Latest Samsung Mobile Phone Blog

Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Alltel, EV-DO, CDMA

As we’d previously heard, the Delve will be the first handset officially released in the US to feature Samsung’s widget-based TouchWiz technology, courtesy of Alltel — and while we sorta wish it was the Windows Mobile version, this is about as deluxe as a dumbphone UI gets. The glossy bar of pure, keyboardless touchscreen action will go for $199.99 on contract after a $100 rebate when it’s available on November 6 and features a 3.5mm headphone jack, support for Alltel Navigation, microSD expansion, and a 2-megapixel cam with video capture. It also bundles nuTsie at no charge, giving buyers access to their iTunes playlists — a direct shot at the iPhone from a handset clearly in the same vein. You might even say the Delve “delves” into iTunes. Sorry.

Samsung Delve intros US market to TouchWiz by way of Alltel originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Windows Mobile, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

Along with the change in naming convention comes a change in industrial design, and the C6620 — one of the first smartphones to make use of Samsung’s annoying new one-letter, four-digit scheme — definitely looks a bit different than your average WinMo piece out of Seoul. Italian carrier TIM appears to be the first in the world to offer it, featuring triband GSM along with HSDPA, Bluetooth (we should certainly hope so), and a 2-megapixel camera — not earth-shattering by any stretch, but we’re digging the two-tone thing they’ve got going on here. It’s selling for €199 (about $254), which we think makes this (or something very close to it) a perfect spiritual successor to the original BlackJack, yeah?

[Via Unwired View and mobileblog.it]

Samsung’s C6620 looks fun, means business with WinMo 6.1 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Others, Samsung, Misc

For those who reckoned a company like Bang & Olufsen was safe from any economic turmoil, um, reckon again. As people from all walks of life decide to spend less extravagantly during these curious, curious times, it seems that B&O has been affected quite dramatically. As you well know, said company makes its ends by offering up stupendously pricey gizmos, but starting now, you’ll find it only offering “core products” such as televisions and sound systems. Unfortunately for those with cash to blow, that means you’ll be scouring the secondhand market for B&O cellphones, DVD players and recorders. In addition, the company is planning to axe 300 jobs to save around $27.5 million, but it is looking to open more shops in “growth markets” such as Russia and China.

[Via iDNES]

Read - Product cuts
Read - Job cuts

Bang & Olufsen pulls the plug on cellphone production, some jobs originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 08:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Verizon Wireless, Windows Mobile, EV-DO, CDMA

There’s some ongoing debate as to whether Verizon’s upcoming version of the Samsung Omnia, the predictably-named SCH-i910, would feature WiFi. In general, Verizon’s historically just been about the least WiFi-friendly of the major US carriers, so prevailing logic had us believing (pessimists that we are) that the Omnia would rely on EV-DO alone to go about its high-speed data business, too. Ah, but wait — there’s this little matter of a WiFi Alliance certification proudly proclaiming the i910 as a “Phone, dual-mode (Wi-Fi and cellular),” which would suggest that there’s an extra radio up in there somewhere. Of course, Verizon could go ahead and disable that circuitry in software before they drop it on a store shelf, but with that giant heart of gold of theirs, would they really sink so low as to disable it? (Don’t answer that.)

[Thanks, Ari]

WiFi certification: pretty strong evidence Verizon’s Omnia is WiFi-equipped originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

We’re not sure if these are like intimacy issues, magazine issues, or technical issues, but Verizon has put out a vaguely-worded all points bulletin to its employees saying that the Glyde’s somehow screwed up and should be pulled off shelves immediately. In fact, the situation’s so bad that Big Red won’t even let you have a Glyde back if you send one in for service — they want to give you an enV2 in its place (though it says in the memo that customers throwing a hissyfit over the switcheroo can be provided with something else at the manager’s discretion). There’s no word beyond that on what the hell’s going on, but we’re told to expect more info shortly.

[Thanks, Carter]

Update: One important additional detail here — this information was received in a Verizon customer service call center. It’s not clear when (or if) corporate and third-party stores will receive the same story from the big wigs.

