samsung

In what amounts to a direct shot across iTunes' bow (or it's a direct imitation of, depending on who you ask), Samsung is now offering movie downloads to customers in the UK and Germany. [via Engadget]

You get the option to buy or rent a DVD-quality flick, plus a mobile copy. For example's sake, The Dark Night's going for £16.99 (about $25 U.S.) to buy; £3.99 ($6 U.S.) to rent. The selection isn't half-bad, but we wouldn't really recommend trying to watch a movie on something smaller than an Omnia. But, hey, they're your eyes.

Check out all the fine details at www.SamsungMovies.com.

Ah, the dreaded question-mark headline. The scourge of journalists everywhere. But we're breaking it out with good reason this morning as word trickles in of an Omnia HD that will be released with Windows Mobile 6.5.

This is coming from Dutch site All About Phones (translated here), which says it sat in on a Samsung presentation with a baker's dozen phones, one of which was a Windows Mobile Omnia HD. There's nothing more to go on than that and a very blurry picture which can only be described as a black slab.

However, we can look back to Mobile World Congress, where Dieter got a hands-on with the Omnia HD running S60, so that'll give you a probably glimpse of the hardware, anyway. If this is on the level and intends to launch with WinMo, don't expect to see it anywhere before the latter part of the year.

Via Unwired View

The Samsung C6625 got the briefiest of mentions at Mobile World Congress and has been up for pre-order at Expansys, but other than that we haven't had too much to go on. But now it's been outed as the C6620 at Sammy's Netherlands Web site. [via Mobilejaw]

Here's what we're looking at:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard.
• 2.6-inch, 320x240 display.
• Tri-band EDGE (900/1800/1900) and just the 2100MHz band for 3G.
• 1,300 mAh battery.
• 2MP camera.

For the rest of the deets, brush up on your Dutch and head on over.

We're not expecting the C6620 anywhere near the U.S. anytime soon, especially with the lone 3G band. But it's nice to see a new WinMo Standard phone coming from the venerable Blackjack maker.

While many tech manufacturers seem to be in a race to the bottom (see netbooks), Samsung (and world leader Nokia) are looking to the top.

In a piece from the Taipei Times [via Unwired View], Sammy says it expects to ship 200 million units this year, up about 4.4 million from last year. And we're not talking basic phones here.

Samsung’s handset focus this year will be on improving user-interface, promoting high-definition (HD) quality visual and sound, and introducing touch screen technology across different feature phones, (electronics division president Smile) Kim said.

As a mere footnote in the story is mention of "a Giorgio Armani phone with Windows Mobile." Presumably it would launch later with Windows Mobile 6.5. And if you haven't yet listened to Dieter's full rundown of Mobile World Congress, putting Windows Mobile 6.5 on an Armani phone may indeed be the definition of putting a pig on lipstick.

(Note: The above pic is a mashup from Unwired View putting Windows Mobile 6.5 on the Armani P520.)

You can tell a trade show is on the horizon when announcements and "leaks" of new products are appearing, and Samsung isn't going to be left out. We've picked up on two new devices from the company that should make an appearance at this month's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

First is the Samsung Acme i8910, which, of course, brings images of the Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote to mind. Fortunately, this Acme product looks a more dependable than the generic Looney Tunes cartoon products. Details of this phone are still sketchy. But based on the photos that leaked, it appears to have a 3.5mm headphone jack, front-facing camera (rumored to have quite a few megapixels), and it's being described as the Samsung Omnia's big brother. Also on board reportedly is GPS, an HDMI output (!), WiFi, and it will come in 8 or 16 gigabytes. No word on operating system, but there is some speculation this may be an Android device or follow in the Omnia's footsteps and will be a Windows Mobile device.

The second device definitely is a Windows Mobile device. The Samsung C6625 is a Windows Mobile Standard device with front facing QWERTY keyboard and 2.6-inch QVGA screen. Sporting a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth/WiFi/GPS, 100 megs of internal storage and microSD expansion, there hasn't been an "official" announcement on the C6625 yet and it may be another one of Samsung's offerings at the Mobile World Congress.

 And have we mentioned yet that we'll be in Barcelona for all the crazy announcements?

Read: SlashGear and WMPoweruser

The last time we saw the Samsung Propel it was sporting just a feature-phone OS, with Windows Mobile nowhere to be found. Now, the Boy Genius has spied an updated version with rearranged hardware buttons and a new keyboard. And it's now the Propel Pro. Yep, another "Pro" phone.

There's also Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard, that optical joystick we just love — and that's about all for now. Now word on price, release date, all those little details.

Anyone getting that special feeling in their tummy over this?

This week we take a closer look at the Samsung SCH-i760

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The Omnia's announced, everybody, at long last. It'll be online tomorrow and in business channels around the same time, in physical stores on December 8th. Counting legacy devices, the Omnia is the 7th phone currently available on Verizon's network. That's nothing to sneeze at. Neither are the Omnia specs, which match what have been rumored:

• 240x400 screen
• Windows Mobile 6.1
• 5mp Camera
• 624 MHz Processor
• 128 RAM (sigh), but 8gb onboard storage
• TouchWIZ interface
• Opera 9.5 Browser
• WiFi, Bluetooth, EVDO
• GPS
• DIVX support

Samsung's sticking with the optical mouse and the lack of a 3.5mm headset jack. What they're not sticking is 'it-to-you' with the price, which is a reasonable (for these features and specs) $249 after rebates.

Check the press release if you're into that kind of thing, otherwise the Giz has some first impressions. [via Engadget]

The BlackBerry Storm apparently isn't the only new touchscreen-only phone in Verizon stores.

The ninjas over at the Boy Genius Report have spied the iPhone-esque Samsung Omnia on sale at the Big V.

It'll be interesting to see what lockdowns Verizon has enabled (we're looking at you, GPS), in comparison with the European version of the phone, which has been available for some time now. And for a look at said European version, hit up our hands-on hardware and software video reviews.

You see any out there? Let us know in the comments.