Samsung SCH-i770
Verizon has officially announced the Samsung SCH-i770 Saga, a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional-powered block shaped smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard. The Saga's 2.6" QVGA (240x320 pixels) touchscreen display should make it easy to interact with.
The Samsung Saga also packs a punch in connectivity with its dual-band CDMA (800/1900MHz) support, as well as quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz) support for world travelers. WiFi is also on board for high-speed data transfers. The Samsung Saga's 2 megapixel camera includes NightShot technology for enhanced performance in low-light situations. A microSD card slot is also on-board for extra storage options.
The Samsung SCH-i770 Saga smartphone is set to be available in Verizon Wireless stores on December 1st, priced at $199.99 with a 2-year commitment and after a mail-in rebate.
Samsung SCH-i910 Omnia
Today Samsung launched the SCH-i910 Omnia for Verizon Wireless. This new Omnia is basically a CDMA version of the original i900 that has received a few additional tweaks when it comes to the user interface. The new Omnia supports both WiFi and EV-DO Rev A(INFO) high-speed 3G data for fast web browsing and downloads.
In terms of updates, the Omnia features the same widget based TouchWiz home screen as the original, but instead offers a different alternative Today screen layout that we find much more usable than the widget version. The biggest UI change, though, is the addition of finger scrolling to the base level Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional user experience. This means that there is even less of a reason to use a stylus than before, since there's no need to grab narrow scroll bars to navigate through lists of email messages or programs.
A number of Verizon specific features have been added to the new i910 Omnia as well. The i910 Omnia works with Verizon's VZ Navigator GPS navigation app as well as with the company's Visual Voicemail offering. The new Omnia also ships with an integrated AIM, MSN, and Yahoo! instant messaging client. The included VZAppZone application makes it easy for users to buy new graphics, ringers, and applications, too.
Holdover features from the original Omnia include the 5 megapixel autofocus camera with face detection and smile detection modes, and the 3.2" 400x240 pixel touchscreen display (which has improved haptic feedback over the original). Automatic screen rotation is still on the device, but now features a number of different screen transition effects that can be used. For those that prefer their mobile movies to be viewed in the best quality possible, the Omnia's DivX video support is going to be key.
In general we like the updates and added features, making the i910 Omnia for Verizon even better than the original - a device we liked very much. It weighs 118.2g (4.2oz) and measures up at 112mm x 61mm x 13mm (4.4" x 2.4" x .5") in size. Samsung claims that the i910 Omnia's battery is capable of over 5.5 hours of talk time or about 19 days of standby time. While real world use can vary greatly, we've found the battery in the Omnia to be pretty solid all around.
Verizon is offering the Omnia for US$199.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate when purchased with a new service contract.
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