Do we really need another smartphone out on the market right now? While it seems like there is a new mini gadget-phone released every week now, there’s no denying that they are going to keep coming — and they’re going to be getting smaller and more powerful.
The really problem is that many of these “new” smartphones aren’t so new at all, just repackaged versions of older models with a few bells and whistles added in for good measure. But every now and then, an original smartphone comes along to add something new to the marketplace. One of the last big examples of this was the Apple iPhone, which stirred things up good in 2007 and set the bar a little higher for the competition.
Now it’s Samsung and Sprint’s turn to shake things up a bit. The two wireless industry giants have teamed up to offer the new Samsung Ace mobile smart phone. The design is very similar to the popular Samsung/Sprint blackjack phones, but the Ace is a full-fledged smart phone, complete with QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth support, stereo speakers and access to Sprint TV, featuring more than 50 channels of mobile TV programming and on-demand video.
The Ace is also designed with business users in mind, using the Microsoft mobile operating system, and featuring a full suite of Microsoft office products including Word, Excel and even PowerPoint. The Ace also weighs in at under 4 ounces, making it one of the thinnest, lightest smartphones on the market.
And when it comes to web surfing, the Ace is certainly more than capable. The phone will operate on a variety of high-speed mobile networks, including CDMA, GSM and GPRS. It also features inbuilt international roaming, and comes preset by Sprint with the ability to place or receive calls in about 180 countries, making it an ideal smart phone for serious travelers or global business users.
Of course, like most all mobile phones these days, the Ace is also a fully fledged media player and ships with 2 GB of flash memory for your MP3 and video library. Additional memory can be easily added, thanks to support for external microSD cards, allowing power users to upgrade to 16, 32 or even 64 GB of storage at competitive rates.
The phone also features a — now ubiquitous — 1.3 megapixel digital camera and camcorder, capable of producing web quality videos and digital photos on the go.
While it is clear that the Samsung/Sprint Ace is not exactly an iPhone killer, it does provide a stunning amount of functionality for a seriously low price. Sprint is currently offering the phone to business users on a two-year service agreement for approximately $100, after a $100 mail-in rebate.
In other words, the Ace provides about 95% of the functionality of an iPhone for about 25% of the price. Anyway you do the math, that’s a whole lot of smartphone for your money.
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