Samsung unveils 1st Android mobile phone

Samsung Electronics, a leading mobile phone and telecom equipment provider, has unveiled the Samsung I7500, its first Android-powered mobile phone.

With a launch of the I7500, Samsung is the first company among the global top three mobile phone manufacturers to unveil an Android-powered phone in the Middle East region.

“We are pleased to announce that the Samsung I7500 is available in the market,” said Sandeep Saihgal, general manager of mobile phones at Samsung Gulf Electronics.

“With the launch of I7500, Samsung sets its leading position in the Android, the industry’s emerging operating system,” he added.

“Samsung is among the earliest members of the open handset alliance and has been actively moving forward to introduce the most innovative Android mobile phone,” Saihgal continued.

“With Samsung’s accumulated technology leadership in mobile phone industry and our consistent strategy to support every existing operating system, I believe that Samsung provides the better choices and benefits to our consumers.”

The I7500 is a cutting-edge smartphone, featuring a 3.2” Amoled full touch screen and 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and WiFi connectivity, giving users access to Google Mobile services and full Web browsing at high speeds.

The Samsung I7500 offers users access to the full suite of Google services, including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, and Google Talk.

The integrated GPS receiver enables the comprehensive use of Google Maps features, such as My Location, Google Latitude, Street View, local search and detailed route description, while the application Wikitude, a mobile travel guide, allows consumers to access details of unknown sights via location-based Wikipedia articles.

Along with supporting a 5-megapixel camera and various multimedia codec formats, the I7500 also provides a long enough battery life (1500mAh) and memory capacity up to 40 GB (internal memory: 8GB, external memory: up to 32GB) for all the applications and multimedia content. The phone is 11.9 mm thick.

Samsung I7500 is available across major electronics outlets in the Middle East and is retailed at Dh2299 ($626), said a statement.