Barcelona, Spain – Samsung
unveiled the successor to its Galaxy-class Android smartphone here at the
Mobile World Congress, where the company announced such upgrades as dual-core
1GHz processor, larger touchscreen and Super AMOLED Plus display technology.
Pricing and availability of the
touchscreen-only Galaxy S II weren’t disclosed.
The version unveiled at the
Congress uses HSPA+ technology but, like the
, would likely be available in the U.S. in different versions using
different 3G and 4G technologies, depending on the carrier customer. Though a
touchscreen-only model was shown, it’s possible a version for one or more U.S.
carriers could add a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, as the Sprint 4G version of the
current Galaxy smartphone does.
The
new model is touted as one of the thinnest phones at 8.49mm with a dual-core
processor, which replaces the 1GHz processors in current Galaxy phones.
Other upgrades include Android
2.3 (Gingerbread) OS, compared with the Android 2.1 OS used in the
first-generation Galaxy phone at launch last year (with Android 2.2
upgradability).
The new model also features
4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display compared to its predecessor’s 4-inch Super AMOLED display. The
new display is said to offer greater color gamut, contrast ratio, greater edge
sharpness, a wider viewing angle, increased outdoor visibility, and lower power
consumption.
Other enhancements include:
–1080p video capture compared
with the first-generation Galaxy’s 720p;
–addition of 802.11a to the
original model’s 802.11b/g/n/;
–the addition of Wi-Fi Direct;
–upgraded dual
camera/camcorders, with the rear-facing camera going to 8-megapixel, from
5-megapixel, and the front-facing video-chat camera, currently available only
on the Sprint 4G Galaxy Epic, going to 2 megapixels from VGA;
–speech-to-text conversion;
–built-in language translator;
–ability to incorporate
nearfield communications for mobile payment services;
–Samsung Live Panel service,
which aggregates live web and application content into a single customizable
home screen whose layout can be user-designed and whose online services and
apps can be user-selected; and
— Microsoft
Exchange ActiveSync and Sybase remote device management.
In another
change, the Galaxy II will feature four Hub services, although it’s not certain
whether all four will come to the U.S. They include separate e-book, game and
music-download services and a Social Hub Premium service, which aggregates
social-network updates, IM, email text messages and voice mail into a single
user interface.
For the current
Galaxy smartphones in the U.S., Samsung already offers a Media Hub to download movies and TV shows for rent or
purchase.
Like before, the
Galaxy II features Bluetooth 3.0, DLNA certification (called AllShare by
Samsung), and mircoSD slot.
