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Samsung's Wave 3 handset running version 2.0 of the bada mobile operating system is finally available. The 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED handset running Samsung's home-grown OS can now be purchased in France as it begins rolling out to Germany, Italy, Russia and markets beyond.
We first started hearing about Samsung's Wave 3 handset back in August. The bada flagship features a 9.9-mm thick anodized aluminum body housing a 1.4GHz processor, 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage with microSD expansion. Radios include Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11n Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct support, GPS, and HSDPA 14.4 / HSUPA 5.76 with 900 / 2100 frequency support. The Wave 3 also ships with Samsung's Touchwiz UX and ChatOn cross-platform communication service.
For those keeping track, bada is one of four mobile operating systems supported by Samsung, including Windows Phone, Android, and a new joint venture with Intel announced in September to co-develop Tizen from the fetid dregs of MeeGo. And yet bada continues to grow, doubling its share of the global smartphone market in Q3 of 2011 to grab a 2.2 percent slice, according to Gartner's research, easily surpassing Microsoft in the process. A statistic that says less about the popularity of bada than it does the sluggish demand for Windows Phones.
Comments
I’m sure it’s not a niche market for S.Korea for sure.
Chyan Sie - November 28, 2011
Anodized aluminum body. How come their android phones are made of plastic?
yumax_ph - November 28, 2011 via mobile
Weight and thickness mostly. The Wave phones don’t need to have “thinnest” and “lightest” written onto the packaging.
Strabo - November 28, 2011
Nor do any other phones. I suspect most people would rather have good looking, premium-feeling phones over a mm pissing contest.
It just seems like these companies are not “getting” it. The iPad2 and iPhone4 are rightly lauded for their design. But it’s not just about how thin they are. The thinness isn’t a number in a spec sheet, it’s something that actively compliments and enhances the overall look and feel of the device. Samsung and Motorola need to get a clue.
catonkatonk - November 28, 2011
Samsung must be doing something right. Considering their exponentially growing sales.
A lot of people, maybe even most, prefer plastic. It is more durable and convenient than glass. You don’t have to prefer skin deep beauty just because you own a smartphone.
Hans Pedersen - November 28, 2011
Frankly, Motorola devices are a lot more attractive than the iPhone, to me. Something made out of durable diamond cut aluminum and kevlar as opposed to glass that breaks the first time you drop it? And looks just as good or better IMHO? Yes thank you.
iCello - November 28, 2011
I got the Desire Z because it was mostly an aluminium body, but I’ve been yearning for a thinner and lighter smartphone since.
Using the original Galaxy S, it just felt better in my hand, because it was lighter and yet sturdier. And thinner. And had a nicer screen.
Then I held the GSII and thought the same thing but more.
And I tried out a Lumia 800 today, and once again came to the same conclusion.
Some people like phones with a decent amount of heft, others like phones that are so light you forget you’re using a phone and just fall into interacting with your stuff.
(And it’s all great, because the choice is there for people to make! That’s why there are plastic Android phones and metal Android phones – so people can [within their price range] choose the one that suits them best.)
kitface - November 29, 2011
Since when was 9.9mm thick anyway?
JimRamK - November 28, 2011
I don’t get how Windows Phone 7 is doing so poorly, it should be easily gaining more market-share than Bada
Raloc - November 28, 2011
That’s because the price of a bada phone is quite low. There are 3 high-end devices (Wave 1, II and 3) but the rest have low res screens and cameras and seems to ship mostly in countries such as Russia and India
Artstate - November 28, 2011
They should sell bada to fusion garage
Droid Mama - November 28, 2011
and not a single fuck was given that day
TaleSpin - November 28, 2011
[Samsung Apps Icon] …. ugh…….
21tiger - November 28, 2011
Why does Samsung make their Wave Bada phones out of anodized aluminium, but the Galaxy Nexus out of crappy plastic?
kurtthewurt - November 28, 2011
Not just that, how come this phone looks miles better than their Android and Windows Phone offerings?
Boggles the mind.
catonkatonk - November 28, 2011
Because they want to sell, if not was for that probably no much people will buy it
#MarketingStrategies
RaphaniacZX - November 28, 2011 via mobile
From the photo it looks just like the Samsung Android phones, which makes me feel sorry for those people who think they’re buying an Android compatible phone, and end up on this dead end OS
Thegovier - November 28, 2011
The android skin is actually a bada-like remake, but in anyway bada 2 is pretty similar to android
RaphaniacZX - November 28, 2011 via mobile
Who would have predicted that bada would still be alive today and webOS would be practically dead?
crichton007 - November 28, 2011
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