Samsung Instinct Video 1st Look

I have had the Instinct a few day and before I do a bit more testing, I wanted to give everyone a look at the device.

Samsung Channels the iPaq 2215

Yet another Samsung WM6 smartphone has been announced for Korea and Asia (isn’t this like the fifth this month?), the SPH-M4655, called the MultiTouch II by service provider LG Telecom. The PDA style phone is the follow-on to the successful SPH-M4650. The phone currently supports CDMA2000 networks with EV-DO Rev A. high speed data transfer.

Feature wise, the Samsung SPH-M4655 boasts the following:

• 624MHz processor
• 128MB of RAM
• 256 MB of ROM
• Windows Mobile 6.1 OS
• 2.8-inch 240×320 LCD touchscreen
• 2 Megapixel camera
• Bluetooth
• MicroSD expansion card slot.
• LG Telecom’s OZ 3G services.

The phone seems to be reasonably well appointed if not a powerhouse, but it’s design takes me back to the golden age of HP iPaqs, especially such devices as the sleek, silver and very popular 2215. All it’s missing are the black rubber side grips. Sort of a strange time for Samsung to be reaching back a few years for design tips, but it’s a tough market at the moment. I can honestly say I haven’t seen another smartphone recently with similar styling, and as so many devices these days look so similar perhaps they are on the right track.

Windows Mobile 6.1 for the Samsung SCH-i760

Gear Diary has the goods on an update for the Samsung SCH-i760 that Jack reviewed last year. This was a super cool WinMo phone that hit Verizon last year. It’s good to see older phones get the upgrades!

[Read more]

Video and Photo Quick View at the Samsung Glyde

I get dozens of of emails asking me to take a look at some fancier, non Windows Mobile phones like the Blackberry and others. That said, i’ve taken the time to look at a couple. The experience when trying one of these phones out is weird at 1st since I am a noob to the new OS. Anyhow, the Glyde is a fancy, touch screen “feature phone” and I really enjoyed carrying it for a few days. I missed having my push email, but the phone experience was very nice.

Read on for the video and some more photos…

[Read more]

Samsung’s SC-MX20 - advanced features at an impressive price point

Do you need that extra ability to take video while you are on the road that is a lot better than what you get with your device?  This caught my eye today because of its features and price.

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. unveiled the SC-MX20, the successor to the company’s popular SC-MX10 compact digital camcorder.  The ideal camcorder for the exploding generation of consumers uploading video content to the Internet, the SC-MX20 features a customized recording mode optimized for YouTube or multi-media devices, further simplifying the way users integrate the camcorder into their digital lifestyles.

Featuring a high-performance 680K pixel CCD sensor which delivers a resolution of 720×480, the Samsung SC-MX20 captures video with stunning color and clarity. The new model features a powerful Schneider lens with 34x optical zoom and advanced noise reduction (3-D Noise Reduction) technology to provide superb video quality. It also features Samsung’s improved Advanced Image Stabilization, assuring that consumers will be able to record blur-free memories both near and far, as well as Face Detection, which can automatically detect up to five faces and adjust focus to ensure better composition.

[Read more]

Samsung’s Instinct Reviewed

At Crunchgear they have been working with Samsung’s new “iPhone Killer”, the Instinct, for a few weeks now and have weighed in with their review and a whole bunch of pictures.

The verdict…well, a mixed bag. They were happy with the overall look and feel of the device as well as the price and they LOVED the haptic response, where you get a little tactile feedback (much like a vibration) when you touch the screen. I would tend to agree with them that that is a long overdue feature. One of my longstanding problems with touchscreens is the fact that they feel dead. Anyone who touchtypes well, or like me just hunts and pecks REALLY damn fast, knows that when you miss a stroke you feel it long before see it and can make corrections on the fly without having to really “see” the error. You just KNOW you made it so you backspace and continue. That sort of ability is even more important when trying to work quickly on tiny keyboards under lots of pressure (trust me, I know). You lose all that with touchscreens so I lose a lot of speed and accuracy. It is like typing on linoleum.

Other areas of the phone that they were not happy with seem to me to be deal breakers. Poor virtual keyboard, no syncing to a PC or Outlook, limited to 600 contacts….these are not going to please business users. So are they going for comsumers? According to Crunchgear, the browsing experience is horrible and the plastic screen is easily scratched (not fingerprinted, but SCRATCHED, as in “Whoa dude you wrecked your phone, man”), so they won’t cut much ice in that market either. So who are they going for as a target market? Sounds like just people who can’t get an iPhone and will settle for something along the same lines. Not exactly a recipe for wild success but it may get them through the long summer.

Here is how Crunchgear summed it up…

Bottom line? This is a good, if flawed phone. Most importantly, the browser needs a complete overhaul and the next generation needs a glass screen. As it stands, however, this $200 iPhone competitor is quite compelling. If you are on Sprint, this is the closest you’ll get to a truly intuitive phone with enough horsepower to download TV, audio, and video on the go. It is not a dream come true - yet - but it is a start. It is up to Sprint and Samsung to upgrade this phone with regularity, adding features that business folks need - Outlook sync for one - and a better browser for everyone else.

However, the haptic feedback is a great new addition to a phone’s bag of tricks, and hopefully we will see it in more models soon…or Samsung corrects their faulty Instinct.

