Samsung revs up its Seoul machine for CommunicAsia

By Reuben Lee
Jun 16, 2008

Having sold 161 million handsets worldwide last year, the Korean phone maker certainly has its sights set on consolidating its number two position with a strong lineup of handsets for the second half of 2008. Among the new handsets showcased at CommunicAsia this year are the recently announced Omnia (or i900) PDA-phone, a candy-bar version of the Soul slider called Soul^b, as well as the new bar-type L700 handset.

Samsung has also added two new entries to its Connected phone series, the 3G-enabled J800 slider and entry-level M150 candybar, and beefed up its Essential category lineup with the Samsung Impact, Impact^sf and Impact^b. (Samsung currently splits its phone offerings into six different categories: Style, Multimedia, Connected, Essential, Infotainment and Business. The Omnia is under the Infotainment series, while the Soul^b and L700 fall under Style.)

The new mobiles are expected to launch in selected markets across Asia over the next few months. The Korean chaebol will also be demonstrating its latest Mobile WiMAX technologies, including the new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) over the Mobile WiMAX service.

Model name	In a nutshell
Samsung Omnia SGH-i900 Read first take	Notable features: Quadband GSM with EGDE and HSDPA Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional 3.2-inch WQVGA display with TouchWiz UI 8GB/16GB onboard memory with microSD expansion card slot 5-megapixel camera with autofocus Wi-Fi; GPS (with A-GPS); USB 2.0; Bluetooth 2.0 3.5mm audio jack Automatic screen orientation Multimedia player and FM radio 112 x 56.9 x 12.5mm Availability: Mid-June in Southeast Asia; July in Europe; August for rest of the world.
Samsung L700 Click for more info	Notable features: Quadband GSM with EGDE and UMTS (3G) 2.1-inch 128x160-pixel TFT display 30MB onboard memory with microSD expansion card slot 2-megapixel camera with flash LED USB 2.0; Bluetooth 2.0 Document viewer and mobile blog Multimedia player and FM radio 109 x 46 x 12.8mm Availability: Eastern Europe in July, followed by Europe, Middle East, Southwest Asia and Southeast Asia.
Samsung J800 Click for more info	Notable features: Triband GSM with EGDE and UMTS (3G) 2.2-inch 176x220-pixel TFT display 18MB onboard memory with microSD expansion card slot 2-megapixel camera USB 2.0; Bluetooth 2.0 Full HTML browser and Google search Document viewer, RSS reader and mobile blog Multimedia player and FM radio 99.5 x 47 x 15mm Availability: Germany in early June, followed by most of Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.
Samsung M150 Click for more info	Notable features: Dualband GSM 1.77-inch 128x160-pixel TFT display 20MB onboard memory VGA camera USB 2.0; Bluetooth 2.0 Music player and video recording Speakerphone Java games FM radio 106.5 x 45.5 x 12.7mm Availability: To be confirmed.
Samsung Impact Click for more info	Notable features: Dualband GSM 1.77-inch 128x160-pixel CSTN display 20MB onboard memory with microSD expansion card slot Dedicated music keys USB 2.0 Music player and 3.5mm audio jack Speakerphone and Java games Mobile tracker; auto time setting and SOS message FM radio 95 x 47.1 x 17.5mm Availability: To be confirmed.
Samsung Impact^sf Click for more info	Notable features: Dualband GSM 1.77-inch 128x160-pixel CSTN display 4MB onboard memory Changeable cover USB 2.0 Speakerphone and Java games Mobile tracker; auto time setting and SOS message FM radio 89.9 x 46 x 18.7mm Availability: To be confirmed.
Samsung Impact^b Click for more info	Notable features: Dualband GSM 1.77-inch 128x160-pixel CSTN display 4MB onboard memory USB 2.0 Speakerphone and Java games FM radio/recording 105 x 44.5 x 14mm Availability: To be confirmed.