Posted in: Mobile phones

Samsung and US carrier MetroPCS launch first 4G LTE enabled phone – the Samsung Craft

by 4 comments

Phone advertisements have been quite liberal with the term “4G”. Most of the time they mean fast HSPA or WiMAX, rather than actual 4G connectivity – which in the case of GSM is non other than LTE. But Samsung and US carrier MetroPCS have joined forces to bring true 4G on a mobile handset.

Meet the multi-mode Samsung SCH-r900 Craft. It works on CDMA networks and 4G GSM networks (LTE) and packs a 3.3” WVGA AMOLED display and a QWERTY keyboard. On the back it has a 3.2MP camera with auto-focus and flash.

The Samsung SCH-r900 Craft also features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth with A2DP and GPS. In the box you’ll also find a 2GB microSD card with the last-year’s Star Trek movie preloaded.


Samsung SCH-r900 Craft

The Samsung Craft costs 299 US dollars after a 50 dollar instant rebate and you’ll need a 4G plan (55 or 60 USD). A little worryingly, the specs say 1500mAh battery but quote only 4 hours of talk time and 200 hours of standby. Obviously the technology is quite power consuming. So that’s a bummer, plus LTE coverage is limited.

This is an important step – GSM carriers (even some CDMA carriers) will be upgrading to 4G LTE, so this will become the predominant mobile network standard of the future.

Source

Comments

Rules for posting