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Verizon Wireless decided to drop the price of the new Samsung Omnia touch screen smartphone this week, and now the device is only $199.99 with a 2 year contract. The phone, which was just recently announced, most likely took a price drop to help it compete better with the iPhone at AT&T and T-Mobile G1. Those two phones are priced at $199 and $179 respectively. The Samsung Omnia is a touch screen Windows Mobile based smartphone. The device is hitting the stores on December 8.

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Verizon recently announced a new phone, Samsung Omnia, to be released December 8th. This phone is similar to the Samsung Instinct, in which is also a touchscreen. The Omnia has call and end buttons at the bottom, and an optical joystick optical joystick, which is used for thumbing around a virtual mouse cursor in a way identical to Samsung i780. Her are a few key features of the Samsung Omnia:
TFT Touchscreen
Optical Trackpad
Handwriting Recognition
8GB/16GB Internal Memory
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
5.0 megapixel camera
second video call camera
3.4 in display
WinMo 6.1 OS
FM radio with RDS
MP4 player
Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS
Virtual QWERTY keyboard
Accelerometer sensor
As far as accessories, the Samsung Omnia comes with a charger, a 3.5mm headset with remote, and a lanyard stylus. This lanyard stylus might not be as practical as the kind that is inserted into your device, for it is meant dangle like a charm from your phones lanyard eyelet.
The phone comes with 5h 50min. of talk time, and of course like all phones it may vary depending on how much you use your phone and its features like GPS navigation. This phone will sell for 249.99 with a new 2-yr contract and after a $70 mail-in rebate via debit card. Other than a few of the things mentioned, this phone is not very different to the other similar touchscreens in the market.
Image & Source: fiercewireless, wirelessweek | |
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Samsung phones arent only the latest in AT&T, Verizon is also offering two new Samsung phones. The first one is the Samsung Saga, which is a high-end smartphone, with a full qwerty keyboard and an optical mouse. It has a 2.55" touchscreen, and uses Windows Mobile 6.1 and Opera mobile for browsing the internet. The WinMo 6.1 includes Windows MobileOffice Suite that allows you to create and edit any Word and Excel document and view PowerPoint documents. It also has Windows Mobile Device Center for Vista OS and Microsoft Active Sync 4.5. Others features include but not limited to: bluetooth 2.0 and stereo bluetooth, 2.0 megapixel camera with night mode, microSD slot of up to 16GB, 5 hours talk time, WiFi and more. This phone is available as of Nov. 14th going for $199.99 with a 2 year contract and a $70 mail-in rebate. This phone will come with a 1300mAh battery, USB data cable, user manual with CDs, and a wall charger with adapters for international use.
 The second phone is Samsung Renown a flip phone, with pretty much all the basics and 5 hours of talk time and a microSD slot of up to 8GB. It doesnt have WiFi, but it does have bluetooth 2.0, a 2.0 megapixel camera with nightshot, multi shot, and panorama. It features dual band CDMA, Quad band GSM for international roaming andit is 3G capable. The phone has a 2.5mm headset jack and supports MP3 and WMA files. The Samsung Renown will not be available until Nov.19 and will be priced at $179.99 with a 2 year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate. This phone will come with a standard 800mAh battery, a users manual with cds, and a wall charger with 3 adapters for international use.
Both phones will be available at Verizon retail stores Dec. 1st.
Source: fiercewireless, verizon | |
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The new Samsung Eternity mobile phone is out on the AT&T network and its very cool indeed.

Just announced today this is a a touch-screen device that comes with support for ATT Mobile TV. ATT also announced the availability of a 30-day free trial for all new ATT Mobile TV subscribers.
As for the device, this ones great; 3G network; a full-touch QWERTY keypad, a large, vivid 3.2-inch touch screen, AT&T Mobile Music with Napster Mobile and a 3 megapixel camera among other features. For full details check out the AT&T store. | |
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November 10th marks the day that T-Mobile rolls out yet another piece of work. Say hello to the Samsung T919, dubbed Behold. High style meets high function with a 5.0 megapixel camera, yeah, 5.0. Oh, and the Behold delivers not 1 but 2 cameras, yeah 2, the delectable rear 5.0 and another front facing camera enabling video calls, yeah video calls! The Behold also boasts GPS navi with voice commands, streaming video, video ringtone, capacitive touch screen, possible WI-Fi and that little thing we call 3G connectivity. Reports have this sexy device setting you back 150 bucks with a 2 year contract. | |
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Mike Dano- RCR Wireless Oct 23, 2008
BOSTON — A day after the release of the first cellphone powered by Google Inc.’s Android software, the founder of the startup that initially developed the software took the Mobile Internet World keynote stage to explain the reasons behind the search giant’s much-hyped effort.
