Samsung today made official what the InterWebs have been leaking for awhile now, launching the Wave, their first Bada OS phone. The Samsung Wave S8500 features a 3.3" Super AMOLED display, 1GHz processor, and the new TouchWiz 3.0 UI. Bada is Samsung's new proprietary smartphone OS and is backed by Samsung Apps, "an integrated application store accessible from the device and online. Featuring a wealth of games, navigation, social networking, e-book, health and lifestyle applications, Samsung Apps gives users instant access to a huge choice of mobile experiences." Yeah, that quote is from the press release. How could you tell?
Wave looks pretty cool, and reports from the ground say the pre-release versions on display in at MWC are super fast but marred by less than complete software. My best guess here is that Samsung sees Bada as a customizable, super-low cost smartphone solution for emerging markets and other places where affordable handsets are in high demand. I say that because Bada looks more like a conglomeration of current smartphone trends than anything new: iPhone-esque main UI, Android-esque notifications, Palm Synergy-esque integrated contacts and Inbox (Samsung calls it "Social Hub"), and so on.
Still, Wave looks pretty sweet and it's hard to argue with a "Super" AMOLED display that Sammy claims is up to five times more readable than standard AMOLED screens in direct sunlight. Back that up with 720p HD video capture and playback, multi-codec support and a slim 10.9mm profile, and you've got a pretty spiffy high-end featurephone/smartphone/BadaPhone.
No word on whether or not any US carriers will pick up this Wave, but Samsung has announced worldwide availability starting in April.
More at Sammy's Bada site. And a few key specs below:
Network 2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE) : 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz, 3G (WCDMA/ HSPA) : 900/2100 MHz
Display 3.3” WVGA (800x480) Super AMOLED with mDNIe
Camera 5.0 Megapixel camera w/ LED Flash, AF
Video HD(720p) video playing & recording, 5.1ch Mobile Theater, MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV,DivX, XviD Video Editor
Connectivity Bluetooth v 3.0, USB v2.0 (Full -Speed), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Memory 2GB/8GB + microSD (Up to 32GB)
Size 118 x 56 x 10.9mm
Battery (Standard) Li-Ion, 1,500 mAh
Other 3.5mm, TouchWiz 3.0 w/Integrated phonebook, Voice & Motion UI, Dolfin Browser 2.0 / One Finger Zoom (up to x10), A-GPS, Accelerator Sensor, Proximity Sensor, GeoMagnetic Sensor
