Samsung Eternity full-touch phone hits AT&T
updated 10:45 am EST, Fri November 14, 2008
Samsung Eternity at ATT
AT&T today grew both its full-touchscreen phone lineup and its small roster of mobile TV phones by adding the Samsung Eternity. A close cousin of the Instinct, the phone carries a 3.2-inch touchscreen with haptic (vibration) feedback and an accelerometer that both auto-rotates the display and lets it play iPhone-like motion-sensitive games. A MediaFLO tuner is built-in to play live digital TV through AT&T's subscription broadcast service.
Like the recently-launched Delve for Alltel, the Eternity opts out of a true smartphone operating system but uses Samsung's TouchWiz interface that lets users add widgets for games and information that are viewable from the top level of the phone interface.
Other touches on the phone are similar to the Instinct and attempt to outmuscle the iPhone, such as 3G data, the three-megapixel camera, GPS, removable microSDHC storage and a full HTML web browser. AT&T is pricing the Eternity aggressively and is shipping it today for $150 with a two-year contract, or $370 for those who prefer strictly month-by-month service.
