Samsung makes Android-based Galaxy Spica official
updated 07:35 am EST, Mon November 16, 2009
Samsung Galaxy Spica runs at 800MHz
Samsung started the week by launching its second Android phone on a world level. The Galaxy Spica, or i5700, sits closer to the mid-range but is one of the fastest Android phones ever with an 800MHz proecssor. Its main sacrifices versus the original Galaxy are the use of a less expensive LCD in place of an OLED and a 3.2-megapixel camera instead of the 5-megapixel example on the higher-end phone.
The next handset still has 3G, GPS and Wi-Fi but still runs Android 1.5 instead of 2.0. Doing so still gives it a full web browser and the full Google suite of apps outside of the 2.0-only Google Maps Navigation.
Samsung says the Galaxy Spica should already be available in Europe and Russia and will be available in both Africa and the Middle East in the future. The phone as-is doesn't support North American 3G bands and is limited only to GSM and EDGE in the region.
The launch is crucial to Samsung, which has been leapfrogged by rivals that either have their own smartphone platforms, such as Apple and RIM, as well as companies more heavily invested in Android, like HTC. Most Samsung smartphones are either based on Windows Mobile or Symbian, but these are expected to phase out within the next few years.
