The newest soldier in the ever-growing ‘droid army features a 800MHz processor (just like its Moment sibling) and is the first Android smartphone to include native DivX support (so you won’t have to convert your downloaded collection of BSG to watch on the go!). Along with the improved codec support, the Galaxy Spica (GS) also touts other improved multimedia-centric features like the inclusion of DNSe 2.0 for “better sound quality” and 3.5 mm jack for use with your favorite headphones.

All that media jazz aside, the 13.2mm thick Galaxy Spica includes 3.2″ 320 x 480 touch screen display, 3MP camera with autofocus, microSD slot (up to 32GB), 1500mAh battery, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Wi-Fi, GPS, and quad-band GSM/EDGE with support for the 900/2100MHz bands. Disappointingly, Sammy’s new ‘droid is shipping with the now antiquated Android v1.5 (not even 1.6, what gives?!). No matter, the Galaxy Spica is available now in select Asian and European markets as of today (with no mention of any future US launch).

[via InformationWeek]

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

As Sesame Street is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary now seems like as good a time as any for us to practice our counting…of mobile operating systems/platforms. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Darn, my hand ran out of fingers! Well, no matter, Samsung thinks there is plenty of room for more and has taken the wraps off its own, new open mobile platform, bada.

Yup, another mobile OS is hitting the streets come December, and its name is bada (which means ‘ocean’ in Korean). In case you were wondering, the name was:

chosen to convey the limitless variety of potential applications which can be created using the new platform. It also alludes to Samsung’s commitment to a variety of open platforms in the mobile industry.

But enough about its meaning…what is it? Well, according to the official announcement, bada will offer developers an easier way to create applications for “millions of new Samsung” phones while providing consumers with “a fun and diverse mobile experience.” Samsung says the new platform will be simple for developers to use, “particularly in the area of applications using Web services,” and will allow said developers to include more sophisticated and attractive UI” designs for their apps.

The platform is also being touted as carrier-friendly, by providing for “an easy-to-integrate platform…so that mobile operators can provide unique and differentiated services to their customers.” According to Dr Hosoo Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Media Solution Center at Samsung Electronics, “bada will be Samsung’s landmark, iconic new platform that brings an unprecedented opportunity for operators, developers and Samsung mobile phone users around the world.”

The official website went live earlier today. Samsung will also be hosting an official launch event in London sometime next month where it will also take the wraps off its bada SDK.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

You’re looking at the latest fashion phone that’s sure to find its way into celebrities’ gift bags at the end of fancy yacht parties. It’s the product of a collaboration between Armani, Samsung and Microsoft. That’s right: a €700 phone that runs WinMo 6.5. Oh, dear.

The phone, I think, doesn’t look bad at all. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, so to speak—QWERTY slider with touchscreen for good measure—nor does it really have it. It’s not like this phone is aimed at you or I or anything.

The specs: 3.5-inch AMOLED screen, built-in GPD, 8GB storage, 5-megapixel camera. Again, nothing crazy, and you could rattle off a dozen other phones to bring more or less the same specs to the table without having to fork over that kind of money.

Armani himself, at the phone’s unveiling in Milan, called the phone “perfect for today’s managers.”

It’s something Ari in Entourage would use.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

And Windows Mobile 6.5 Day keeps on rollin’! Further proving that the mobile phone industry is complete out of names to use, Sprint and Samsung have just announced a device they’ve decided to dub the “Intrepid”.

While we wouldn’t have guessed it at first glance, that 2.5″ screen is actually a touchscreen. They’ve got a full QWERTY keyboard down below that, with a 3.2 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and microSD slot tucked inside.

As a test, we asked four people what they thought “Intrepid” mean, without allowing them to look it up. One said “Clever”. Two others thought it meant “gross”, or “evil”. One person got it right, with “fearless”. 1/4 people having any clue what the hell you’re going for with the name of your product isn’t too bad, right? Anyone?

Look for the device to hit the shelves this Sunday for $150 bucks after mail-in rebate.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

And here I thought the megapixel race was over! Guess not, what with Samsung showing off, for the very first time, the SCH-W880, the world’s first cellphone with a 12-megapixel camera. Because how many times have you said to yourself, “Man, I want to take a photo of this unusual drink, but only have the iPhone’s rubbish camera”?

