Samsung Omnia HD Phone Brings HD Video

Samsung's Omnia HD phone packs a brilliant 3.7-inch AMOLED display capable of handling 720p high-definition video...plus, it's a Symbian smartphone.

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Samsung has formally announced its new Omnia HD, a Symbian-based smartphone that can handle playing back and recording 720p high-definition video. And that video isn’t exactly crunched down to the size of a postage stamp: at 3.7 inches, the Omnia HD also brings the world’s largest touch-screen active matrix organic light emitting diode AMOLED display to a mobile phone.

"Samsung Omnia HD is an incredibly exciting product for us as it is a mobile perfectly suited to the needs of today’s consumers who want exciting multimedia experiences on the move," said Samsung’s head of mobile communications JK Shin, in a statement. "Omnia HD demonstrates our vision for the Samsung mobile business, which is to provide premium phones for users who desire functionality, style, usability and entertainment in one innovative device."

As if high-definition video capability weren’t enough, the Omnia HD carries an impressive array of additional specifications, including high-speed HSUPA and HSDPA wireless broadband access that offer download speeds up to 5.76 Mbps and 7.2 Mbps, respectively, making the prospect of downloading video to the phone over-the-air a possibility. The Omnia HD also packs an integrated GPS, 8 to 16 GB of internal storage and up to another 32 GB via a microSD card. The Omnia HD marks Samsung’s first Symbian phone. The phone also packs an 8.1 megapixel camera capable of shooting high-definition video, an accelerometer to automatically re-orient the display between landscape and portrait modes, and will sport a Samsung-customized interface with the "Samsung Mobile Widget," which the company claims will put customized, up-to-date information in front of users with just one touch.

Samsung hasn’t released any information about availability or pricing for the Omnia HD, but it seems destined for the high end of the mobile phone market…and, of course, markets with HSDPA and HSUPA mobile networks.