Tata DoCoMo brings Samsung Galaxy touchscreen phone

Tata DoCoMo has launched the Samsung Galaxy Android touchscreen phone on its network. The Samsung Galaxy is the first Android phone to be launched by Tata DoCoMo, the GSM mobile service from Tata Teleservices.

Photo: Tata Docomo launches Samsung Galaxy touchscreen phone in India

Tata DoCoMo said in a press release that the price of the the Samsung Galaxy I7500 will be Rs 28,990, which will be an “introductory” price. The Samsung Galaxy is brought to India by an arrangement between Tata DoCoMo and Samsung Mobile. As part of its launch offer, those who buy Samsung Galaxy get to download 500 MB data free every month for the first six months.

Samsung Galaxy is an android phone

Samsung Galaxy is a 3G touchscreen Android phone, which means it will work seamlessly when 3G cellular services kick off. Tata DoCoMo claims that it already has a 3G ready network; so users of the Samsung Galaxy I7500 will have a smooth transition to 3G. The Samsung Galaxy I7500 was launched by Samsung in April this year.

The Samsung Galaxy I700 is relatively thin, with 11.9 mm. The smartphone weighs 116.7 grams. There is no physical keyboard, and the touchscreen is an AMOLED 3.2 inch-size screen. The capacitive touchscreen displays 16 million colors and has a resolution of 320 pixels X 480 pixels. The Samsung Galaxy has an accelerometer like most modern touchscreen phones, so that when you switch the phone from portrait to landscape mode, the on-screen keypad also changes orientation.

The Samsung Galaxy I7500 works on the GSM network, so keep in mind that this is Tata DoCoMo users, not for CDMA subscribers of Tata Indicom. The phone works on GSM, GPRS and EDGE platforms, and has a HSDPA speed of 7.2 mbps. However, don’t forget that such data transfer speeds are not available in India so far, it will be long time before we can download at HSDPA speeds. The Samsung Galaxy is also equipped with WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS, Tata DoCoMo said in a press release. There is a micro-USB port at the top of the phone for connectivity, sitting beside a standard 3.5 mm audio jack.

The built-in GPS receiver can be used for navigation, if you download and install a free application like Google Maps. In case you plan to purchase and install GPS software and map data from independent vendors like SatNav and MapMyIndia, do check in advance whether these applications run on the Android platform. Remember that Android, despite its popularity, is a relatively new mobile operating system, and your favorite applications may not have made it yet to this platform.

The Samsung Galaxy I7500 touchscreen smartphone is outfitted with a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, Tata DoCoMo said in the press release. The camera can shoot stills and videos, and sports autofocus. Onboard GPS means you can geotag the pictures and videos shot on the Samsung Galaxy with the shooting location. The mobile phone has audio and video player software. In case you want to download and install new applications over the air, visit the Android Marketplace on the Samsung Galaxy’s homescreen.

The Samsung Galaxy I7500 is loaded with Google Mobile Services, which includes Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude, Youtube, Google Talk, Picasa and Google Calendar. You can also install apps made for the Android platform on the touchscreen Galaxy.

Samsung claims that the Standard Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery on the Galaxy I7500 mobile phone will last up to 450 hours on a 2G network and up to 340 hours on 3G. The claimed talk time for Samsung Galaxy is up to 9 h 20 min on 2G and up to 6 hours and 10 min on 3G.

Tata DoCoMo expressed satisfaction at the launch of the Samsung galaxy smartphone on its network. The company has launched its GSM mobile phone operations in eight telecom circles in the country. Said Tata DoCoMo president Deepak Gulati: “When we launched our services, we had promised our subscribers that we would bring to them the best products and services—products that will stand for innovation and a pioneering spirit, and which would offer them convenience and simplicity. Living up to that promise, we are launching the Samsung Galaxy with one-touch Google Mobile Services (GMS). This launch marks the beginning of TATA DOCOMO’s relationship with Samsung. We will continue working together to launch more innovative mobile offerings for Indian consumers on the Tata DOCOMO platform.”

“At Tata DoCoMo, our promise has been to provide a refreshingly different experience to our fast-growing customer base,” Mr. Sunil Tandon, Regional Head, Tata DoCoMo said. “The launch of the Samsung Android is part of that endeavor—to provide subscribers with a world-class product that lets them experience the vast range of applications of the Android Market.”

Some specifications of the Samsung Galaxy

OS: Android OS, v1.5 (Cupcake)
CPU:    Qualcomm MSM7200A 528 MHz processor
Messaging:    SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, IM
Browser: HTML
Radio: No
Games: Yes
Colors: Black, White
Java
MP4/ H.263/ H.264/ WMV player
MP3/ e-AAC+/ WMA/ RA player
Voice memo
GPRS: Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
HSCSD: Yes
EDGE: Class 12
Memory: Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records: Practically unlimited
Internal: 8 GB storage, 128 MB RAM
Card slot: microSD (TransFlash), up to 16 GB
Alert types: Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Speakerphone: Yes;  3.5 mm audio jack
Dimensions:    115.9 x 56 x 11.9 mm
2G Network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network: HSDPA 900 / 2100 / 1700