The odd thing is that the phone really does look like the typical digital camera on one side, and a standard issue touchscreen phone on the other side. Perhaps the word “odd” didn’t quite capture what I meant to convey, but it’s far too late now to make any corrections.

As for the specs: 3.3-inch AMOLED (!) display with an 800×480 resolution; 4GB of built-in storage; T-DMB (in the Korean version, at least—expect the international version to ship with Wi-Fi and GPS); and, of course, the built-in 12-megapixel camera, with 3x optical zoom and the ability to record 720p video. That’s a damn beefy phone.

Considering Samsung just announced this phone, don’t expect to see it in your neck of the woods anytime soon. Sorry.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Sprint may not be the number one mobile carrier, but it sure does seem to be picking up the slack in the handset department recently. The Now Network is expected to get yet another new mobile in the form of the Samsung Instinct HD.

Looks like the rumor we noted back in August about a September launch window was correct. According to a “trusted” PhoneDog source, the Samsung Instinct HD should be arriving on Sprint’s shelves on September 27 and is expected to retail for something between $99 and $149.

Here’s the rest of the “leaked” info:

Short Description of Product:

The Samsung Instinct HD is the premium follow up to the award-winning, record-selling Samsung Instinct. The Samsung Instinct HD is designed for people who want a stylish and cutting edge touchscreen phone with enhanced multimedia features, accelerometer and a 5MP camera with Hi-Res viewing and TV out capability.

Full Description of Product:

The Samsung Instinct® HD is the fastest, most advanced model designed in the Instinct portfolio of Samsung touchscreen phones. The Instinct HD includes an accelerometer that syncs to the user’s movements to create an intuitive experience that engages the senses in an extraordinary way. The Instinct HD is equipped with a 5.0 megapixel camera to deliver razor-sharp clarity for pictures and video. The Instinct HD also possesses WiFi capabilities for fast Web and content access, no matter where the device is being used. With incredible multimedia and browsing performance, the new Instinct HD lets users watch movies, play games, surf the net, check out social networking sites, upload and download content, record and play videos in Hi-Res, and much more — even faster than before. The large 3.2″ HGVA display with accelerometer and improved web browser gives you a great PC-like experience so your favorite sites look and load just like they would at home. It also has WiFi and comes with a 5MP camera with TV out capability, so you enjoy viewing your photos and videos right on your home TV. This fully loaded, premium touch screen takes you to the cutting edge of technology.

Please describe what differentiates your product/service from competing products/services:

* Full Touchscreen with Accelerometer
* Record & Play Videos in Hi-Res
* PC-like Web experience
* WiFi Capable with 3.2″ sharp and clear display
* 5.0MP Camera & Camcorder with TV out

When was product launched? If not currently on the market, when is product launch date?:

9/26/2009

Is the product currently on the market?

No

If no, when will it be available?

9/27/2009

Where can the product be purchased?

Sprint retail stores, Sprint.com, select wireless

What is the product’s price range?

$99-$149

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Lo and behold, a representative from Samsung Netherlands replied with surprisingly good news:

In your email you ask the question if windows mobile 6.5 will be released for the Omnia. We can confirm that this is coming, however the exact release date isn’t known yet, we therefore advice you to keep an eye on www.samsungmobile.com.

As positive as this sounds, its definitely far from certain. Omnia i900 owners probably shouldn’t hold their collective breathes, especially outside of the NL. But you never know; hopefully Samsung takes the high road here.

via Samsung Hub

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Take a look over at that phone to the right. Can you name it? Yes, yes – it’s obviously a Samsung. But can you name the model? We haven’t covered this phone much here at MobileCrunch; no mobile blog outside of the Samsung-specific blogs have, really. But that hasn’t kept it from being a raging success.

Samsung announced this morning that this phone – which, by the way, is the Samsung Star, otherwise known as the Tocco Lite or S5230 – has surpassed the 5 million units sold mark. Considering that this handsets only been on the shelves for a few weeks shy of 4 months (having launched in mid-May), thats one hell of an accomplishment.

