Samsung Star S5230 & Preston S5600 TouchWiz Cellphones

Samsung have announced a pair of touchscreen cellphones, the Samsung Star S5230 and the Samsung Preston S5600.  A 2.5G and 3G handset respectively, the Star and Preston both use Samsung's TouchWiz GUI: the S5230 has a 3-inch WQVGA display, while the S5600 has a 2.8-inch QVGA panel. 

The Samsung Star S5230 measures just 11.9mm thick and has a 3.2-megapixel camera capable of recording QVGA resolution video at up to 15fps.  Internal storage is 50MB, expandable to 8GB via a memory card slot, and there's an accelerometer to flip between portrait and landscape orientations.  An on-screen QWERTY keyboard can be used in both, plus there's handwriting recognition; no word on pricing when it launches in Europe, Middle East Africa, South East Asia, South West Asia and Latin America from April 2009, but expect it to be reasonable given the lack of high-speed data connection.  Samsung claim 2m of the handsets have already been pre-ordered.

As for the Samsung Preston S5600, it has the same camera, accelerometer and PMP functionality as the Star but throws in 7.2Mbps HSDPA connectivity and 80MB of standard memory (again with an 8GB-capable card slot).  It'll land in Europe and Asia from May; again, no pricing. 

Press Release:

Samsung Star (S5230) And Samsung Preston (S5600) Are Now Available

Samsung extends its "A touch for every lifestyle" strategy with affordable but attractive full touch phones to Global market

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, announced the launch of Samsung Star (S5230) and Samsung Preston (S5600) in global market. Boasting compact design and intuitive usability, the products answer today's customer needs of full touch phone at affordable price. Supporting 2.5G networks (Star) and 3G networks (Preston) respectively, Samsung is able to expand its full touch product portfolio and target various consumers.

Prior to their market availability, Samsung Star and Samsung Preston have attracted tremendous market interest and demands. Especially, Samsung Star is the most awaited model in many countries as more than 2 Million units has been pre-ordered.

"Samsung Star and Samsung Preston are significant additions to our full-touch screen mobile portfolio, featuring all the essential functions in one single device," said JK Shin, executive vice president and head of Mobile Communications division at Samsung Electronics. "I am pretty confident that the products will be one of our historical best selling mobiles. Focusing on our consumer-oriented strategy, Samsung will deliver various full touch products for every lifestyle," he added.

In line with product launching, Samsung will conduct various marketing promotion activities. 'Samsung Mobile Live', which is the company's "experiential marketing" program will be held at popular spots in major launching countries from June. At this event, consumers will be able to touch and learn about newest features of Samsung's full touch products without the pressure of a sales pitch. Throughout the program, Samsung will deliver the core message of 'Get in Touch' in a compelling way to solidify its leadership in full touch products.

A new television commercial for Samsung Star will be aired in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Middle East Africa, South East Asia and South West Asia from end of May.

Samsung Star (S5230)

Samsung Star comes with the latest multimedia features in a slim and compact body that measures a mere 11.9mm. Adopting a 3.0-inch WQVGA full-touch screen and Samsung's TouchWiz User Interface with Mobile Widgets, the phone enables its users to enjoy their mobile easily and intuitively. Using "Photo Contact," users can call a contact by simply touching an appointed image.

The Samsung Star boasts various multimedia features including a 3.2 mega-pixel camera and video recording supporting QVGA@15fps. It supports multi-format and DNSe for ease of use and better sound quality. The phone also features music recognition using Shazam's "Find Music" service. To enjoy various multimedia content, Samsung Star supports 50MB memory capacity with an external memory slot up to 8GB. The users can enjoy full Internet browsing with an accelerometer sensor for auto-rotation. For convenience, the phone also supports a QWERTY soft keyboard, "Gesture Lock" and handwriting features. The product also comes with various colors including Soft pink and Snow white.

Samsung Star will be available in Europe, Middle East Africa, South East Asia, South West Asia and Latin America from April.

Samsung Preston (S5600)

The Samsung Preston attracts style-conscious users with its slim and compact design. Full Internet browsing support with an accelerometer sensor for auto-rotation also gives users exciting mobile Internet experiences via 7.2Mbps HSDPA connectivity.

Equipped with a 2.8-inch QVGA full-touch screen, Samsung Preston adopted the TouchWiz User Interface and "Gesture Lock" feature, designed to customize and personalize the way you use your phone. Mobile widgets can be placed on the screen for one-click access to your favorite applications. Samsung Preston comes with a 3.2 mega-pixel camera, Music Recognition using Shazam's "Find Music" service, and Multi-codec support including H.263, MPEG4, and WMV. The handset's generous memory (80MB and Micro SD slot up to 8GB) ensures ample storage space for multimedia content. Samsung Preston will be available in Sweet pink, Snow white, and Charcoal grey colors.

Samsung Preston will be available in Europe and Asia from May.