Q1U with A100 playing a Divx

Many users are for sure willing to know how how the Q1U with a 600 MHz A100 processor performs. This short video shows this UMPC playing a Divx video. Unfortunately there is not any information available about the specifications of the Dvix file.

Want to adjust the Scroll Wheel Speed on Samsung BlackJack II?

The scroll wheel is a pretty good idea, but it takes too much to make it go around.  One full rotation is required to move the highlighted item by 1 step.  

If you have a BlackJack II that is running Windows Mobile 6.1, you’re in luck and you can find the solution here at Mobile Jaw

Review of the Samsung SGH i780 Online

This is a great phone, I can personally vouch for that. I would really love to see it come to the US under AT&T or T-Mobile. There is a rumor swirling that it might indeed come to AT&T. I don’t know how strong that rumor is, but here is to hope. One of the reasons I couldn’t stick with the BlackJack I or II is the lack of a touchscreen. The BlackJack look and feel are awesome, but I just have to have my touchscreen. Well, aside from the cool navigation and the touchscreen, the Samsung SGH-i780 is more or less, a BlackJack II with Windows Mobile 6 Professional.

A blog on the other side of the pond called Mobile Tech Addicts has published good review of this phone that I had a chance to toy with a the Microsoft MVP Summit last March…

[Read more]

Samsung Omnia to AT&T? I Sure Hope So!

Oh boy, this is huge new for me as an AT&T Mobility customer if it’s true! Take a look at Arne’s video view of this sweet looking phone. This phone is being heavily compared to the iPhone, but you know, it’s running Windows Mobile 6.1. That means that the Apple folks are going to hammer it no matter what. Right?

BGR is reporting that they have some inside info from the "boys in blue"….

That’s what our AT&T boys in blue are sayin’! Want some details on it? Well, it’s rumored to have all the usual AT&T stuff like AT&T Music, AT&T Video, AT&T Navigator, and more. But, it’s also going to have AT&T Mobile TV, too. The other specs are pretty well know: a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional device with a 5 megapixel camera with face detection, quad-band EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, 3.2″ WQVGA touch screen (sadly it’s 240×400), Bluetooth, and either 8GB or 16GB of internal memory. We’re working on some press shots for y’all, but in the meantime, go on and keep comparing it to the iPhone 3G…

Source: BGR

Samsung Omnia Software Walkthrough Video

Here is some more video of the Samsung Omnia for your viewing pleasure. This time it comes from my buddy Arne over in Germany. Arne’s 20 minute video walks you through almost every aspect of the software GUI. I posted about another video shot at a show last week, but this one is far more detailed.

Head over to the::unwired to watch the video.

Short video of the SPH-9200

I thought that Samsung was not selling any more the SPH-9200 but for what I can see in this video they showed this UMPC recently in a Communication Event in Asia.

Do Samsung think to sell this UMPC in USA or Europe anytime soon?

Is the Touchscreen BlackJack Coming to AT&T? i780?

I’ve been calling the Samsung i780 the Touch screen Blackjack ever since I got to demo one at the Microsoft MVP Summit earlier this year. I really expected this phone to go by the wayside and be one of those only Europe releases and gave up hope of it coming to the US. Well, a little rumor on WM Experts perked my ears….

Here’s a fun rumor we heard over the weekend from an anonymous tipster: at a meeting for AT&T Store managers, looks like a few manufacturer reps got a little overexcited about what’s coming down the pike. One couldn’t help himself from pulling a BlackBerry Bold out and flashing it around. Another, she had a full-on gear bag full of phones — one of which appeared to be the Samsung i780. Technically, it would have been the Samsung SGH-i788, which has the bands necessary for the US 3G networks.

They are saying that the rep mentioned a release that would be in the same time frame as the Bold and iPhone release. I have a hard time believing this, but here’s to hoping. The blurb did mention that this phone “DID” have an AT&T logo on it.

Source: WM Experts

Samsung Omnia (i900) Videos and Photos Galore

Last week, we brought news that the Samsung Omnia has changed status from rumor to real. This week, the Samsung Omnia (i900) is hitting the web in force. Photos and videos are popping up everywhere. 1st we shared a link to The Unwired’s beautiful photos, now we’d like to share several other resources as well.

This one is from Mobilecrunch.

Read on for some more links, videos, and images…

[Read more]

Some Pictures of the Samsung OMNIA Windows Mobile Smartphone

Arne Hess from the::unwired got his hands on the Samsung SGH-i900 OMNIA (really a prototype) and has quite a few pictures for you to see.

Running on Windows Mobile 6.1, the Samsung i900 is powered by a Marvel I 320LV which supports quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA up to 7.2 Mbps. Furthermore, WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR are on board as well as a an FM radio and a GPS receiver. The 3.2″ WQVGA (240 x 400 pixel) touch screen features haptics and vibrations give users feedback when the display is touched. The built-in autofucus camera supports 5.0 megapixel and Samsung will offer two versions of the i900 - one with 8 GB and one with 16 GB inbuilt memory which is even expandable with microSD memory cards.

Further features are TV-out and according to previous information, a TV-out cable comes with the device. At a size of 112 x 56.9 x 12.5 mm, the i900 features a 1440 mAh battery.

Click the link above and check out this device.