“It’s been quite a busy week for us,” said Rich Miner, general manager of Google’s Mobile Platforms business and the founder of Android, the startup that Google acquired three years ago to form the base of its cellphone-software strategy.
Miner, a 15-year veteran of the wireless industry, said Android rose from the ashes of his tenure at European operator Orange, which was the first carrier in the world to launch a cellphone running Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile software. Although the launch propelled Orange onto the international scene as a maverick in the mobile space, Miner said the lessons he learned from the event pushed him to found Android.
“It became clear to me that there were fundamental things that needed fixing in the mobile industry,” he said.
Orange launched its Windows Mobile powered smartphone, the Orange SPV for sound, pictures and video, in 2002. Miner helped oversee the launch, and said it didn’t necessarily go as expected.
Despite being Microsoft’s only Windows Mobile customer, “we were still dictated terms as to what we could and couldn’t do” with the software. Miner indicated that Microsoft made it clear that Windows Mobile was a Microsoft product and not an Orange product.
Further, after the launch, Miner said Orange wanted to add push-to-talk capabilities to the phone, but discovered a glitch in Microsoft’s platform that wouldn’t allow the carrier to add the service. Microsoft agreed to rectify the issue, Miner said, but advised it would take 18 months to do so. And since the platform was not open to others, neither Orange nor the manufacturer HTC Corp. could modify it.
Miner said Google’s Android promises a different approach. Google helped develop the platform using “best-in-class solutions,” and, as of yesterday, made it free and open to anyone. This, Miner said, will allows anyone — individuals, businesses, handset makers and carriers — to develop Android services and applications via full access to the platform, from the bottom on up.
“No one party completely controls that platform and that software stack,” Miner said. “Each component can be mashed up with other components.”
Indeed, Kyocera Wireless Corp. has promised to join HTC in building Android phones, and Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sprint Nextel Corp. and others are members of Android’s Open Handset Alliance development organization.
Interestingly, Miner set forth the case that Android is an attempt by Google to harmonize the fractured mobile landscape. He said the range of software platforms in the wireless industry — from Java to BREW to Symbian — makes it difficult for developers to cover the entire industry.
“Google faced this very same problem,” Miner said, explaining that the company had to tweak its Java-based Maps service for every handset running the application in order to ensure it worked properly on different phones running different versions of the Java virtual machine.
“It was hard for Google to realize how hard it was to develop for the mobile space,” he said.
Despite such comments, Miner continued to press the case for Android, which is essentially another platform for developers to target, on top of Apple Inc.’s iPhone OS, Symbian, the OS for Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerrys, Windows Mobile, Linux and others.
Miner explained that it was “fundamentally important” for Google — an Internet company — to develop a “suitable mobile experience” based on the number of mobile-phone users more than 3 billion versus the number of desktop Internet users around 1 billion.
Miner said that Android, along with the iPhone, stands as an example of “software being developed by people who know software,” rather than companies set on selling wireless service or building wireless hardware. | |
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I recently lost electrical power for about a week due to some severe weather. It was a shame and a pity that I didnt have Amzers Desktop Charging Cradle for my Samsung Instinct, it would have been nice to communicate with the outside world.
Amzers Desktop Charging Cradle is exactly what the name suggests; it cradles your phone in an upright position atop a desk and charges your device away. The cradle is about 2.5 x 2.5 inches and about ¾ of an inch tall. Its constructed of a lightweight yet sturdy black acrylic. And I like the fact that the form is a rounded square. Right up front, right on top extending out of the cradle is a frosted acrylic arm that holds your Instinct perfectly in place. Behind that is a slot for charging a spare battery. And circling around ¾ of the top of the cradle is a charging cable thats nicely tucked away. To the back of the cradle, are two ports one to support a DC connection and the other, a mini USB port. Included with the charging cradle are both a standard USB cable and a DC wall charger. The included USB cable can be used to charge and sync your device to your PC or Mac, while, the DC connection can be plugged into the nearest wall outlet to charge your device.
The Instinct is designed not with the charging port at the bottom of the phone like most devices but with the charging port located at the upper left hand corner of the phone and because of this we have the attached charging cable. The 5 inch cable pulls out of the cradle and easily attaches to the side of the phone for charging. While in the charging cradle your phone remains functional. The full touch screen is accessible as well as all side controls including volume control, earphone jack, power button, micro SD slot, voice command button and the designated camera button. The phone is completely operational as well, so feel free to text, email, watch a video or listen to music while your Instinct is charging.
