Samsung’s Smashing New Smartphones

Samsung has officially announced four new Windows Mobile devices. There was no mention of price or availability of the 3 Windows Mobile Professional and 1 Standard devices. However, it is expected that they will be available in the next couple months. The Professional devices all build off the incredibly successful Omnia product line. The first device is the Omnia II which will feature a large 3.1 inch AMOLED display with 480×800 resolution, 800 MHz processor, TouchWiz 2.0 user interface, and Samsung’s Dolfin internet browser that supports viewing of up to 5 web pages simultaneously. The Omnia II, also known as the Jet, will also sport a 5 megapixel camera, GPS, FM Radio, Bluetooth, WiFi, DNSe and SRS Sound Effect technology, as well as DivX and Xvid video support. The Omnia Pro will have a slide-out QWERTY keyboard allowing fast and easy text input. The 4 row keyboard will slide on the left side of the device. The Omnia Lite will scale things down a little with a 3 megapixel camera and aGPS.

The final phone, and the only Windows Mobile Standard based device announced, is built from the extremely popular BlackJack I/II line of devices. The new Omnia Pro B7320 phone is very much the same as the Samsung Jack that has been released on AT&T’s network. The only noticeable difference in features is that the B7320 model will add an FM Radio.

The Omnia II and Omnia Pro devices appear to be very nice units. I’m not so sure about the Lite at this time, we’ll have to wait and see how that one turns out. And the B7320 (Jack) device is a solid follow-up to the BlackJack II. Samsung is sure moving hard and fast in the mobile space. It will be interesting to see what HTC announces later this month at their big event.

HTC Touch Pro 2 Gets Reviewed

Back at Mobile World Congress, HTC announced the new Touch Pro 2 device which builds upon the successful Touch family of products – specifically, the Touch Pro (no surprise there, eh?). The Touch Pro 2 has recently become available for purchase. Currently the device is shipping with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, but HTC has publicly said that they will be releasing a Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade for this device. So if you’re looking to move from your current device, but you want the latest and greatest version of Windows Mobile and you don’t want to wait until the fall, then this device is a great option for you.

Recently the Gear Diary review team of Judie Lipsett and Drew Guttadore joined forces with Clinton Fitch to post a really interesting 3 person review of this hot new device. I had a chance to play with this device for a short time back in early March, and it’s an amazing piece of hardware. My initial thoughts back then, was that the Touch Pro 2 could be the first device that makes me want to switch back to a touch screen device.

Check out the review (on ClintonFitch.com or Gear Diary) and let us know what your thoughts are on the Touch Pro 2.