Verizon Wireless and Samsung Mobile announced a new Galaxy S smartphone called the Samsung Continuum, offering Android 2.1 and a secondary 1.8-inch “Ticker Display” in addition to the main 3.4-inch screen. Verizon also started taking orders for the previously announced, business-focused Motorola Droid Pro.

Although most Continuum details had been previously leaked, the launch still managed to generate some buzz due to the phone's signature feature: a second, 1.8-inch "Ticker Display" at the bottom of the phone dedicated to streaming a rolling, customizable ticker display of news, sports, finance, and SNS, IM, and email updates. Touching grip sensors on the bottom sides of the device makes the ticker display light up, says Verizon.

Samsung Continuum
(Click to enlarge)

It will be interesting to see if users take to the ticker, and if it proves to be more of a true messaging convenience than a push-media novelty. The tradeoff, of course, is the smaller main screen, which has shrunk to 3.4 inches from the four inches offered on Samsung's popular Galaxy S line of Android smartphones, which the Continuum otherwise closely resembles.

Like other Galaxy S phones, including Verizon's Samsung Fascinate, the Continuum runs Android 2.1 on a 1GHz Samsung S5PC110 "Hummingbird" system-on-chip (SoC). Internal memory specs were not listed, but the phone is said to be equipped with an 8GB microSD card in a slot that can expand to up to 32GB.

Like the main 3.4-inch screen, the secondary 1.8-inch Ticker Display uses Samsung's previous signature smartphone feature: a high-quality, rich-color Super AMOLED screen technology. The companies did not list the resolution of the screens, but according to several leaked reports, the 3.4-inch screen offers 800 x 480 resolution, and the 1.8-inch Ticker Display displays 480 x 96 pixels.

The displays are supported with multitouch technology, as well as Swype virtual keyboard text-entry software, says Verizon. In addition, a six-axis sensor on the Continuum works with an accelerometer "to provide a smooth, fluid gaming experience when the user is tilting the device up or down or panning the phone to the left or right," says Verizon.

Rear and side views of the Samsung Continuum
(Click on either to enlarge)

Supporting Verizon's 3G cellular network, the Continuum also offers 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth wireless technologies, says Verizon. A 3G Mobile HotSpot capability for sharing 3G bandwidth with up to five Wi-Fi users is also said to be available. A 3.5mm headphone jack is supplied, as well.

GPS is not listed , but as with the above wireless features, this was standard on earlier Galaxy S phones. In addition, the company mentions support for location-based services, and says the device is preloaded with Microsoft's Bing Maps and Bing Search.

Like earlier Galaxy S phones, the Continuum provides a five-megapixel camera, with auto-focus and LED flash. The Continuum offers "HD quality" (presumably 1080p) when capturing videos for playback on an HD television, but on-phone video is limited to 720p playback, says the company. Video playback is said to include support for DivX and Xvid formats.

The Android 2.1 stack, which could soon be two steps behind the times if the rumored Android 2.3 ships this week, features Google Mobile Services, including Gmail, YouTube, and Android Market. As noted above, however, Google Maps appears to have been supplanted by the Bing alternative.

The Continuum offers full HTML web browsing, as well as text, picture, video, and voice messaging, says Verizon. The phone supports both corporate and personal email accounts, including Exchange ActiveSync email synchronization. In addition, Verizon adds a series of V Cast apps, as well as Samsung's Social Hub, and integrated calendar and contacts apps, among others.

Samsung had been rumored to be announcing a Nexus Two phone in the U.K. this week, but the Continuum arrived instead. According to a story in our sister publication eWEEK, the Nexus Two has been delayed due to a hardware issue.

Verizon opens orders for Droid Pro

Verizon Wireless will begin accepting preorders for the Motorola Droid Pro today, before launching the Android 2.2 smartphone in stores Nov. 18, says a story in eWEEK.

Announced a little over a month ago, the Droid Pro (pictured) is available for $180, after a $100 mail-in rebate, with a new two-year contract, says the story. Users will also need to subscribe to a Verizon Nationwide Talk plan, beginning at $40 a month, as well as a 3G Smartphone plan.

Billed as the "first ever smartphone built on Android for business," the Droid Pro is nonetheless designed for both "work and personal use," says Motorola. The phone features a BlackBerry-like design with a front-facing, always-available QWERTY keypad beneath the undersized 3.1-inch 480 x 320 touchscreen.

Other features include a 1GHz processor, 4GB of memory, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, aGPS, a USB 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm audio port, says Motorola. A five-megapixel autofocus camera offers dual LED flash, as well as DVD-quality video capture, says the company.

Availability

The Samsung Continuum will be available for order starting Nov. 11 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at Verizon Wireless for $200 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement and data package. The device will be available in stores beginning Nov. 18.

More information may be found at Verizon, here, and at Samsung, here.

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