Samsung's Impression and Magnet out for AT&T
Two days before CTIA begins Samsung drops three new phones for AT&T.
Samsung is never one to be a wallflower at CTIA, but this year it arrived in Las Vegas with all cylinders firing. On Monday, two full days before the show began, Samsung announced not only the Propel Pro, but also its new Impression SGH-A877 and Magnet SGH-A257. Both offer full keyboards for messaging and e-mail. Check out our Samsung CTIA photo gallery for the beauty shots.
The Impression offers a candy-bar design with a large 3.2-inch touch-screen display. Samsung says that the Impression is the first phone in the United States with an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED), which results in a bright and clear screen. We'll have to see it in person to gauge if that's true.
Tip the Impression on its side and slide it up to expose the the full keyboard. It looks spacious enough and it offers arrow keys for navigating through the menus. Other features include a 3-megapixel camera, a full HTML browser, Bluetooth, Samsung's TouchWiz interface, 3G support with access to Cellular Video and AT&T Music, a personal organizer, AT&T Navigator, and a speakerphone.
The Magnet has a standard candy-bar design in bright orange. It's positioned as a low-end messaging phone and in many ways it looks the part. The display sits above the large navigation array and full alphabetic keyboard. Features include a camera, a personal organizer, and a speakerphone.
Pricing and availability for the Magnet were not available on Monday, but the Impression will be available April 7 for $200.