Of course, it helps that the handset is dirt cheap; in the markets where it is available (mostly within the UK), the Tocco Lite goes for around $140 without a contract. With a contract, it doesn’t cost a thing. Samsung expects 10 million of these things to be in pockets by Novemember; with that price and the rate at which it’s selling, this thing is essentially the Motorola RAZR of 2009.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Damn it, Samsung. Really? You’re carrying on with this “Messager” non-sense? Yeah, yeah, it’s a perfectly valid (if obsolete) synonym for “Messenger”, but so is “crier”. You probably wouldn’t call a phone the Samsung Crier, would you?

Oh well; names aside, MetroPCS’ new Messsenger .. Massager .. Messager’s toting a slide out QWERTY keyboard, EV-DO, and a 2 mp camera. The phone will set you back $149 – but considering it’s on MetroPCS and is thus contract-free, that’s not too bad at all.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

While we’re not exactly impressed with the overall look of Samsung’s upcoming budget-friendly touchscreen, the S3650 Corby, that doesn’t keep us from getting excited when it gets caught behind a camera lens. The design of the battery cover is ever-so-slightly different than the one we saw before, implying that this may be a prototype.

Final hardware or not, it brings a friend; the same photographer also happened to have an unannounced BEAT series phone on hand, which is reportedly known as the Samsung M2520. Carrying just a 1.3mp camera, basic Bluetooth functionality, and a loudspeaker and MP3 controls as its notable features, it’s likely that this phone will join the Corby in Samsung’s budget model lineup.

[Via SamsungHub]

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

What’s black, yellow, red, and just a wee bit ugly all over? If you guessed the Samsung S3650 Corby, good job! We also would have accepted “Clint Howard wearing a bumblebee suit and a red fedora.”

The Corby, pictured here, rides that fine line between “Budget featurephone” and “Phone you’ll still like 6 months from now” quite well. Its got quad-band GSM, a 2.8″ QVGA touchscreen, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, a 2MP camera, and FM radio. Alas, it’s all packed behind Samsung’s proprietary OS running TouchWiz to the core, so what you see up front is pretty much what you get – at least until Samsung launches TouchWiz widget downloads, that is. Rumors pin this thing at around $200 sans contract, though no price has been officially confirmed.

[AreaMobile via SamsungHub]

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Well, that’s a nice change of pace. We generally have to turn to UK handset retailers to spill the beans on new phones ahead of schedule; this time around, it’s Best Buy with the loose lips.

Early this morning, a listing for the thus-far-unannounced Samsung Instinct HD appeared on Best Buy’s online outlet. They weren’t nice enough to mention the price, but they do shed some light on the specs; it’s got a 5 MP camera for getting pictures and video onto your phone, and HD Video out for getting said pictures and video onto your TV. Throw in WiFi and Visual Voicemail, and you’ve got a pretty high-end feature phone – but we’re still waiting for its big, bad, Droid-based brother.

[Via EngadgetMobile]

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

All of the signs (that is, all of the leaks) told us to expect the T-Mobile Gravity 2 to launch on August 19th. We’re just a few hours into August 19th, and sure enough: we just got word that the Gravity 2 is now available.

Coming in at $29.99 (after a $50 mail in rebate and a 2 year contract) and being pitched as an “affordable messaging phone”, don’t expect much more beyond the basics. On the upside, it does come in “berry mauve” and “metallic pumpkin”, the latter of which would make a totally bitchin’ band name.

Check out the full release after the jump.

Samsung Gravity 2 Features & Specs:

· Full slide-out QWERTY keyboard
· Available in two colors options: metallic pumpkin and berry mauve

· 2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and video capture

· Stereo Bluetooth

· microSD slot for up to 16 GB of optional removable memory

· Music player supports MP3, AAC and AAC+

· Support for SMS, MMS, video messaging, instant messaging (IM) and e-mail

o IM support: AIM, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger

o E-mail support: AOL, Yahoo!, additional POP3 accounts

· Complete Web access through T-Mobile web2go

· A-GPS with TeleNav

· Quad-band GSM world phone (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

· UMTS/HSDPA-capable (1700/2100 – AWS Band IV)

· Display: 1.37 x 1.81 inches, 240 x 320 pixels, 262k TFT display

· 4.49 x 2.05 x 0.59 inches; 4.4 ounces

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

If the “S” in “iPhone 3G S” stands for speed, we’re going to wager that the “Q” in “Instinct Q” stands for QWERTY. And if it doesn’t? We don’t really care, because BAM! QWERTY KEYBOARD!

