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At the GSMA World Congress, Samsung ensured that touch-screen phone fans would not be disappointed. Besides the Omnia HD and the Beat DJ, the company also introduced the Ultra Touch.

The Ultra Touch differs from the Beat DJ and Omnia HD by offering a numeric keypad for those who favor physical controls. Alternatively, you can use a virtual keypad when the phone is closed for texting and dialing.

The Samsung Ultra Touch in blue.

(Credit: Samsung)

The 2.8-inch display supports 16 million colors. It's bright and vibrant, and you can take advantage of Samsung's TouchWiz interface. Below the display are Talk and End buttons and a diamond-shaped Back button. The first two controls are flush but the latter is tactile. The flat keypad comes in either red or blue.

You'll have to slide up the phone to expose the camera lens, self-portrait mirror, and flash. The rear face of the slider matches the keypad. A Micro-USB port and a camera shutter sit on the right spine, while a volume rocker rests on the right spine.

Features include a music player, an FM radio, assisted-GPS, stereo Bluetooth, and an 8-megapixel camera. For more pictures, peruse our Samsung slide show.

With so may cell phones on the planet, it's hard to find a model with a design that stands out from the crowd. Yet, Samsung manages to do just that with its new Beat DJ. I caught up with it at the GSMA World Congress in Barcelona.

With rounded edges and a bright blue trim, the Beat DJ offers a striking design that feels comfortable in the hand. As a touch-screen phone, the only physical controls on the front face are Talk and End controls and a back button. Over on the right side you'll find a memory card slot and a camera shutter, while a handset locking switch, a volume rocker and a Micro-USB port sit on the left spine.

I admit that the 2.6-inch display is a bit small for my tastes. It felt slightly cramped when browsing through the menu and tapping out messages and phone numbers. On the upside, the display is responsive but people with larger hands should give it a test-drive first.

The Beat DJ has its own look.

(Credit: Samsung)

The music player interface is quite unique. In the center of the display you'll find a large circle that is reminiscent of the curves on either end of the phone. By tracing your finger around the circle you can advance through a song. It's a tad gimmicky, but it's cool nonetheless.

You also get access to a whole menu of DJ effects such as a record scratch. The music player on the model we examined wasn't completely functional but the whole experience looks fairly promising. Sound quality from the stereo speakers was impressive thanks to the Bang & Olufsen amplifier.

Other features include an FM radio, a 3-megapixel camera with video recording, stereo Bluetooth, an external memory slot, a 3.5-mm headset jack, organizer features, and a speakerphone.

To get the full effect, check out the Samsung GSMA slide show.

As Samsung made an impressive showing at the GSMA World Congress it's difficult to pick one of its new phones as the most notable. Yet, the company's Omnia HD certainly would be in the running. We had the opportunity to check it out while visiting with Samsung in Barcelona, Spain.

Though the Omnia HD is the next-generation model of the existing Omnia, it shows a few design differences. The curved ends give it a more eye-catching, aerodynamic look. It's also slightly bigger than its predecessor is, but we'll gladly take the extra heft with the stunning 2.7-inch 3.7-inch, 16 million-color display. In all ways, it's bright and beautiful--colors were vibrant, graphics were sharp and video lives up the HD name.

The display uses Samsung's TouchWiz interface with a customizable widget bar on the left side. The touch interface for both finger swiping and selecting icons was responsive and the Symbian interface is intuitive. The display works in landscape and includes an accelerometer for certain functions like the virtual QWERTY keyboard. Speaking of which, the keyboard is very comfortable, thanks to the display's large size. We had no problems tapping away.

There's no doubt that the Omnia HD is striking.

(Credit: Samsung)

The three physical controls below the display include Talk and End/power button; they're rather thin, but we didn't find them to be problematic. There's a single VGA camera lens above the display for video calling while the main lens for the 8-megapixel shooter is located on the rear. It has a flash but no sliding lens cover. Other exterior controls include a volume rocker on the left spine and a camera shutter, a screen lock control and a Micro-USB port on the right spine. The headset jack is located conveniently on the top of the device, but the memory card slot is behind the battery cover.

Features include HSDPA 3G support an 8-megapixel camera, an FM radio, assisted-GPS, Bluetooth, a music player, organizer applications, a speakerphone, and Wi-Fi. We'll get a review model as soon as we can, but check out our Samsung GSMA photo gallery in the meantime.

It turns out the blogosphere was correct. At its GSMA World Congress press conference on Monday, Samsung took the wraps off the Ultra Touch, the Omnia HD, the Beat DJ, and the Beat Disc. The four phones offer touch displays with a big multimedia focus. Check out the slide show for full specs and glamour shots and another peek at the Samsung Touch Blue.

Samsung phones at GSMA photos

The Samsung Beat DJ has a large touch screen.

