Rich Fiscus
10 Jun 2008 5:00
Although you might not know if from the news, Apple's new iPhone 3G wasn't the only new smartphone to be introduced on Monday. The new Samsung OMNIA runs Windows Mobile 6.1 and features a 3.2 inch wide touchscreen. Like the new iPhone it will be available in either 8GB or 16GB versions, but it also adds a microSDHC expansion slot for additional storage.
The OMNIA, which will be officially unveiled at CommunicAsia later this month in Singapore, includes a 5 Megapixel camera and GPS funtionality in addition to supporting audio and video playback in a number of formats.
Supported video formats include MPEG-4 ASP (DivX, Xvid, Nero Digital, etc,...), MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), H.263, and WMV. Audio support includes MP3, AAC, WMA, and OGG. Besides playback, it can also be used for simple video recording and editing, and even has a built-in FM radio.
Although the iPhone has arguably made a bigger impact in the smartphone market than any other single product, it would be foolish to say Apple is the undisputed leader. In fact Research In Motion (RIM), makers of the Blackberry line of phones, has benefitted greatly from the increased visibility of the entire smartphone market due to Apple's success and they still control nearly 50% of the market.
While not as successful as either RIM or Apple, Samsung's share of the market rose from just over 5% to more than 8% at the end of last year.