After the release of the touch-only myTouch and Hero, we were starting to wonder when we’d see another Android handset with a QWERTY keyboard beyond the G1 – and here it is in all of its glory by way of Phandroid. The Sprint logos adorning the face should come as no surprise; it is an Instinct, after all.

We can’t wait to use that keyboard. Helio Ocean-esque keys complete with a full number row? Yes, please.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

We’ll probably have some more details on this later today, but we’re able to spill some of it now seeing as much of it just went live on Samsung’s own site

If you haven’t been keeping up with all the latest in Samsung news, here’s what you need to know: Samsung’s got a widget interface called TouchWiz, which they’ve been rolling out across their touchscreen phones since around June of last year. You’ve got a drawer containing some widgets, and four flickable pages to toss these widgets onto. So far, they’ve got TouchWiz up and running on Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Samsung’s own proprietary OS. TouchWiz looks and behaves more or less identically on all of these platforms, providing some degree of uniform user experience across vastly different interfaces.

We haven’t been huge fans of TouchWiz thus far, largely because of its lack of expandability. Each TouchWiz-enabled device came with 10-15 widgets, and that was that. If you wanted to download more, you were out of luck. If you wanted to make your own, that was just too bad. That’s all about to change.

Later today, Samsung will be launching a TouchWiz section of their Mobile Innovator portal. With this, Samsung is officially opening up development of TouchWiz widgets to third party developers. Currently limited to the likes of world clocks and picture frames, TouchWiz may soon be jam-packed with Twitter widgets and fart buttons.

Not unlike applications on the Palm Pre, TouchWiz widgets are built with standard web technologies; it’s all HTML, CSS, and Javascript. While this means developers will be somewhat limited in what they’re able to do, such limitations are a bit less significant in the widget space than they are when creating full-fledged applications. Not many would expect hardware-intensive graphic rendering out of a widget, for example. On the upside, this means that porting widgets from TouchWiz on WinMo to TouchWiz on Symbian is a matter of testing and tweaking the CSS as necessary. No major rewrites from one language to another would be required.

Samsung’s Innovator portal will provide developers with an Eclipse-based development environment for widget creation. Additionally, Samsung is providing developers with a free virtual device laboratory, allowing them to remotely test widgets on virtual handsets. That way, you don’t need to own 20 different Samsung handsets to launch your widget on 20 different Samsung handsets. If you get stuck along the way or feel like sharing some tips & tricks with other devs, they’ve also provided a discussion board.

Details on how widgets will be made available to users are still a bit sparse, but Samsung has told us that developers will be able to offer their widgets “with or without charge”. Widgets will have to be certified before they’re made publicly available, though we’re not sure to what extent Samsung will be regulating.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Earlier today, AT&T announced the touch-screen Solstice from Samsung. Equipped with a 3-inch touch-screen, an accelerometer, Bluetooth, a 2-megapixel camera and little else, the Solstice is an entry-level touch-screen device. But, the one really cool thing about the Solstice is that it comes with TouchWiz 2.0. The second gen UI from Samsung features live widgets, which makes it infinitely better than previous TouchWiz devices. Grab one for th tween or yourself on August 2 for $100.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

The Hummingbird itself is based on ARM’s Cortex A8 processor, but what sets it self apart from other A8 processors are modifcations Samsung and Intrinsity’s crew have made to the Cortex arcitecture that allow it to run at such a high clock speed even at low voltage. According to Samsung, the Hummingbird also sports “32KB each of data and instruction caches, an L2 cache, the size of which can be customized, and an ARM® NEON™ multi-media extension.”

The real name of the Hummingbird’s game though, is low power consumption. Sure, we all know that raw processing power helps deliver a truly smooth experience with our phones, but the toll it takes on battery life is enough to make some people want to plow their fist through a window (and by some people, I mean myself). Despite what running a processor at that speed would do a phone’s battery, Sammy and Intrinsity don’t think they’ll be having too much trouble keeping the device running. According to Intrinsity CEO Bob Russo,

“Not only is it the fastest available Cortex-A8 processor in an LP technology on the market, but we believe it has the lowest leakage and dynamic power consumption of any high-end mobile processor core out there”

The Hummingbird seems poised to take on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon for the title of King of the Mobile Powerhouses, and with its focus on long battery life, it just may have an edge. Samsung has already started developing products that use the new processor, so hopefully, all our burning questions will soon be answered.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Perhaps it’s the die-hard QWERTY keyboard purist in me, but I don’t see how these tiny touchscreen phones are viable options these days. Look at the size of the screen on the Samsung Highlight compared to that of the iPhone and G1. (I am not comparing this device to the iPhone or G1 in any way, shape or form other than the size of the screen.) It’s so freaking tiny. Regardless, we welcome the Highlight to the T-Mobile lineup today.

