28 March 2011

By: Cosmin Vasile, Communications News Editor
Samsung Star II Coming Soon to India for $145
The sequel to the popular Samsung Star has just been scheduled for release in India next week. The Star II feature-phone is expected to be retailed for Rs. 6,540 (about $145) unlocked.

Samsung Star II Samsung

However, India won't be the first country to receive the handset, as the manufacturer has already announced that Samsung Star II will be initially released in Germany, followed soon by other European countries, the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), South America, India and the Middle East.
It is unclear if the phone's software will be the same in all countries where the phone will be launched, but it will surely retain the same candybar form.
Also known as Samsung Tocco Icon, the Star II comes with a 3-inch WQVGA capacitive touch screen with 262k colors and 240 x 400 pixels resolution.
When it comes to strong points, the Star II features Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n connectivity, which is a major trait that wasn't included with the original Star. Also, the phone comes with TouchWiz 3.0 on board, Samsung's latest user interface.
Tagged as an affordable feature-phone, Samsung Star II packs a 3.2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP support, QuickType T9 Trace keyboard, 3.5mm headphone jack, 30 MB of internal memory and microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 16 GB).
JK Shin, president and head of Samsung's Mobile Communications Business, said "The original Samsung Star exceeded all expectations; with its successor, the Samsung Star II, we have delivered a stunning full-touch device that meets the increasing demand for social networking services and enables unrivalled personalization."
Furthermore, Samsung Star II is preloaded with social networking applications such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as multi IM 2.0, which offers quick access to instant messaging platforms including Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk and AIM.
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The device features support for Samsung's Social Hub, which enables contact integration between the phone and the users' social networks, allowing them to interact across social media platforms from their phone.
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12 January 2011

By: Cosmin Vasile, Communications News Editor
Samsung Star II S5260 Leaks, Coming Soon to the Netherlands
Samsung Star II, the successor of the popular Samsung S5230 Star feature-phone, has just made its appearance on a Dutch website. PortableGear has it that the device is expected to be initially launched in Netherlands in February for roughly €125.
Samsung Star II (front) Portablegear
Also known as Samsung Tocco Lite, Samsung Player One, Samsung S5233 or Samsung Avila, the S5230 Star was sold in more than 30 million units since its launch in May 2009 and is one of the most successful Samsung touchscreen handsets.
The manufacturer reported that it has sold 15 million S5230 Star units in Europe and around 5 million in Latin America, the rest being sold in Asia and North America.
Built on the success of its predecessor, Samsung S5260 Star II doesn't come up with anything completely new except the design and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Other than that, it seems that the S5260 Star II features the same 3-inch TFT resistive touchscreen with 262K colors and 240 x 400 pixels resolution.
Even though it's a feature-phone, the S5260 Star II runs Samsung's proprietary TouchWiz UI.
Furthermore, the bar phone sports a 3.2-megapixel camera with smile detection function and video recording capabilities (QVGA@15fps).
Other key features of the handset include: GPRS and EDGE class 12, 50 MB of internal memory, microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 16 GB), Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP support, media player, Stereo FM radio with RDS, and accelerometer sensor.
The device is likely to feature the same standard 1000 mAh Li-Ion battery that powers the S5230 Star, which is rated by the manufacturer for up to 800 hours of standby time or up to 10 hours of talk time.
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The exact release date of the handset is unknown for the moment, but as the guys over PortableGear mentioned, it might hit the shelves next month in the Netherlands.
Also, it appears that Samsung plans to launch the phone in other countries soon afterwards.
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