Skip to Content

Listen to the Joystiq Podcast (because your ears can't read)
AOL Tech

Posts with tag link

Alltel picks up the Samsung Freeform, looks pretty well-defined to us

Most Americans likely won't ever get a crack at Samsung's latest low-end portrait QWERTY design, despite the fact that Virgin Mobile Canada's managed to snag it as the Link. Notice we said "most," because Alltel -- what little remains of it outside Verizon's clutches -- has picked it up as the "Freeform." The phone makes do with a 220 x 176 landscape display clocking in at 2.2 inches, a 1.3 megapixel camera (curiously forgotten from both the spec sheet and the press release), stereo Bluetooth support to accompany the microSD slot, GPS, and availability in both teal and burgundy -- both bolder choices than the deep gray offered up north. It runs $69.99 on a one-year contract (remember that those guys recently dropped the two-year deal), which is a little more than $20 less than what Virgin Mobile Canada's charging on prepaid.

Samsung Link launches on Virgin Mobile Canada

Here we were, just minding our own business and thinking that the Samsung Link was going to be christened by Bell, then bam -- out of nowhere, Virgin goes and steals some thunder. If you're looking for EV-DO, go ahead and keep right on lookin' because you're not going to find it here -- but otherwise, the Link offers portrait QWERTY on the cheap alongside a 1.3 megapixel cam, microSD slot, and stereo Bluetooth. If you like what you see, you can go ahead and grab it now for CAD $99.99 (about $92) on prepaid or CAD $29.99 (about $28) on a three-year deal. Sorry, Bell guys -- it's coming soon. We think.

[Thanks, Daniel]

Update: As commenter live_strong points out, Bell's bought out the remainder of Virgin Mobile Canada that it didn't already own -- so this is all making a whole lot of sense, though as far as we can tell, customers who are on the Bell branded service still won't be able to get in on the Link just yet.

Oh, by the way: July 16, 2009

Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for Thursday, July 16th, 2009:
  • The Samsung Omnia II will go on sale in Singapore this Saturday, July 18 for S$898 (about $619) unlocked, while the Omnia Pro will be available August 1 for something under S$550 (about $379). [Thanks, Rixter]
  • Remember that mysterious Samsung Link for Bell? MobileSyrup has scored the lowdown on the device, and it turns out not to be a smartphone of any sort -- instead, it's just a text-centric dumbphone (isn't that theme starting to get a little played out?) with a 1.3 megapixel camera and a 2.2-inch display. It'll allegedly launch on July 30 in your choice of white or black for CAD $19.95 (about $18) on a three-year deal.
  • HTC has already managed to roll a fix for that Bluetooth vulnerability they've been dogged by in recent days. [Via pocketnow.com]
  • Ovi Maps 3.1, N-Gage, Ovi Contacts 2.1, and a mysterious "phone memory update" are all now available to users of North American Nokia N97s. Early reports suggest that some users are having trouble getting the goods installed successfully, so let us know how it goes.
  • Continuing a trend it started earlier this year on other smartphones, Verizon has gone ahead and unlocked the GPS on its Samsung Omnia with an official firmware update. The release also includes an updated WinMo 6.1 AKU, Bluetooth tethering support through VZ Access Manager, and some memory fixes. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Quigo ad placement

Mysterious Samsung "Link" coming to Bell this month?


Details are scarce, but it seems that this blurry, partial photo of an unknown QWERTY Samsung might be the "Link," a smartphone destined for Bell -- allegedly as soon as July 15. Seeing that it's being described as a smartphone, that virtually guarantees that it'll be running Windows Mobile, and from the look of it, we'd probably have to expect WinMo 6.1 Standard. Technically, S60 is a remote possibility -- Samsung is an S60 licensee, after all -- but the company has yet to release S60 gear on North American soil, so why start now?

[Via Unwired View]




    AOL News

    Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in: