The electronics industry that is saturated with an exorbitant number of manufacturers and producers, only a few brand names are able to rise to the top of the heap. While some shoot for perfection from the get-go, such as BlackBerry and Bang & Olufsen, others aim to supply consumers with affordable, albeit poorer, alternatives to the higher-end products.
The latter is the path that was taken, in my opinion, by such companies as Hyundai, Panasonic, and our dear Samsung. Samsung is one of those companies that has risen to the top and has emerged as a leader in the electronics industry – actually the Samsung Electronics division of the Samsung Group is the largest electronics company in the world.
With all that corporate power, Samsung introduced the world to its first Google Android cell phone. As a Google Android piece of hardware, users of the Samsung I7500 will have total access to the entire suite of Google services, such as Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, Street View, and Google Talk. Unfortunately, those in Europe will have access to the Samsung I7500 (sometime in the second half of 2009) before we will in the U.S.; what really sucks, however, is that there isn’t an official drop date for the U.S. release.
Yes, the Samsung I7500 has a bountiful and vibrant 3.2-inch HVGA AMOLED touchscreen, but with access to Google Android services, the smartphone better have the capacity to run those features. Good thing Samsung thought to include 7.2Mbps HSDPA, Bluetooth 2.0, and Wi-Fi connectivity, while also being considerate enough to give you up to 40GB of memory (8GB onboard and 32GB of expansion).
Obviously, with all this Android stuff and then the addition of Wikitude (Wikipedia’s mobile travel guide) among other applications, the Samsung I7500 has access to a browser, but there is much more to this incredible smartphone. The I7500 is also a quadband device that supports six audio standards, comes with a 5-megapixel camera and an LED light, and a long battery life (1500 mAh). Measuring in at 4.5” x 2.2” x 4.7”, the Samsung I7500 will easily slip into any of your pockets and with two USB ports (one high speed, one standard) you’ll find connectivity a snap.
As with the U.S. release date, pricing remains a mystery, but I’m guessing that the plate of excellence that’s being served up is going to run you about $400.
