We hear a lot of talk about iPhone killers, but while most of these ‘wannabes’ fail to live up to hype, Samsung’s new 3G S8500 Wave handset might just convince you to swap the fruit for a little surf.
Being a potential iPhone killer, you can probably guess that it’s long, thin, and very attractive. Aside for that, the Wave sports a 3.3 inch (8cm) Super AMOLED screen with Samsung’s mobile Digital Natural Image Engine (mDNIe). The former promises super-bright pictures, even in high ambient light conditions, and the latter is a variant of the video engine that underpins Samsung’s large screen, cinema style flat panel televisions. If these features don’t scream “multimedia” to you, then the 5 megapixel camera, 720p video playback and recording, 5.1 channel audio, and 8GB internal storage with microSD expansion slot will.
But this handset is more than a just big, bright screen. It’s more than just video on the go. Samsung has spec’d a winner here and even we can feel it.
The 3G Wave includes, for example, the ultra-fast 802.11n WiFi connectivity, and is the first mobile handset with the next generation of Bluetooth, version 3. We’re not even sure if this new generation of Bluetooth is used in any third-party devices right now, but it’s good to know Samsung is going out of its way to include future technology!
While there’s no word yet regarding local pricing, expect it to compete on cost against devices such high profile devices such as the HTC HD2 when it’s released in April this year.
For anything else, check out the press release below…
Sydney, February 15, 2010 – Unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today, Samsung Electronics has announced the launch of the new Samsung Wave (Model: S8500). Set to expand the range of Samsung smartphone technologies, the Samsung Wave will be available locally in Australia mid-year 2010.
The first mobile phone to be released on Samsung’s new open mobile platform, Samsung bada, the Samsung Wave further strengthens Samsung Mobile’s commitment to bring to market a smartphone to suit every Australian lifestyle.
Content on the Samsung Wave comes alive through the bright and generous 3.3″ Super AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) display providing breathtaking sharpness and colour tone. Along with the powerful 1Ghz processor in the Samsung Wave, you can experience the ultimate in mobile multimedia capabilities to give you enough grunt to get the most out of this pocket rocket of a smartphone. Instant access and greater control over personalised content is also made possible through the TouchWiz 3.0 user interface (UI), bringing an unrivalled level of performance, customisation and choice to the way you connect with your world.
“The Samsung Wave demonstrates our commitment to deliver fantastic multimedia experiences for everyone and we’re very excited to bring this offering to market in Australia mid-year,” said Tyler McGee, Vice President, Telecommunications, Samsung Electronics Australia. “The Samsung Wave makes our platform vision become a reality. This is the first device to support Samsung Apps, our integrated applications store. For the first time, consumers will have access to a range of quality apps especially designed for their Samsung phones and their lifestyle.”
Social Hub – Becoming the ultimate socialite
Introduced with the Samsung Wave and rolling out across the Samsung range of phones, Social Hub has been designed from the ground up by seamlessly integrating your favourite email services (such as Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo! mail and others), instant messaging and social networking sites (including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and others) directly into the Samsung Wave. With its TouchWiz 3.0 UI, you can scroll through all contact details, events and communication with your contacts, giving you easy access for staying in touch and tracking conversations. Social Hub will deliver real-time updates as they happen to your Samsung Wave, making sure you never miss a beat.Super AMOLED – Seeing is believing
With Samsung Wave, seeing really is believing! The Samsung Wave features the world’s first Super AMOLED display which means a truly eye popping screen experience on your smartphone. This technology offers much brighter, clearer, and less reflective AMOLED OnCell display, featuring a high resolution (800×480 pixels) screen with mDNIe (mobile Digital Natural Image engine) technology. DNIe technology is a proven display technology which is already incorporated in Samsung’s LCD TV and LED TV lineups. With a free viewing angle and super fast response, the Samsung Wave display gives you superb image quality when playing back both videos and photos on your phone.TouchWiz 3.0 UI – new and improved
The Samsung Wave makes choosing your own menus, home page and other content easy with TouchWiz 3.0 UI. If you want to be constantly connected to your social networks, the phone allows you to change the layout of your home page to give you access to Twitter, Facebook and a host of other social networking services at the touch of a button. If you’re a music lover, your Samsung Wave’s home page can be turned into an intuitive media player or if you’re a photography fanatic, you can customise your homepage to feature your favourite images upfront. You’ll also benefit from Quick Panel – a way of prioritising and adding applications into one screen for instant access.Speed, performance and beauty
The Samsung Wave benefits from a powerful 1GHz processor which gives you amazing graphic performance and seamless multitasking across various programs. Its speed makes the touch screen user interface incredibly responsive, intuitive and the exciting 3D graphics and video performance are both smooth and a pleasure to view.Multimedia features and connectivity
Multi-codec support for DivX and Xvid, and support for 5.1 surround sound delivery transforms the Samsung Wave into an impressive personal entertainment system. Additionally, HD video decoding and recording capabilities make the Samsung Wave a great choice for capturing, sharing and viewing video. Bluetooth® 3.0 and WiFi 802.11n standard have been incorporated by Samsung for the first time.Samsung Apps – Quality expandability
Samsung’s bada platform allows you to simply and easily download a range of both free of charge and paid for quality applications from Samsung Apps. The new integrated application store is accessible from your Samsung smartphone including the Samsung Wave or directly through your PC. Consumers will benefit from a selection of apps that are designed to suit their lifestyle – from games to navigation, social networking to e-book and health and lifestyle apps, consumers can rely on Samsung Apps to enrich their mobile experience and lives, and not just clutter their smartphone.
Developers will also play an important role in delivering these apps to consumers with Samsung encouraging the local creation of apps that suit Australians’ needs and lifestyles. The focus on quality means that developers can be assured their app will receive attention as part of Samsung Apps. Additionally, because Samsung’s range of smartphones is so broad, these applications are immediately exposed to a wider audience than ever before. Samsung Apps will be available at the launch of Samsung Wave.
