July 6, 2006

Verizon Wireless and Samsung Electronics Ltd. announces the first 3.2 megapixel camera phone available to Verizon’s customers, the Samsung A-990.

The CDMA handset also offers video recording and viewing and music downloads on the carrier’s Vcast service.

Users can also print pictures using Bluetooth connectivity.

The SCH-A 990’s screen rotates 180 degrees to mimic the physical layout of a digital camera. With its high-resolution camera and photo-editing capability, the companies are touting the phone as “the first mobile device that is as much a camera as it is a phone.”

The Samsung phone is selling for $400 (or $350 with an online discount) with a two-year service contract.

Separately, Alltel Corp. and Kyocera Wireless Corp. launched the CDMA “Strobe” handset, an hourglass-shaped phone that opens lengthwise to reveal a second color display and a QWERTY keypad.

The design is an attempt to attract young customers who want a full keypad for instant messaging, e-mail and text messaging, according to Alltel. The handset sells for $50 with a mail-in rebate and two-year service contract.

Finally, Sprint Nextel Corp. and Motorola Inc. announced the launch of the i580 handset for the carrier’s iDEN network.

The phone features a clamshell style, Bluetooth and a camera in a unit that’s touted as “meeting military specifications for blowing rain as well as for dust, shock and vibration.” The handset is selling at Sprint Nextel for $280, after discounts.

Source: RCR News