(Credit: Samsung)

Samsung's GSMA World Congress press conference doesn't begin for another hour, but details of the company's new phones are popping up on the blogosphere. And in any case, it's hard to keep a product secret when you've plastered huge posters advertising it around the Fira de Barcelona.

According to a Korean news site, Samsung will release just four phones in Barcelona: the S8300 UltraTouch, the i8910 Omnia HD, the BeatDJ, and the BeatDisc. Preliminary details are as follows.

Samsung S8300 UltraTouch--The Ultra Touch has a 2.8-inch touch screen, an 8-megapixel camera, and Samsung's TouchWiz interface.

Samsung i8910 Omnia HD--The Omnia HD builds on the existing Omnia. It should offer HD video; an 8-megapixel camera, featuring HD-level play (Internal: QHD, external: HD); Wi-Fi; GPS; and 3G support.

Samsung BeatDJ--As its name denotes, the BeatDJ will have a music focus. The 2.8-inch touch display will support 16 million colors and will feature a scroll wheel designed to resemble a DJ's turntable. Features should include a 3-megapixel camera, an FM radio, stereo Bluetooth, a memory card slot, GPS, USB mass storage, quad-band GSM world support, and HSDPA 3G.

That's all we know right now. We'll report back soon with more details and photos.

(Source: Newswire Korea via Samsung Central)

Back in early February, Samsung revealed that it would bring its 8-megapixel camera phone, the Samsung Memoir, to T-Mobile by the end of the month, and the company has kept its promise.

The night before the official start of GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 here in Barcelona, Samsung and T-Mobile held a joint press conference where they announced that the Samsung Memoir would be available starting February 25 for $249.99 with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate.

The event was marked by a special guest appearance by supermodel Helena Christensen, who was on hand to endorse the Memoir. Now, you might be wondering what the connection is between a model and a camera phone, but Christensen also happens to be a photographer (who knew?) and was given the Memoir for a few days to use as her phone and camera throughout her travels in New York and Barcelona. Images that she took with the Memoir were then put on display at the event.

"As a photographer it was great for me to be the first to try the Memoir and to really experience everything it is capable of doing," said Christensen. "It's very important that my mobile phone also double up as a great camera, that way I always have my camera on hand to capture images at any moment. That's what a big part of photography is about."

(Credit: Samsung/Inhabitat)

I have a few friends (who shall remain nameless) who are often unreachable because they don't charge their phones when they should. These same friends should look into the new Samsung Blue Earth, which is to be unveiled in a couple days at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The phone is green, despite its blue color, and it's not just the integrated solar panels that make it so. The Blue Earth is made of recycled plastic, features a pedometer, and even software that reaffirms just how much you're helping the planet by using it. If Al Gore had one of these mobile devices in hand, it would likely explode.

Besides being handy and eco-friendly, the phone appears to be gorgeous. The solar panels reside on the back, and the front is a full touch screen. Despite the new technologies, it should fit nicely in your pocket. We should know more about pricing and availability next week.

Another group that might find this phone attractive would be those crazy outdoorsy types: campers, hunters, fish enthusiasts, and other sportsmen could extend their trips into the wilderness while remaining in contact with the outside world in case of emergencies. We'd like to see other phones with practical solar panels just for this.

Well, here's the first disappointment of GSMA Mobile World Congress. Samsung will not be showing off its first Google Android smartphone at the show; in fact, we won't be seeing it at all until the second half of 2009.

Initial reports said Samsung would release its Android device some time in the second quarter of 2009, but according to an article in The Guardian, the head of marketing at Samsung's mobile division, Younghee Lee, said the company is "planning internally" for a release in the second half of the year. Lee added that Samsung is in negotiations with a number of operators to bring its Android device to market.

While obviously disappointing, we do know that Samsung will be holding a press conference at Mobile World Congress, so we expect an announcement(s) of some sort. Check back on February 15 for more!

(Credit: Samsung)

We're still one week away from the official start of GSMA Mobile World Congress, but Samsung's getting the party started early by introducing its revamped TouchWiz user interface.

Making the announcement in Korea on Monday, the company revealed that it will show off its updated TouchWiz UI in Barcelona, highlighting new features like flashy 3D effects, new gesture controls, better integration of photos and contacts, and more haptic feedback.

There will also be a new widget dock from which you can manage and download widgets for your home screen. This is something we're particularly excited to hear, since the limited number of widgets was one of our main complaints about TouchWiz when we first saw it on the Samsung Omnia.

If you already own an Omnia, don't worry; it looks like you will be able to update your smartphone with the new UI. We'll be getting a better look at the new TouchWiz when we get to Mobile World Congress, so be sure to check back for our full coverage when the show starts on February 16.

(Source: I4U via Engagdet Mobile)