Samsung Omnia II

Verizon may not have the iPhone 3GS, but the sequel to Samsung’s popular iPhone pretender, the Omnia, will be coming to Verizon later this year, Samsung announced at an event on Monday in Manhattan. As for the exact timing of the Omnia 2’s lauuch, that’s still up in the air, as Samsung reps said that Verizon had a tight leash on what info-and couldn’t release at this time.

But here’s what I know for the Internet, and it looks pretty good:

• 65K WVGA AMOLED Display (3.7-inch, 480 x 800–largest AMOLED display yet in a phone)
• Advanced R-type Touch Screen
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (upgradeable to WM 6.5)
• 5-megapixel CMOS camera with autofocus and face-detection, plus geotagging and a photo editor
• Video recording at 30fps@720×480, plus video editor (trim video, audio dubbing, live dubbing, add subtitle)
• Audio supported: MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, WMDRM, OMA DRM 2.1, plus FM radio
• Video supported: DivX, XviD, H.263, H.264, WMV9, MPEG4
• A-GPS with Navigation (3D Map)/LBS
• TouchWiz 2.0 UI with Mobile Widget/3D Media Gate
• Multitask manager/3D Interactive Games
• Bluetooth Stereo Headset (A2DP)
• WiFi
• 2GB/8GB/16GB of internal memory (3 different models)
• microSDHC expansion slot (up to 32GB)
• Up to 10 hours (3G) talk time
• Up to 430 hours (3G) standby time
• Dimensions: 4.65 x 2.36 x 0.47 inches (HWD)

A lot of these feactures look very much like the Instinct, but functionally superior. It is looks awesome!

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T-Mobile My-Touch 3G

T-Mobile’s big Android launch will draw mixed emotions. If you’ve been waiting for an Android phone whose outer design is as cool as the user interface, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G is certainly a more polished and appealing looking phone than its predecessor, the T-Mobile G1. However, cool looks don’t necessarily mean improvement, and if the exterior could use some tweaking, the onscreen keyboard needs a real overhaul. Ultimately, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G might let down multimedia fans with its poor media software and lack of necessary hardware, like a headphone jack or camera shutter button. Messaging fans will certainly lament the lack of a hardware keyboard. Though Android is still a smart competitor to other touchscreen operating systems, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G lacks the wealth of apps and advanced capabilities of the Apple iPhone 3GS, and it isn’t quite as intelligent or business savvy as the Palm Pre’s WebOS. Digging through the Google Market will reveal some hidden treasures that go a long way to improve the interface and basic features on the phone, but we wish some of these apps were simply bundled on the device, and a few features, like corporate contacts sync or video playback, still have no first-class options for the Android platform. The T-Mobile myTouch 3G is a stylish sign of things to come, but we’re already waiting for what’s next. Release: August 2009. Price: $200.

Pros: Slick design improves upon the square T-Mobile G1. Great Android OS and interface design. Top-notch Web browser. Loads of messaging options, including Exchange for e-mail.

Cons: Lacks calendar and contacts sync options beyond Google (not even Exchange). Hardware design is prettier, but not more usable than G1. Onscreen keyboard needs improvement.

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Samsung Hightlight SGH T749

The Samsung Highlight is an interesting alternative to the Samsung Behold, and I think it will have more appeal for a younger audience looking for a cool phone without the advanced camera features and chunky design of the former phone. The youngers will like the slim, icy blue shell. The phone isn’t great at any one feature, but it is pretty good at almost all of them, with a friendly, capable music player and a Web browser that was better than most basic feature phones. The key for this phone will be if T-Mobile can offer it for a bargain basement price, which isn’t the case at launch. It needs to be affordable for teens and even tweens when it is $50, who will definitely be the target audience for this cool looking, though underpowered, little tablet phone. Release: July 2009. Price: $150.

Pros: Small, cute and colorful touchscreen phone. Screen and interface were touch friendly and very responsive.

Cons: TouchWiz interface seems cluttered. Phone is a jack of all trades, master of none. Web browser and multimedia features are adequate, but not impressive.