The 3G device packs a 3-megapixel camera (3x digital zoom, video), stereo Bluetooth, aGPS and a plethora of widgets in a teeny, tiny package with a 1.61- x 2.64-inch capacitive touchscreen. (Sidenote: I’ve been hammering Samsung for years about these wimpy resistive touchscreens that they seem to be in love with. They suck. Just sayin’.)

To be quite honest, the hardware – aside from the touchscreen – is really stunning. Samsung is really getting into funky textures and colors on their devices these days. The Highlight feels “good in the hand”, is relatively thin (slightly thicker than the iPhone) and fits into pant pockets easily. It’s a good-looking device.

Sporting Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, the Highlight offers a handful of live widgets, like weather and Facebook that update automatically on the home screen. Having seen TouchWiz 2.0, I wish the Highlight had that instead of 1.0. But this is an entry-level touchscreen devices aimed at tweens and the masses, so whatever.

As far as Samsung camera phones go, the Highlight isn’t anything special, but I do like the voice notes that can be recorded (up to one minute) and attached to images.

What else can I tell you about this device? Thanks to TeleNav you’ll never get lost! And that’s about it. Due out this month for $150 in “fire” and “ice”.

One more thing: I hate the fact that both the SIM card and microSD card slot are located underneath the battery, Samsung. BOO!

T-Mobile

[PSGallery=2sdbses2108]

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Man, these leakers are cutting it close. The T559 Comeback is purportedly launching tomorrow, but it took up until yesterday for the information to really start pouring out – not that we’re complaining. Yesterday morning gave us product shots, but now we’ve got some specs to roll with.

PhoneArena managed to dig up the goods in a document that details the phone in a way only a phone geek could enjoy.

Here’s what we’re looking at:

• 2.0 megapixel camera (with video, though no autofocus)
• AIM, Yahoo, and Gmail email support
• microSD slot expandable up to 16gb
• 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS
• 4.33″x2.20″x0.73
• 4.6 ounces
• Proprietary OS (Booooo!)

As we mentioned yesterday, we wouldn’t expect this thing to set you back very much when it launches on T-Mobile, which ought to be sometime real soon. Anybody else think that keyboard looks incredibly uncomfortable to use? Just looking at that big ol’ beast of a D-pad on the right side makes our thumb sore.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

When it comes to “luxury” brand handsets, the original Samsung Armani is one of the less ridiculous choices you could make. It is, in every sense, the exact opposite of the Dior phone. It has actual features that people might want, isn’t mindblowingly ugly, and doesn’t cost 5-friggin’-thousand dollars. We’re not sure how well the original Armani sold, but it seems to have done well enough to warrant a sequel.

Yesterday night, SamsungHub noticed 800mhz handset labeled GT-B7620 hit the BluetoothSIG Product Directory – interesting, but no mention of ol’ Giorgio. By the time it wound up on BluetoothSIG’s official twitter account, however, the label had been attached:

New Phone product from Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani 2 http://tinyurl.com/lb5u7n #BluetoothEPL

Here’s everything we know so far:

• Windows Mobile 6.1
• 800mhz CPU
• Dedicated Graphics
• SMS, MMS, Email, RSS, IM, WAP 2.0/xHTML
• FM Radio
• A-GPS
• “Work” and “Life” mode
• MP3/WAV/e-AAC+/WMA/AMR audio
• DivX/XviD/MPEG4/3gp/H.263/H.264 video
• According to MobileCowboys, this thing is packing a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

Not too shabby on the spec front, though Windows Mobile 6.1 seems like a strange pick. 6.1 is already on its last leg – by the time this handset launches, we’d imagine that it’ll be on its deathbed with 6.5 now leading the WinMo household.

