Bell has announced it will be the exclusive carrier to offer the HSPA-enabled Samsung Omnia II in Canada. It has been designated the “Official Mobile Device of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.”, as Bell will be the official communications sponsor of the upcoming sports event.
A Samsung's representative has posted a comment at the official fan page of the Samsung OMNIA II stating that the phone will be released in the U.S. by the end of the year with all the relevant software updates preinstalled on the device. The exact release date will be announced by Verizon, which is the only U.S. carrier to offer the device. Hopefully it's November 1st.
Windows Mobile 6.5 will officially launch on October 6th, and while major mobile phone manufacturers are prepping some new handsets with the preinstalled WM6.5, what about those customers who have decent smartphones that still run the old 6.1 version and don't want to change them?
Well, it looks like Samsung OMNIA I900 owners got lucky as thhey'll be getting an official WM6.
Alright, first the good news: the unlocked version of the Samsung I8000 Omnia 2 is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Bad news: it's currently listed for $999.99. While there's no carrier version of the phone yet, this is the only option for those who must buy the handset disregarding the cost. If you're one of those people, go ahead and order one now.
According to Samsung Mobile USA’s website, the new Samsung Omnia II will be “coming soon exclusively at Verizon Wireless.” You can sign up on Samsung’s email list to be immediately updated when the phone goes live.
Like any successor, the second Omnia is superior to it's predecessor in terms of specs:
The FCC has approved a version of the Samsung Omnia II (i8000L) with support for North American 3G bands - WCDMA bands II and V. The thing is that it's not coming to the U.S. Carriers in Latin America use these bands too, and the phone is destined to that market. However, nothing prevents you from bringing one of these in the U.S. or Canada and use it on either AT&T or Rogers.
Good news, Samsung Omnia owners! You can now download and install the new software update from Verizon, which will disable the annoying GPS lock on your device.
All of you waiting for this handset to be released on Verizon, or on any other carrier should definitely check out the following 11-minute video tour of the upcoming Samsung Omnia II. Sit back and enjoy:
Microsoft Austria has announced that the upcoming Samsung Omnia II will be launching in the domestic market in September with 6.5 already installed. While we still don't know the exact market launch date for 6.5, it appears that the Austrian Omnia II might be the first WinMo 6.5 retail device to ship anywhere.
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