Update 2: We’re still trying to get some official clarification from Verizon, but it seems that Glydes haven’t been pulled. We still believe the screen shots we were provided to be authentic, though — so it’s not clear if Verizon changed its mind, hasn’t yet pulled them, the stoppage was very brief, or this information only applies to certain departments or situations. We’ll continue to update as we get more.

Verizon halts Glyde sales, says it has “an issue” (update: maybe not) originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sun, 26 Oct 2008 10:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, ATT, Windows Mobile, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA

The Samsung Epix, as it’s known on AT&T, recently joined the herd of others cluttering up the carrier’s shelves after being known elsewhere for the longest time as the SGH-i907. For those teetering on a purchase, the cats at Pocketnow have some valuable insight you should probably chew on first. For starters, they found the screen to be stout and the optical joystick to be “fantastic,” though the dearth of in-box amenities was a bit of a letdown. On a very positive note, the reviewer never once had to initiate a soft reboot, and the ginormous 1800mAh battery got him through a solid 1.5 days of heavy usage before calling it quits. Unfortunately, the lackluster software suite was the Achilles’ heel; critics found that Samsung’s Windows Mobile overlays and additions were ho hum at best, and the complete omission of a soft reset hole was just unacceptable. The bottom line? You should probably give this one a handle in-store before buying blind — as lovely as some aspects are, you don’t want to buy into a device that’s frustrating to use.

Samsung Epix SGH-i907 gets reviewed: it’s a mixed bag originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Prezentare video a telefonului mobil Samsung U700 oferita spre vizionare de www.smartbuy.ro, site-ul care iti da siguranta unei decizii intelepte …

Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, GSM, EDGE

Just in case Samsung has yet to create a dual SIM DuoS handset that really struck your fancy, here’s yet another to consider: the S9402. Expected to boast a luxurious outfit (and matching price tag, we imagine), this here candybar will tout a 2-inch QVGA AMOLED display, an all-metal frame, 1GB of internal memory, a microSDHC card slot, Bluetooth 2.0, USB connectivity, FM tuner, a 5-megapixel camera (with video mode) and a complete lack of 3G support. Word has it that it’ll be launched first in Russia, though we suspect surrounding nations won’t have to wait too long to indulge.

Samsung throws two SIM slots in beefy S9402 DuoS originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Samsung, Verizon Wireless, Windows Mobile, GSM, EDGE, EV-DO, CDMA

In case it wasn’t already clear that the wireless industry was heading into a dark, cold winter of ridiculous product names, we present to you Verizon’s latest batch: the Omnia, Saga, and Renown from Samsung, and the Touch Pro from HTC. Granted, the Touch Pro isn’t ridiculous, and the Omnia we’re sorta used to at this point, but as for these other two, we’re not so sure. As we’ve mentioned, the Saga appears to be the go-to-market name for the rumored i770, and phoneArena now sports a nice, clear picture of exactly what the blue QWERTY WinMo phone with global roaming is going to look like. The u810 Renown will be the other piece in Verizon’s global roaming puzzle, a flip with a 2-megapixel cam that had been previously pegged for a late-September release but has been pushed back for unknown reasons. The CDMA variant of the Omnia — the i910 — just popped onto our radar a couple weeks ago, and we now have official-looking photography of Verizon’s WinMo-equipped jewel with a 5-megapixel camera, and 8GB of internal storage with microSD expansion. Finally, we suspect that throngs of Verizon loyalists are going to be thrilled to see a photo of a Big Red-branded Touch Pro, a phone that had been rumored to be coming to The Network for several months now with very little proof to show for it. All four of these monsters are currently slated for November, and with the holidays just around the corner, we bet Verizon would just love to hold to that plan.

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

We’re not sure if these are like intimacy issues, magazine issues, or technical issues, but Verizon has put out a vaguely-worded all points bulletin to its employees saying that the Glyde’s somehow screwed up and should be pulled off shelves immediately. In fact, the situation’s so bad that Big Red won’t even let you have a Glyde back if you send one in for service — they want to give you an enV2 in its place (though it says in the memo that customers throwing a hissyfit over the switcheroo can be provided with something else at the manager’s discretion). There’s no word beyond that on what the hell’s going on, but we’re told to expect more info shortly.

[Thanks, Carter]

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