Samsung launched four new touch phones that run on different operating systems to cater to more users.
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| Samsung Galaxy Icon: Android |
“We are committed to continuing to strengthen our portfolio of full-touch phones by introducing a variety of handsets in Australia to suit every lifestyle. These four new products will bring the exciting experience of touch to mobile phone users and will further enhance Samsung’s leadership in the full-touch market,” said McGee.
Each of the four new touch phones uses a different operating system – Samsung’s propriety operating system, Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Android, providing consumers with choice.
McGee explains, “Samsung is among the earliest members of the Open Handset Alliance. Our strategy, to support every existing operating system, provides Samsung customers with a choice that goes beyond design to unrivalled feature performance. We are excited about the prospects and potential this will bring to making us the number one mobile phone brand by 2010.”
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| Samsung Preston Icon |
Samsung Preston Icon
The Samsung Preston runs on Samsung’s proprietary OS and comes with the TouchWiz User Interface, allowing users to personalise their Home Screen with widgets. Perhaps the most notable feature for the Preston is its ‘Smart Unlock’ feature that allows you to execute any program while the phone is locked.
During our hands-on demonstration this morning, we were able to launch the messaging menu by just writing the letter ‘M’ on the screen while it was locked. There were a couple of more shortcuts available, but users can definitely customise the Smart Unlock (any letter from A-Z assigned to a particular program) feature via the Settings. This phone is HSDPA-enabled, comes with a 3-megapixel camera, FM Radio, Bluetooth, and comes with an internal memory of 80MB.
Samsung Galaxy Icon
Samsung will also be launching its first Google Android Phone in the next couple of months. The Samsung Galaxy Icon (launched as the Samsung i7500 internationally) will come with the latest Android OS (Cupcake) and features a 3.2-inch AMOLED full touch screen for the brightest colours possible and the HSDPA and Wi-Fi allows you to stay connected easily.
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The second generation Omnia (now called Omnia Icon) runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, with the company promising that it will be fully-upgradable to the new version (6.5) when Microsoft launches it late this year. The Omnia Icon sports a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen that produces richer and clearer colours, higher contrast, and claims to be more energy efficient.
It also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in, as well as a 5-megapixel camera for taking photos on the go. Since the company is touting the new Omnia as a ‘business and entertainment device,’ they have included Mobile Office, Audio and Video support, GPS, and even a 3.5mm jack for you to hook up your favourite headphones onto the phone.
The Omnia will be available in 8 or 16GB and comes with a microSDHC slot for quick memory expansion.
Samsung HD Icon
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The HD Icon (also known as the Omnia HD) is the first phone from Samsung that runs on Symbian. It sports a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen, is DLNA-enabled for easy video and picture sharing and comes with GPS, Accelerometer, and Compass. This HSDPA-enabled handset has an 8-megapixel camera that can take 720p videos, plays audio (MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, and RA) and video (DivX, Xvid, H.263, H.264, WMV, MPEG4, RV) files, and comes with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
