First Android phone by Samsung

Samsung has just officially announced its first phone running Google’s Android. The Samsung I7500 will be a cutting-edge device with a 3.2-inch OLED touchscreen, 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, and Wi-Fi.

This model will have a tablet shape and an HVGA display. Users will need to depend on the touchscreen for text input and dialing numbers, as there is no hardware keyboard.

On its list of high-end features are a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera and 8 GB of built-in storage.

The Benefits of Android
The I7500 will run Android 1.5, an operating system developed by Google and one that’s strongly tied to this company’s services.

This includes Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, and Google Talk. The integrated GPS receiver will let users take advantage of all of Google Maps’ features, such as My Location, Google Latitude, Street View, local search and detailed route description.

In addition, there is a growing collection of third-party software in the Android Market.

Other Features
This Samsung model will be a quad-band GSM phone (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) with tri-band HSDPA at 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA at 5.76 Mbps (90 /1700/2100 MHz).

In addition, it will have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0.

This device will include a microSD slot with support for 32 GB cards, a 3.5 mm headset jack, and a 1500 mAh battery.

Overall, it will be 115 mm x 56 mm x 11.9 mm.

Coming this Summer
Samsung says the I7500 will be available in major European countries starting in June.

There was no mention of a release in the U.S., but this phone includes support for 3G at 1700 MHz, a strong hint that T-Mobile USA may offer it at some point. This isn’t surprising, as Samsung has already announced it is developing a device for this carrier.

It is also working on one for Sprint, and a CDMA version of the  I7500 could be it.