Google isn’t the only company giving away flashy handsets to developers. The Mountain View based firm recently concluded its Google I/O show Stateside and gave away Nexus One, Motorola DROIDS and EVO 4G models.  Down in Johannesburg, South Africa, Korean based Samsung passed along the Samsung Wave S8500 to every developer and journalist in attendance. The Wave features Samsung’s new Bada OS and a spokesperson said that more info on upcoming Bada equipped phones will be announced during the third quarter. Samsung pointed out that Bada does not support multitasking. If a third party app is running and and a second one is started, the first app will stop immediately.

A Samsung spokesman told Phone Review that the next Bada model will be similar to the Wave and be priced under $200. The unit after that will be equipped with a physical QWERTY keyboard. The Bada app store will debut in South Africa and 19 other countries and quickly hit a total of 80 countries after just a few months. Like Apple’s removal of all sexually explicit apps from the App Store,Samsung plans on doing the same thing with the manually monitored Bada app store. Also not allowed will be apps focusing on illegal drugs or apps that “incite(s) violence or hate”.Free and paid apps will be offered and credit cards can be used to buy the paid apps although Samsung is working with carriers to hopefully implement some form of carrier billing. The manufacturer hopes to ring up sales of 10 million Bada powered devices this year, doubling to 20 million sold next year as the Bada platform replaces Windows Mobile, Symbian and Android on Samsung models.
source: PhoneReport

Samsung has begun their European assault with the Samsung Wave S8500 as we’ve seen Germany, the UK, and France seeing the light of the handset recently. However, we reported that it would also see a launch outside of Europe in the short term, but now it looks as though a variant is headed for the Chinese market. The CDMA flavored Samsung Wave SCH-F859 visually appears the same to its GSM counterpart except for the noticeable Anycall branding that’s adorning the front of the handset – it would seem that it will be sold through China Telecom. When it comes to the internals, the Samsung SCH-F859 looks to be packing the same specs such as a 3.3” Super AMOLED touchscreen, 1GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera, the ability to shoot 720p video, and supports EV-DO Rev A. Although it’d be a dream to see this bada powered handset land stateside, it’s still up in the air if US consumers will ever see either flavors of the handset make an appearance.
source: Samsung Hub

There is some momentum backing the Samsung Wave’s launch in Europe after we reported that Germany would be the first in line for customers to purchase it. Soon afterwards we’ve also mentioned at how UK consumers could also be looking forward to it with Vodafone UK, but now its expanding out to France as well – so it looks like a decent chunk of Europe will see the handset go live. In addition, the bada powered handset is also expected to be rolled out to other countries around the globe which includes Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and China. However, there was no official word on an exact time line when Samsung plans on releasing the handset to those markets. Samsung’s President and head of the Mobile Communications Business, JK Shin said, “The Samsung Wave represents our strategy to deliver rich, exciting smartphone experiences to everyone. This launch will make our platform vision a reality and consumers, developers and operators will experience the freedom of choice that bada enables.”
source: Korea NewsWire

We know that the Samsung Wave S8500 is on its way to Vodafone, but customers will still be required to wait some time before they get their hands on the long awaited bada based handset. If you happen to live in Germany, you’ll be greeted to the good news today that you’ll have the opportunity of purchasing this spectacular phone right now as it’s being made available for purchase at 429 Euros. Germany will undoubtedly getting their fill as the rest of the world still waits in anticipation to finally witness the launch of this high-end device out of Samsung’s camp. To celebrate its launch, Samsung is throwing a live Summer Wave musical event where artists like Jennifer Braun, Fadi Maalouf, and Spirit of Soul will be attending the festivities. In the mean time, you can get situated with our preview on the handset until you physically can get one in your hands.
via Samsung Hub

If you’re looking to scoop up some of the best upcoming Samsung phones, then you’d better check out Vodafone seeing that the Samsung Galaxy S and Wave will be calling them home. Both sporting the latest screen technology thanks to their super bright super AMOLED touchscreens, they will undoubtedly catch the gaze of on-lookers. Both devices have recently popped up on Vodafone’s web site with the tease of the “coming soon” captions clearly visible for all those who dare to find out more about the handsets. Although there is no exact word on pricing or availability, you can sign up for email updates to get the latest information surrounding these two powerful Samsung handsets. For those who might’ve forgotten, the Samsung Wave is the very first bada powered device while the Samsung Galaxy S is a lightning fast Android smartphone packing a 4” touchscreen and a blazing fast “Hummingbird” processor that rivals Qualcomm’s Snapdragon.
source: Vodafone (Galaxy S & Wave) via SlashPhone

With the bada powered Samsung Wave making a splash during MWC, some were curious to see how the Korean based manufacturer plans to simultaneously support a range of mobile platforms. Sure they’re crowned as the second largest cell phone maker in the world, but now it looks as though they’re placing their focus and attention on Android. The open platform surely has its advantages as we’ve seen consumers openly embrace the bevy of smartphones featuring Google’s mobile operating system. Samsung executives recently told analysts that 50 percent of their smartphones would be running Android while bada would only compromise a mere 33 percent. It’s still yet unknown how their bada platform will be adopted by consumers worldwide, especially when the sole device confirmed to run the platform is the Samsung Wave with others rumored coming down the road. Finally it’ll be interesting to see how Microsoft’s platforms, Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7, will be divided among the remaining 17 percent of their handsets. Naturally things can always change down the road depending on what trends occur – maybe bada might somehow prove itself enough to garner a larger share.
source: Reuters