Samsung Unveils Touchscreen Smartphone (TechWeb)
By Marin PerezInformationWeek Mon Jun 9, 1:46 PM ET
Not wanting Apple's 3G iPhone to get all the hype, Samsung introduced Monday its own touchscreen smartphone.
The company unveiled the Samsung i900 Omnia, a Windows Mobile smartphone. Its features should put it on par with HTC's Touch Diamond, and perhaps with Apple's latest smartphone.
The Omnia sports a 3.2-inch WideQVGA display that can be navigated by touch. Like the iPhone, the Omnia features an accelerometer sensor that auto-rotates the screen depending on how the user holds it. But Samsung's latest device also has handwriting recognition for jotting down notes.
Samsung's smartphone is also fairly thin, measuring in at 12.5 millimeters. It comes with an ample amount of internal memory, with 8-GB and 16-GB versions slated to be released. Additionally, the device features a microSD slot to expand memory up to 16 GB.
Samsung's latest smartphone also features a 5-megapixel camera with face and smile detection plus auto-panorama shot. Utilizing the device's built-in GPS, users can also geotag photos. Most smartphone cameras top out at 3-megapixels, with Nokia's N95 being an exception.
The Omnia, which runs Windows Mobile 6.1, also has many features for mobile professionals. It has push e-mail, a Microsoft Office viewer, Bluetooth support, an Opera browser, contact manager, and integrated Wi-Fi.
The device has quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support, and is compatible with wireless carriers' 3G networks. For multimedia, the Omnia plays a host of audio and video formats and features a built-in FM radio.
The Omnia will be available in Southeast Asia first, and then be launched in other markets over the second half of 2008, Samsung said.