger standard. Phone manufacturers including LG, Samsung, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and operators like AT&T, Orange, Vodafone, T-Mobile and Telefonica agreed to use the microUSB socket as the standard power sockets on all their phones by 2012. Key holdouts include Apple, RIM and Palm, though RIM already uses MiniUSB on its Blackberry devices.
Mobile World Congress Day 1 recap: Nokia Ovi Store, LG GD900, Arena, Windows Mobile 6.5, Samsung OmniaHD
Here is a recap of the top news story on this the first day of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona:
Nokia announced 4 new phones and the Ovi App store which will be available in March for publishers to upload content and on the N97 when it comes out in June. There are two new E-series devices: Nokia E75 and Nokia E55 with revamped email interface. The Navigator series got two more devices too: Nokia 6710 Navigator, and the Nokia 6720 classic. As the name suggest the 6710 Navigator is GPS centric device while the 6720 classic has advanced noice cancellation and form factor designed to fit around the face. Nokia, in an unusual move, announced its N86 phone far from the action in Singapore. This 8Mpxl camera phone is an update to the to-be-launched N97 with similar form factor and dual-sliders.
LG and Microsoft announced a partnership wherein LG will launch 50 new Windows Mobile based phones by 2012. I am sure a lot of these phones will see the S-Class treatment which we saw in LG Arena (also announced today with March availability in Europe). LG also announced the GD900 which has a transparent keypad slider with a very thin, 13.4″ thick casing, and have 7.2 Mbps HSDPA.
Speaking of Microsoft, it also announced the availability of Windows Mobile 6.5 with its honeycomb home screen; MyPhone, its cloud-based backup solution; Recite, the voice memo organization tool; and its own marketplace called Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which will be available on all phones running WinMo 6.5 and above.
Finally, Samsung had the best news of all: the new OmniaHD (review here), its Symbian S60 OS-based,12.7mm thin beauty with a huge 3.7″ glass AMOLED touchscreen display, an 8 Mpxl camera that shoots 720p video, HD video out, video calling, Wi-Fi, GPS and 8 to 16GB internal storage plus microSDHC support with aluminum body. It also announced the BeatDJ (see video review) with Bang & Olufson audio, 3 megapixel camera, DivX support, a 2.8″ AMOLED touchscreen and DJ features which allows the user to record tracks, scratch and add effects.
[Via Boy Genius Report, Engadget Mobile, Mobile Review, UnwiredView]
Samsung and LG both announce solar powered phones
Both Samsung and LG have announced plans to launch solar powered phones this year. Both phones have solar panels on the battery cover of the phones. However, that is where the similarities end. Samsung’s phone is beautiful looking phone with rounded edges and 3 inches touchscreen. The phone, called Blue Earth, is made out of recycled material and avoids harmful materials. It comes with its own customized UI that promotes eco-friendliness.
LG’s solar powered phone is smaller and square compared to Samsung’s. However, it too is eco-friendly with recycled packaging, and user manuals printed with soy ink on recycled paper.
Both phones will be unveiled in Barcelona later this week at the Mobile World Congress.
[Via UnwiredView]
Samsung launches UltraTouch S8300
Samsung today announced a new slider, the UltraTOUCH S8300. As the name suggests, the phone has a touchscreen and because it is a slider, it also has numerical keypad. The phone runs Symbian S60 OS with Samsung’s customized UI which got updated for launch at Mobile World Congress next week in Barcelona. Here are the specs for this phone:
- 3G (HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE/GPRS)
- 2.8” WQVGA AMOLED screen touch screen
- 8Mpix camera module with LED flash with AF, face detection, smile detection and GeoTagging, with support for DviX, XviD, H.263, H.264, WMV9 and MPEG4 video plus 30fps VGA video recording mode
- FM radio with RDS
- Audio player compatible with MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA files
- Bluetooth A2DP
- A-GPS module
- 80MB of internal memory with upgrade of microSDHC slots up to 16GB
The phone will be unveiled at the MWC at which time the pricing and launch details will become clear.
[Via AkihabaraNews]
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