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Samsung Solstice

The Samsung Solstice, like the Samsung Highlight on T-mobile, skips out on some advanced smartphone features like Wi-Fi and a high-megapixel camera and tries to keep things simple. In some ways, this works nicely. The phone did a great job making calls, with some cool address book and in-call interface designs. It’s also the first AT&T phone we’ve tried that can use the new AT&T Social Net app, which let us keep tabs on our Facebook, MySpace and Twitter updates all at once, albeit rather slowly. For the most part we liked the hardware. The screen was colorful and bright, and streaming videos from AT&T’s Cellular Video service looked surprisingly good. We were disappointed that so many features were just plain mediocre, like the Web browser, the 2-megapixel camera and the rest of the messaging apps. Regardless, buyers looking for a simpler, smaller device will find a healthy, though not very exciting, feature phone in the Solstice. Release: July 2009. Price: $100.

Pros: Top-notch call management. Great-looking screen, even with streaming vids. Slim and light design.

Cons: TouchWiz is a clunky interface. Besides Social Net, messaging features are way behind the competition. Lacks good multimedia hardware ports and accessories.

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Samsung Comeback

The Samsung Comeback should be called the Samsung Comeback In 10 Minutes. The phone was sluggish in almost every way, from simply opening messages to browsing the Web, belying its 3G Internet connection. It was also confusing to use, thanks to the maze-like interface with its redundant choices and counterintuitive feature placements. Where’s the GPS navigator? Oh right, under “Organizer,” with the voice dialing app. Some aspects frustrated us, and some were downright lousy, like the nearly useless external display and the strange, tic-tac keys on the full-QWERTY keyboard. The Samsung Comeback would have been a decent messaging phone a year ago, but can’t match the competitors’ current offerings in the budget segment. If T-Mobile is your preferred carrier and price doesn’t matter, the Sidekick LX 2009 offers a more compelling messaging experience. Release: July 2009. Price: $130.

Pros: Cool colors. Nice camera. HTML Web browser. Good GPS navigation.

Cons: Sluggish at almost every task, even e-mail. Keyboard tough to use. External screen is very low quality.

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Samsung Jet S8000

At Samsung Mobile headquarters, company reps gave us a hands-on look at their newest flagship feature phone, the Samsung Jet. The Jet is not a smartphone. It runs a proprietary OS instead of Windows Mobile, like the Samsung Omnia2. Still, with its 800 MHz processor and advanced capabilities, this has got to be the smartest ‘dumbphone’ on the market. With companies beefing up their mobile processor offerings, we expect to see a new MHz war open up in the mobile phone world soon.
The Samsung Jet is a bit smaller than the Samsung Omnia 2, thanks mostly to the smaller display. The Omnia 2 uses an AMOLED touchscreen that is 3.7-inches diagonal. The Samsung Jet uses the same AMOLED technology, but the screen comes in more than a half inch smaller, at a still-respectable 3.1-inches. The AMOLED screen on the Jet looks fantastic, and users are going to enjoy the new technology as it trickles down into more and more phones. Colors look bright and fresh, and the phone is capable of much deeper blacks, lending a deeper contrast to the display. Also, the AMOLED technology uses 40% less energy than a comparably sized TFT LCD screen, according to Samsung. In our hands-on time, we took a look at the 180-degree viewing angle, and there was hardly a point where the screen didn’t look crisp and legible.

