Samsung Beam debuts with Android 2.1, pico projector
updated 02:10 pm EST, Mon February 15, 2010
Samsung i8520 Beam
In an extra launch today, Samsung has launched the i8520 as its new Android leader. Now called the Beam, it becomes the first Samsung phone to run Android 2.1 and gets the voice recognition and Google Maps Navigation of the newer OS. The Beam's variant is Bada-like and has its own variant of TouchWiz 3.0 for widgets and parts of the interface.
The phone earns its name through a built-in DLP pico projector that casts a 6-lumen image and has its own customized interface when blown up to the larger size. Samsung has a unique implementation that can show the 5-megapixel camera's sensor image through the projector for specialized situations, like viewing documents in a classroom.
As an actual phone, the handset centers on a 3.7-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, 3G, GPS and 802.11n Wi-Fi with 16GB of internal storage and a microSDHC slot.
A release for the Beam is still on track for the summer and is likely to focus its attention on Asia and Europe first due to a lack of North America 3G from the outset. [via Engadget]
