Samsung Releases WiMAX MID, Instinct Successor

• Posted: Thursday, April 02, 2009
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• Author: pradhana
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• Filed under: Mobile WiMAX, WiMax

By Phil Goldstein

Samsung announced the release of the Mondi, its WiMAX-enabled Mobile Internet Device (MID) as well as the successor to the Samsung Instinct at the International CTIA Wireless 2009 conference in Las Vegas.

The company made the announcement at a press conference Tuesday night ahead of the start of the show. With the release of the Mondi, Samsung has thrust itself into the head of the pack of WiMAX device makers in the United States. Details of the Mondi first began leaking late last week.

The Mondi will be compatible with Clearwire's mobile WiMAX service and also has WiFi connectivity; there is no 3G voice component. The device has a 4.3-inch touchscreen and runs on Windows Mobile 6.1. It has a full Qwerty keyboard, optical mouse, built-in GPS, the Opera 9.5 browser, push email support, a 3-megapixel camera and camcorder and supports instant messaging and MMS. Samsung said the device would launch sometime in the second quarter, and that Clearwire would be naming the price for the device.

The handset maker also released the successor to the Instinct, the Instinct s30, which Sprint Nextel will launch. There are a few updated features for the CDMA EV-DO device, including a slimmer design, built-in instant messaging and external memory up to 16GB. Samsung and Sprint are also touting the new Instinct as more "open" than its predecessor, and are providing access to core Java APIs including messaging, multimedia and Bluetooth, which Sprint said will allow developers to make more sophisticated applications for the device. The phone will be available April 19 for $129.99 with a 2-year contract, $70 instant savings and $100 mail-in rebate.

Additionally, Samsung said it was working with Yahoo, Google and AccuWeather.com to launch a new set of what it is calling "rich connected mobile applications." The new widgets will be available on certain Samsung touchscreen devices. [FierceWireless]

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