It was Samsung Mobile’s time to shine in America last night when the handset maker debuted the U.S. version of its Galaxy S II, a platform that’s already selling admirably overseas.
Unveiled at an event in New York City – one day later than planned thanks to Hurricane Irene – versions of the Galaxy S II smartphone will hit AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA this fall.
The Samsung Vibrant is up for grabs today on T-Mobile USA’s website. The new Super AMOLED Galaxy S Android smartphone was originally set for a July 21 launch date. The phone, which comes bundled with the movie Avatar on a 2GB MicroSD card, sells for $199 with a two-year contract.
The Vibrant ships running Android 2.1. Additional specs include a 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, 16GB storage, 8-megapixel camera with auto focus, digital zoom and 720p video capture. The phone also includes an FM radio, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi, digital compass and GPS.
The Vibrant is one variation of the Galaxy S line from Samsung. Similar variants have been announced for AT&T (Captivate), Sprint (Epic 4G) and Verizon Wireless (Fascinate).
The Vibrant launch comes as Motorola and Verizon Wireless today launched their new Droid offering, the Motorola Droid X.
The Droid X, Motorola’s follow-up to the original Motorola Droid, lands on shelves today. The new phone is available online and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.
The Droid X features a 4.3-inch touchscreen, 8-megapixel camera, HDMI output, 3G Mobile hot spot capabilities and comes standard with 8 GB of memory expandable up to 32GB via microSDHC card. The Droid X runs Android 2.1 (Eclaire), but will receive an OTA update to Android version 2.2 (Froyo) later this summer.
An update supporting Flash 10.1 also will be delivered OTA in the near future.
Customers can take advantage of the 4.3-inch high-resolution screen on Droid X for viewing the latest movies from Blockbuster On Demand presented by V Cast Video.
Customers who choose to add the optional 3G Mobile HotSpot service to their Droid X will pay $20 per month for the service. The 32GB SanDisk microSDHC card is available for $99.99 when purchased along with the new Droid X or for $149.99 when purchased separately.
Verizon is allowing customers who have contracts ending by Dec. 31, 2010, to upgrade to Droid X without penalty.
The Droid X enters the summer smartphone fray with strong competition from other OEMs, most notably the HTC Evo 4G from Sprint, Apple’s iPhone 4 and the Galaxy S devices from Samsung.