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LG KC910

LG launched the LG KC910 in October 2008, the world’s first 8-megapixel phone with an all-touch interface. The LG KC910 boasts camera capabilities, the latest multimedia features and a 3-inch full touchscreen. The LG KC910 is the successor to the popular LG Viewty (in Europe). The LG KC910 offers a multi-sensorial experience, providing enhanced viewing, improved sound and better use of touch. The LG KC910 is being developed to include Schneider-Kreuznach certified optics, a xenon flash and ISO sensitivity up to 1600. Further strengthening the phone’s camera features are image stabilization, autofocus, manual focus, Face Tracking, Smile Shot and blink detection. An embedded GPS receiver gives the LG KC910 the ability to geo-tag photos for later plotting on an interactive map. A variety of creative shot modes is also included. The LG KC910 is the first handset for the global market to include Dolby Mobile, an integrated suite of audio processing technologies which aims to bring depth and richness as well as clean, powerful bass to the music listening experience.
Furthermore, the LG KC910 can record video from 5 fps up to 120 fps, which allows it to record in both fast and slow motion. The phone also plays DivX and Xvid movies straight out of the box, without the need for additional encoding. Rounding out the phone’s feature set, are AGPS enabled navigation, compatibility with the latest 3G HSDPA networks for connections up to 7.2 Mbps and Wi-Fi connectivity. The LG KC910 also includes a Jogging Buddy program that uses GPS technology to help track workouts.

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LG Iron Man Shine

The Iron Man edition of the LG Shine is a special phone going only to contest winners, which is a real shame, because this phone is gorgeous. The maroon and gold accents look exactly like you’d expect the Iron Man suit to look in person. The phone is crafted from real 18 karat gold, which puts the material value at $2000, though mere mortals won’t be able to plunk down that kind of change any time soon. Instead, LG is giving the phones away as part of an Iron Man movie promotion. The phone was a bit heavy in person, obviously due to all that gold, but the look is so right, it would be a shame for LG to pass up the opportunity and create some with a gold finish, instead of the real thing. Besides, gold scratches pretty easily. Look for the phone to appear in promotional ads in a month or so, and if you can find one in person, take a look, because it is quite snazzy. Released in May 2008. The mirrored, brushed metal Shine phone, now in Iron Man maroon and real gold.

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LG KT878 and KV920 for China

LG has unveiled the LG KT878 and KV920 phone which destined for China Mobile and China Telecom. The LG KT878 is a TD-SCDMA phone that equipped with a large 3-inch WVGA touchscreen display, a 5 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, Music player, FM radio, microSD card support and Windows Mobile 6.1 OS. According to the news, The LG KT878 will be sold via China Mobile. On other hand, the LG KV920 is a phone that based on CDMA2000 networks. the LG KV920 features two WQVGA displays, a QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, music player and a 3MP camera. The LG KV920 phone will be available via China Telecom. Unfortunately, no word on pricing at this time. LG-KV920 has more attractive features in comparison to LG-KT878, it is dual mode mobile phone, it has gorgeous QWERTY keyboard when it opened as well as 2.8-inch WQVGA LCD screen. It is compatible with CDMA EVDO network, it has some another features also such as Bluetooth, 3 Megapixel camera module, MP3 and PMP player which supports MPEG4, WMV, H.263, H.264 and more format files.

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LG KE850 Prada

Since we certainly don’t feel qualified to offer judgment on a Prada bag or a Prada dress, we passed around the Prada phone to some of our more fashionable friends, who all rendered a similar judgment. They adored the phone’s look, appreciated its light weight and, in all, found it to be, aesthetically speaking, a better choice than the iPhone. Weight was the biggest issue, but with its gleaming chrome band and Prada slip-case, the Prada phone got oohs and aahs from the right crowd.
Prada hasn’t been shy about customizing the interface to enhance the mood, either. When the phone turns on, a devilish chorus sounds and a soft gradient lights up the screen. When you get voice mail, an angelic choir announces its arrival. If the touch experience on the KE850 isn’t as responsive or polished as on the iPhone, it isn’t for lack of trying, as the Prada phone has plenty of nice icons and menus that take full advantage of the touch screen. Unlike the HTC Touch, which imposed its capacitative screen on Windows Mobile 6, the Prada is built for touch. Most of this is tapping, less dragging and no pinching.
Menus on the Prada phone are kept nice and simple, without long lists of options or settings that would stymie fingers. The phone itself has a few hardware buttons, including “send” and “end” keys, camera and volume controls, and an unlock key. There is a port for power adapters or the included headphone adapter and remote control, but the microSD slot is hidden beneath the battery. Still, a removable battery on a touch screen phone? Who would have thought it possible?

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