Monday, March 15, 2010
Microsoft Unveils Samsung Phone as Third Windows phone Handset
Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 02:14 PM
"We weren't given that much time to look at the device, and we weren't able to actually touch or play with it, but from what they were showing off, it looks like Samsung is determined to offer a quality handset to the Windows Phone 7 Series line-up. Especially along side the two other manufacturers that Microsoft showcased on screen, ASUS and LG, Samsung is definitely in the game. While Microsoft wouldn't elaborate on any real details about the device itself, you can obviously see that the standard hardware keys are on the phone: Back, Start, and Search. Microsoft also pointed out that the Samsung device has a very bright screen (an AMOLED display, perhaps?), and then the camera. The Samsung will have a terrific camera, and considering how beefy it looks on the back of the phone, we are hoping that's very true."
In addition to the Samsung phone being shown, the big news is that the minimum hardware specs are finalized and public...and boy do they rock! Screen resolution will be either WVGA (800 x 480) or HVGA (480 x 320), and while there's no mention of screen size, it's logical to guess that the WVGA devices will have larger physical screens (think 4+ inches) and the HVGA devices will likely be in the 3 inch range. All screens will be capacitive screens with a least four contact points, which means a great multi-touch experience.
All phones will have aGPS, an accelerometer, compass, light and proximity sensors. The cameras on the phones will be at least 5 megapixels, with a flash, and the phone has to have a dedicated hardware button for the camera. I know I've been irked more than once at my HD2 for not having a dedicated hardware button for the camera, so I think this is great news.
A minimum of 256 MB of RAM and 8 GB of flash storage will mean a highly usable device - and if you think 256 MB of RAM sounds a bit on the slim side, remember there is no crazy HTC Sense on the home screen taking up gobs of RAM, and since there's no true multi-tasking (from what I understand) you won't be sharing that RAM amongst a dozen apps at once. The GPU has to be DirectX 9 compatible, and the CPU needs to be an ARMv7 Cortex/Scorpion or better.
Remember also these are minimum specifications, so I'm sure well see Windows phone 7 devices with 16 GB of storage, an 8 megapixel camera, and other high-end specs.
