First look
Samsung in recent times has got quite creative with the design of its smartphones. Samsung SCH-W999 seems to be one of the examples, which has been designed for customers who still prefer to have a flip-phone. The phone which will be released by Chine Telecom not only has dual SIM card slots but also two super AMOLED displays. This means the device can be switched from being just a flip-phone to an all touch smartphone and vice-versa. The device will run on Gingerbread and would offer the advantages of being an Android phone.
What’s new?
The distinguishing factor is the design and the form of the gadget. According to many, the flip phones are no more stylish and have also become obsolete to some extent, but it seems the Chinese are still in love with such phones as they were popular in their initial days. However, having two AMOLED displays means you can turn your flip phone to a trendy Android touch phone at your will. It has the latest hardware specs and features and doesn’t lag behind any of the high-end smartphones in terms of performance and features.
What’s been refreshed
Just like other phones launched by China telecom, this too will have dual-mode connectivity with GSM and CDMA2000 options. This means you can select the best data packet for yourself among the two based on your needs. Also, you can have EV-DO 3G with the CDMA2000 option.
Features walkthrough
W999 would run on 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8660 processor which matches the competition with the latest smartphones being launched in the market. The two displays consist of Super AMOLED touch panels that have a resolution of 480×800. Other specs are 5-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 3.0, W-iFi and WAPI (Chinese standard for Wireless LAN). It runs on the latest Android OS, also known as Gingerbread. Other features include the back cover HyperSkin which gives better grip over the phone and avoids the stains. Samsung has implemented a layer of TouchWiz interface over Google’s OS.
What’s good?
The phone runs on Android 2.3 and can be upgraded to the latest Android OS- the 4.0 version also known as Ice Cream Sandwich. This means you won’t feel as if you’re working on a outdated platform and can move from version 3.0 to 4.0 in case you want to do so. Other advantages are availability of GSM and CDMA on the same phone along with dual Super AMOLED screens. Super AMOLED screens offer various advantages such as less power consumption, brighter screen and less sunlight reflection. These panels were first introduced with the Samsung Galaxy II, which is now the world’s largest selling smartphone.
What’s not so good?
The 5-megapixel camera might not be good enough for many as many of the latest phones are high-definition and able to shoot high quality images and videos. Android 2.2 (Froyo) was the news few days back and so was the Gingerbread, though it is Ice Cream Sandwich which is in the news now and this might not be in the favor of the phones as upgrading to the latest Android OS sometimes makes the device slower.
Price and availability
There have been no speculations about the price of this gadget, however, the rumor is the phone will be launched in 2012 in the Chinese market. In case you want us to hint you about the price, you must know the Samsung W-series phones have never been cheap and so they wouldn’t be even in the future. W899, the predecessor of this phone was sold at approximately $1410 and you should expect w999 a touch more expensive than its predecessor.
Wrap-up
It can be called a smart move by Samsung to launch a more unique device into some specific markets meeting the requirements and choice of that market. However, the device is expected to be limited to the south-east Asia. According to the news, W999 may follow suit in Indonesia after launch in China.