Monday, June 28, 2010

Samsung Galaxy S to debut on all major U.S. carriers, Sprint's version gets WiMAX


Samsung is making sure you won't have to worry about switching wireless carriers to get your hands on its hot new Android handset, codenamed Galaxy S. The device is expected to debut on all major U.S. carriers sporting a high end feature set that includes a 4-inch AMOLED touch screen display, 1Ghz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor, a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and 720p video capture, 2GB of internal storage, Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi.

Verizon's version will be called Samsung Fascinate. It will come with a 16GB microSD card included, 3G mobile hotspot functionality, and the carrier's usual slate of branded features such as VZ Navigator and V Cast Music. On T-Mobile's network the Galaxy S will be called Samsung Vibrant and includes a 2GB microSD card preloaded with the movie Avatar and The Sims 3. T-Mobile will start selling the Samsung Vibrant from July 21, for $199 with a two-year contract.

Over on AT&T the phone will be called Samsung Captivate, including 16GB of storage and various customized features such as AT&T Navigator and AT&T Address Book. Last but certainly not least, Sprint's version of the Galaxy S will pack a few extra surprises. Dubbed Epic 4G, the device will be able to hop on Sprint's WiMAX network for faster download speeds (where available), and adds a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, six-axis sensor as well as a front-facing camera.

The device will be Sprint's second WiMAX phone and is a great alternative to the HTC Evo 4G if you just can't get used to software based keypads. Common to all editions of Samsung's Galaxy S is version 2.1 of Google Android, with 2.2 "Froyo" upgrades expected to come at a later time.