Samsung Continuum Officially Announced On Verizon Wireless; Verdict Meh

At the Samsung press event in NYC, which concluded just a few hours ago, the only product announced was the Samsung Continuum, as expected. However, it is worth noting Samsung managed to sell over three million Galaxy S smartphones in the United States alone, just to shed some perspective on the popularity of the device. Now, let’s talk about the specs of the latest Verizon Wireless Galaxy S device: the Samsung Continuum. First, it features a main display 3.4 inch Super AMOLED display and a 1.8 inch Interactive Super AMOLED Ticker Display. The Ticker is designed to notify the user of latest news, social networking, sports and entertainment feeds, as well as messaging and time. An interesting feature associated with the Ticker is the Grip Sensor which basically means you can touch the bottom sides of the Continuum and the Ticker lights up to reveal any messages or alerts. Such a function would definitely come in handy when at work where use of a phone is prohibited, but you just want to check your notifications quickly. The Samsung Continuum features a 1GHz Hummingbird Processor and 5MP camera with LED flash, similar to the other Galaxy S models. It also comes with 8GB of memory preloaded, several VCAST Apps, Samsung’s Social Hub, and a few other bundled apps. Unfortunately, like its Galaxy S cousins, the Continuum is stuck on Android 2.1 without any mention of being upgraded to Android 2.2. Another disappointing feature is the fact that it comes pre-loaded with Bing Maps and Bing Search, similar to the apps pre-loaded on the Fascinate. Personally, the Samsung Continuum is much of the same of the currently available Galaxy S devices. It’s stuck on an outdated OS, it’s basically one screen just partitioned at the bottom, and it doesn’t have any standout features other than the Ticker display. Even with the Ticker, it is going to be hit or miss for most customers and it will be interesting to see the public’s perception on the device in the coming weeks. Lastly, the Samsung Continuum will be available for pre-order starting November 11 and will be available on November 18 for general purchase for $199.