[Via BGR]

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Poor Samsung. They can never keep any of their secrets. This time, images of the “Highlight” have been leaked to TmoNews. The 3G touch-screen devices looks similar to the Instinct s30 and features a 3.1-megapixel camera and GPS. Look for it to drop on July 15th.

[PSGallery=2lsbxj8w9u]

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Announced on Monday, the Samsung Omnia 2 is making its way onto Verizon very soon and we sat down with it for a little groping session.

The first word that comes to mind when looking at the Omnia 2 is wow. That 800×480 3.7-inch AMOLED screen is bright. It’s still a resistive screen, which I’m not a big fan of, but it’s much, much better than the one you’ll find on the Instinct. The rest of the hardware has also lost that ‘cheap’ feeling and the 5-megapixel AF camera puts it onto the premium smartphone tier.

TouchWiz 2.0 appears to be worthwhile this time around. Unlike v1.0, which was basically just shortcuts, the widgets on 2.0 are now active. Did your friend just send you a message on Facebook? The FB widget will tell you if you did. Want to know what the weather is going to be like today? Check the widget.

It doesn’t have the Webkit-based Dolfin browser like the Jet, but Opera will have to do. *sigh* It will ship with Windows Mobile 6.1, but the Omnia 2 will be upgradeable to 6.5 when it goes live.

It seems as though Samsung has ditched the Croix UI and might be going with the Cube from here on out. The six-sided interface is a tad finicky, but I’m used to a capacitive touch-screen and I didn’t really have enough time to readjust the way I handle resistive touch screens. I took a very short video of the Cube interface that’s not very flattering as its probably better than the video makes it out to be. I didn’t really get a full rundown of how it worked before I shot the video anyway.

Overall, the Omnia 2’s biggest selling point is the beautiful 3.7-inch AMOLED screen. Sure, it’s still WinMo, but Samsung has done a pretty good job of covering it up. TouchWiz has also seen a huge jump in terms of functionality with 2.0. So long as the widgets at launch are worth using, I’d say TouchWiz 2.0 will be a huge selling point on future Samsung devices.

Oh, the stacked image is of the Omnia B7610 on the bottom and the Omnia Lite in the middle.

[PSGallery=2k4j7eys1n]

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

It’d be superfluous to list all the details they go over, but let’s just say that GSM Arena’s “first look” is more thorough than most reviews. It isn’t a production unit, so there may be changes and probably quite a few fixes, but everything is in place and it looks like a nice system all told.

If I had to switch from Android, I might go with this thing. It seems like it’s got the whole package, but only if you’re interested in getting to know WinMO pretty intimately.

[via WMPoweruser]

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Today at an event in Singapore, Samsung Korea officially launched four new handsets to the market. The flagship of the four phones introduced was the Samsung B7610, a part of Samsung’s Omnia brand of smartphones. The B7610 comes with a 3.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen display (800×480 resolution), a slide-out keyboard, a 5.1-megapixel camera, 1GB of memory, FM tuner, Wi-Fi, TV Out, and GPS, according to Akihabara News. The B7610 will run Windows Mobile and will surely attract crowds of gorgeous Korean chicks to owners everywhere. It was showcased alongside three other equally average smartphones: the 12-megapixel Samsung Pixon 12 M8910, the Samsung Jackie B7320, and the Android powered I7500.

Pic courtesy of Akihabara News.

Also known as the Omnia Pro, the Samsung B7610 Louvre will come with the following specs, courtesy of Soft Sailor:

• 3.5″ WVGA AMOLED resistive touchscreen display with 800 x 480 resolution.
• 5.1MP camera with autofocus and LED flash.
• 3.5mm headset jack.
• Sliding QWERTY keyboard.
• 800MHz processor.
• 1GB of internal memory.
• microSDHC expandable slot for a 32GB card.
• 7.2Mbps HSDPA
• GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and microUSB support.
• TV-Out.
• FM radio.
• H.264/DivX/WMV video support.
• 1500mAh battery.
• Windows Mobile 6.1 (upgradeable to WinMo 6.5 when it becomes available).

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Get ready Verizon subscribers for the Samsung Omnia 2 is coming your way. The Omnia 2 boasts a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen with WVGA resolution, TouchWiz 2.0 (more widgets!) and WinMo 6.5 when available (ships with 6.1). Pricing and availability are unavailable.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies