Samsung announced on Monday the third generation of its dual-hinged SCH-U740 messaging phone. The Alias 2 for adds more significant changes than the second generation Alias brought to the table, but it retains the same basic shape.
or make a call
(Credit: Verizon Wireless)
With the Alias 2 you can send a message...
(Credit: Verizon Wireless)Its biggest attraction is an "E Ink" keyboard that changes according to user needs. When you open the phone vertically, the buttons shows only a numeric keypad for dialing. But when you open it horizontally, the buttons morph into a full QWERTY keyboard. Other controls, such as the navigation arrows and the soft keys, also change positions.
The effect is similar to the Moto's ModeShift keypads, but is a bit more advanced. Instead of a just a different backlighting for the keys, the characters on the buttons actually change. We saw it in action last month at CTIA. Though we were sworn to secrecy at the time, it looked very cool, so we can't wait to try it out for ourselves.
Other changes from the SCH-U740 include a 2-megapixel camera and support for corporate e-mail syncing through RemoSync. You'll also find VZ Navigator, Verizon's Visual Voice Mail (with the requisite $2.99 monthly charge), a personal organizer, a wireless Web browser, a speakerphone, EV-DO, stereo Bluetooth, messaging, and a microSD card slot.
The Alias 2 is available May 11 for $79.99 with a $50 mail-in rebate. We should have a review model in the next few days.
The Samsung Alias with its black and white keys
(Credit: Samsung)Samsung used CTIA to officially introduce the Samsung Alias, the upgrade to Verizon's Samsung SCH-U740. Though we're known about the phone since the beginning of this month, this is the first chance to see how it compares with its predecessor. From what we learned, the differences are minor. The Alias just has a silver color scheme and a few of the alphabetic keys on the full keyboard now are black and white to make them more identifiable as dialing buttons. So really, that's about it. You can get the Alias with Verizon Wireless for $49 with service.
Samsung SCH-U740 in black
(Credit: Verizon)For those who don't quite like the color of champagne, Verizon Wireless is now offering the dual-flip Samsung SCH-U740 phone in a simple black hue. Specs remain the same of course- you still get the full QWERTY keyboard, access to V Cast TV and V Cast Music, EV-DO support, a 1.3-megapixel camera--all now in the more sedate black. You can get it for a reasonable price of $99.99 after a two-year contract and an online discount.
Samsung SCH-u740
(Credit: Verizon)Verizon Wireless updated its lineup today with the dual-hinged Samsung SCH-u740, a much-needed upgrade to the maligned Samsung SGH-d307. We saw the u740 earlier this year at CES and were delighted that Samsung made several improvements to this dual-flip, QWERTY keyboard wonder. On the aesthetic front, no longer do the QWERTY keys perform double duty as navigation controls (there are separate keys for that now) plus the u740 simply looks way more stylish with its champagne-and-black color scheme. But the most notable difference comes in the way of its impressive feature set: a 1.3-megapixel camera, a camcorder, a music player (complete with external player controls), a microSD card slot, Bluetooth connectivity, a speakerphone, EV-DO support, and full access to Verizon's stable of multimedia services like V Cast Music and Video. Combined with its dual-flip action that lets it switch between portrait and landscape viewing modes, the u740 is quite the contender against that other V Cast marvel, the LG enV (VX9900). The SCH-u740 is available now for $149.99 after a $50 rebate with a new two-year service agreement. We will post a review of this phone later today, so stay tuned.
Samsung F520
(Credit: Samsung)
Samsung F520
(Credit: Samsung)Samsung joined Motorola in making a big splash at the 3GSM in Barcelona. The company introduced a selection of high-end phones that feature new designs and improved interfaces.
The F520 has a unique dual-slider design that performs much like the dual-hinged Samsung SCH-u740. The F520 slides vertically to reveal the number keypad and horizontally to show the QWERTY keyboard. The new Flash-based menu interface utilizes a touch screen along with the normal navigation controls. There's a 3-megapixel camera and all the usual high-end refinements, but with support for the 900/800/1900 GSM bands and the 2100 UMTS band you can be sure it won't arrive at a U.S carrier.
Samsung's new Ultra Edition phones
(Credit: Engadget)The Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700) has a slim and sexy slider design and comes with tri-band (GSM 900/1800/1900) support, a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth connectivity, and an infrared port. The Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600) is almost the same as the U700 but it adds some design refinements and lacks an autofocus for the camera. It's the only quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) handset of the bunch so it could just arrive on U.S. shores.
The Ultra Edition 5.9 (U100) has many of the same features as its siblings except that it comes in a slim candy-bar design. Finishing off the series is the Ultra Edition 9.6 (U300). It also offers a comparable feature set as the other Ultra Edition models but in a flip-phone design.
Finally, the i600 is an updated BlackJack complete with Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, we're unlikely to see it in the United States.
Samsung SCH-U740
(Credit: Samsung)After its previous attempt at a dual-hinged flip phone fizzled, Samsung tried again with its new SCH-U740. Similar to the D307, the U740 features a full QWERTY keyboard (thankfully with better navigation controls this time) and can switch from portrait to landscape mode to quickly compose text messages and e-mails. But unlike the D307, the U740 ditches silver for a unique black and champagne color scheme and this time, the carrier will be Verizon Wireless instead of Cingular.
Though it's not a real smart phone since it doesn't run a third-party operating system, it still should offer a set of worker bee-friendly features, including Bluetooth, a MicroSD card slot, a speakerphone, and EV-DO support for Verizon's V Cast multimedia service. And in an improvement over the D307, the U710 is set to offer a 1.4-megapixel camera with video recording and playback.
On Sale Now: $5.99
View the latest prices for Samsung SCH-u740 - champagne (Verizon Wireless)
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