Since there is a convenient spare battery slot built into the charger you have the option to charge a spare battery alone, with the phone, or you can charge the phone by its self. The cradle features Smart Charge Technology which is basically going to speed up charge time. I tested the Smart Charge Technology out and it took about an hour and 45 minutes max to charge a lifeless device. Which is pretty Smart Technology, since it usually takes nearly 2.5 hours to charge my dead device.
All in all, Amzers Desktop Charging Cradle is great device. The size and shape make it ultra portable. The angle the cradle holds your device is ideal. I like that I didnt have to pick up the phone to view the screen, like I do when Im using a standard wall charger. It would have been really nice to have a spare fully charged battery lying around when I lost power. With a fully charged laptop I could have used the included USB cable to charge my phone. Take it from someone who knows firsthand, its imperative to have a fully charged spare battery; you never know when youll be left in the dark. | |
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Amzer Jelly Cases Also Available for Motorola ROKR E8, Samsung Instinct, and Blackberry Bold
SUGAR LAND, Texas--BUSINESS WIRE--Let’s face it; sometimes, consumers just can’t get a grip on their cell phones, resulting in both externally and internally damaging drops. The sleek look newer cell phone models have adopted creates a slippery situation for phone owners. The Amzer Jelly Case for iPhone 3G is a soft and flexible cover made of 100 percent premium silicone, patterned with a smooth not sticky, as with other protective materials flexi-grip design so 3G owners can avoid accidental drops.
“The Amzer Jelly Case prevents the owner’s device from sliding on soft or angled surfaces,” mentioned Pallavi Dinesh, COO of Fommy.com. “The form-fitting, skin-tight cover also protects the exterior of the phone from scratches and bumps. With regular skin types, phone owners can easily apply covers that are interchangeable, but our ‘jelly’ version of the skin offers a great grip and comfort of use in addition to these.”
Additionally, the synthetic rubber exterior of the case wards off virtually all dust and dirt. Cutouts for the phone’s buttons help keep functionality consistent. The Amzer Jelly Case is available in 7 different colors: Lilly White, Grey, Hot Pink, Purple, Red, Sky Blue and Jet Black.
For more information or to order the Amzer Jelly Case for iPhone 3G, which is available for $8.95 plus shipping, or one of Fommy.com’s other unique wireless accessories, please visit: www.fommy.com. | |
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Nokia and Symbian are officially alone at last. As of today Nokia is 100% sole owner of the OS company .... edging out Samsung who was the last-standing Symbian shareholder. Samsung finally sold all of its share to Nokia. Other manufactuers who had previous stakes have already sold out some time back. These include Panasonic Mobile Communications, Siemens, and Sony Ericsson. This comes as no surprise since Nokia had announced its intentions to do this earlier in the summer.
Source: WirelessWeek | |
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The E200 Eco is the third phone Samsung has introduced this year with parts made from bioplastics — materials extracted from corn. It is the first, however, in which the entire case is bioplastic. The external casing on the Samsung E200 Eco is made of corn-based material. Cheil Industries, a company that is part of the Samsung Group, has been developing these environmentally friendly materials. The E200 Eco has a 1.3-megapixel camera, video messaging capabilities and an MP3 player. The phone will be available in Europe next month but does not yet have an American release date. As a bonus, the phone’s packaging is made from recycled materials. In June, Samsung introduced two handsets in the Asian market, the W510 and F268, that it says are produced using techniques that eliminate harmful materials like lead, cadmium and mercury. The F268 and the new E200 Eco devices and their chargers are also free of a common flame retardant that can harm the environment. The F268 has an alarm “feature” that reminds users to unplug their chargers when the phone is fully charged. Samsung isn’t alone in its research and development of renewable materials for cellphones. Nokia introduced the 3110 Evolve in December 2007. In May, the Business Standard reported that Nokia would bring 40 new biodegradable models to market by the end of 2008. NEC introduced a bioplastic phone in Japan in 2006, and has been using plant-derived materials in its LaVie laptop line since 2004. Samsung is testing bioplastics for other product lines, but has no firm plans to expand their use, Mr. ChiYoung Oh, environmental products manager at Samsung Electronics, said in an e-mail interview. The question remains as to how far bioplastics will go to reduce the environmental impact of electronic devices. But Mr. Oh is confident that consumers are ready to pay more for green products. The “green consumer evolution,” he said, “is maturing in the existing Samsung consumer base.”
Source NY Times | |
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