A Verizon Wireless Web page of Samsung Galaxy S–themed “holiday gift
ideas” confirms that the Samsung Continuum smartphone will soon be
coming to the network, as has been rumored since mid-September.
Most notable about the Android-running Continuum, which appears to
be longer and thinner than the reportedly higher-end Galaxy X Fascinate
— another holiday gift suggestion — is a smaller, AMOLED screen below
the Continuum’s main screen. Big enough for two lines of a text, it
acts like a ticker, showing “updates, news feeds, clock and other
real-time data, and is woken up simply by holding the bottom of the
device,” tech site Thinkable first reported Oct. 4.
Verizon doesn’t offer any specific information about when the
Continuum will arrive, or what it will be priced at, but users can sign up to be alerted when the carrier’s ready to share some details.
The Fascinate — a phone eWeek Labs, in testing, found “a pleasure to use”
— is another Verizon holiday suggestion. Currently available on the
site for $200 with a new contract, it runs Android 2.1 (though is
upgradeable to 2.2) and features a 4-inch Super AMOLED touch display,
WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity and a 5-megapixel camera. It weighs 4.5
ounces, measures 4.18 by 2.5 by 0.39 inches and integrates email,
social networking sites and phone contacts into a single address book.
The Fascinate also pair its virtual QWERTY keyboard with a text
input technology called Swype — which Samsung got the folks at the
Guinness to include in their World Record book, as the fastest way to
text. Additionally, a DLNA (digital living network alliance) certified
device, it can wirelessly stream HD movies and photos, as well as
music, to PCs, home theaters or DLNA televisions.
Verizon’s final gift-giving suggestion is for the Samsung Galaxy
Tab, which is poised to grab some tablet market share from the Apple
iPad in coming quarters. Verizon will offer it for $599.99 without a
contract, beginning Nov. 11, though Best Buy will reportedly sell it
for $499, and both T-Mobile and Sprint have priced it at $399 with a
contract.
The Tab runs Android 2.2, features a 7-inch touch screen, supports
Adobe Flash and has front and back cameras for video calling.
With its Galaxy S line of devices, Samsung is of course looking to
compete with Apple — which it will soon likely do more directly on the
Verizon network, which is expected to introduce a version of the iPhone
in early January, according to a number of sources.
In June, analysts on a Bloomberg Television program discussed
Verizon receiving an iPhone in January, and most recently Fortune
magazine confirmed an “early 2011” release.
“Verizon, sources say, will sell its own version of the iPhone 4,
which will work on Verizon’s CDMA-based 3G network,” Fortune reported
Oct. 29. “Unfortunately for globetrotters, the first version of the
phone likely won’t be built to work outside the U.S. — it probably
won’t carry a special chip that can turn it into a ‘world phone.’”
However, Verizon is for now mum on the matter. Back on the topic of
gifts (Be a gift-giving genius,” its Web site prompts) it for now only
additionally suggests the Samsung Convoy, which, in a limited time
offer, is free with a new contract, as well as several certified
pre-owned devices and a handful of feature phones that are also free
with a new two-year activation.
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