Hasta La Gadget!

AT&T may have been accused of crippling its Android phones, but the Samsung Captivate — one of the US versions of the Galaxy S — is about to change all of that. Oh sure, the company released the specs last week, but us resourceful folk got some hands-on time with the Super AMOLED-boasting, Android 2.1 phone prior to its unknown stateside launch. The model we got to play with was clearly an early build (it wasn’t even branded Samsung or AT&T), but that didn’t stop us from putting it through the paces at a local Starbucks. Hit the break for a bulleted breakdown of our impressions and a short hands-on video. Oh, and don’t forget to make a pit stop at the gallery below before getting into the good stuff.

Continue reading Exclusive: Samsung Captivate for AT&T preview

Exclusive: Samsung Captivate for AT&T preview originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

AT&T’s is beefing up its Android portfolio with the addition of a new phone. Samsung Captivate, a smartphone with a 4-inch touchscreen and Android 2.1 operating system, will be the latest device to hop on AT&T’s network.

The phone is part of Samsung’s Galaxy S family of devices, and has an OLED screen, 1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor and a 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording capability.

The device also has a feature called Samsung Social hub that integrates the user’s social networking services, messages, email, calendars and contacts, similar to what Motorola does with its MotoBlur user interface.

This will be AT&T’s fifth Android phone and fulfills the promise that the company made at the beginning of the year to have at least five Android devices on its network in 2010. So far, Motorola’s Backflip and an unsubsidized version of Google’s Nexus One are available on AT&T. Earlier this week, AT&T announced the HTC Aria, a mid-range Android smartphone. The wireless carrier has said earlier it also plans to offer Dell’s first smartphone, Aero, this summer.

The Captivate is the first Android smartphone from Samsung on AT&T’s network. The phone has an MP3 player and offers up to 32 GB of storage for music and video.

AT&T hasn’t disclosed pricing or shipping date for the device.

See Also:

• 20 Android Phones You Can Buy Today (or Soon)
• Half of All Android Phones Now Sport Android 2.1
• Android Welcomes App Store’s Rejects With Arms Wide Open
• AT&T Plans 5 Android Smartphones in 2010
• Independent App Stores Take On Google’s Android Market

Photo: Samsung Captivate/AT&T

Just because the US has gone gaming crazy these past couple of days doesn’t mean the smartphone world has stopped turning. Samsung trotted out its Galaxy S handset last night in London, and we were naturally there to try and glean a better understanding of where this 4-inch Android 2.1 device fits in our wishlist hierarchy. It’s quite the stat sheet stuffer, as we’re sure you’re aware, and it strikes an alluring figure for those looking to get on the true do-it-all smartphone bandwagon. Check out our latest impressions — replete with video and a whole gallery dedicated to the Super AMOLED screen’s performance in sunlight — just past the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S preview

Samsung Galaxy S preview originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 07:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

We had more than a hunch that Samsung was toiling away on a tablet of some sort, and while we’d been loosely referring to its as the S-Pad and Tab, it looks as if the latter moniker is the one that’ll stick. J.K. Shin, president of Samsung’s mobile communications division, recently affirmed as much during a sit-down with the Wall Street Journal, stating the following:

“I can also say that we are planning to launch a tablet computer, named Galaxy Tab, no later than in the third quarter of this year.”

He didn’t elaborate beyond that, so we’re still on pins and needles waiting to find out if it’ll run Windows 7, Bada or BeOS, but we ought to know much, much more in just a few months. An IFA debut, perhaps?

Samsung executive confirms: Galaxy Tab tablet coming by Q3 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Wall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments

Ah, here we go, Samsung’s other cellphone with an integrated projector just got an official launch date. The Galaxy Beam (codename: Halo) with its 3.7-inch Super AMOLED display is now slated to hit Singapore in July. That means that the European and broader launch across Asia should be just around the corner if Samsung’s claims from Feburary hold true. At launch, the world’s first Android phone with a built-in DLP pico projector will be served version 2.1 of Google’s confectionary delight. Specwise, we’re talking 7.2Mbps HSPA data on 900/1900/2100MHz and quad-band GSM/EDGE, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11n WiFi, an 8 megapixel autofocus camera with flash (front-facing VGA) and HD video recording, A-GPS, FM Radio, and an 1,800mAH battery. Memory is confusingly listed as “4Gb + 2Gb + 1Gb + 16Gb MoviNAND” made worse by no mention of microSD though it was definitely there when we went hands-on with Beam at Mobile World Congress. Specs after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Beam: world’s first Android projector phone on sale in July

Samsung Galaxy Beam: world’s first Android projector phone on sale in July originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments