Samsung i8520 'Halo' Android 2.1 phone with 3.7-inch Super AMOLED and pico projector (updated)

While Samsung is desperate for us and the world to focus on its very first Bada device -- the Wave S8500 -- we found something a bit more interesting for Google fans. Tucked away in the depths of a spec sheet is Samsung's unannounced i8520 phone running Android 2.1. After quizzing a team of perplexed executives of increasing rank, a VP from Samsung's mobile division finally told us that it'll be revealed as the "Halo" tomorrow when the show floor opens. Looking at the spec sheet then, the i8520 Halo packs a 3.7-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display (bigger than the Wave's 3.3-incher), 8 megapixel autofocus camera with flash (VGA on the front), 720p / 30fps video encoding / decoding, DivX and Xvid playback support, Bluetooth 2.1, standard 3.5mm headphone jack, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, A-GPS, 16GB of internal storage and microSD expansion, stereo speakers, DLNA support, and -- get this -- a DLP pico projector integrated. The spec-sheet also lists a "Specialized Projector UI" as one of the features, suggesting it'll look a little different when you toss it up onto the big screen. This quad-band GSM / EDGE phone with tri-band UMTS 900 / 1900 / 2100 will ship in Q3 to Europe and Asia with a chance for a US version at some point later. We'll bring you more tomorrow just as soon as we get through all this paella.

Note: Even though the i8520 clearly seems to run the same UI as the Bada-powered Wave, we've been assured by multiple people in Samsung -- including a VP in the Mobile division -- that it is, in fact, running Android 2.1. That ties in nicely with the fact that Bada's graphical representation comes through as a new cut of TouchWiz, so it makes sense these guys would want to port the same look and feel to other platforms. Also of note is the fact that we couldn't confirm from the company that it's got a projector on board, but there's plenty of evidence to suggest it does: the so-called Specialized Projector UI, the fact that the 14.9mm girth is likely thick enough to swallow the necessary optics, and -- of course -- the big DLP logo on back. We'll bring out the final details just as soon as we know 'em.

Update: Images confirm it, Halo is a projector phone!

Samsung i8520 'Halo' Android 2.1 phone with 3.7-inch Super AMOLED and pico projector

[TheOne Posted Feb 15th 2010 2:19AM]

@MrThunderfield Reason being mostly likely is the projector and there are some phones in Japan that has this already and I thin some will even control the Micky D's robot girl they have there also. There are phones now out in the normal world that have 1gb ram in them so this is no stretch for a phone that will be out later in the year, but will find out today playing with the X10 right now

[DTS Posted Feb 14th 2010 4:43PM]

lol

[ThreeFourSeven Posted Feb 14th 2010 4:59PM]

Android always amazes me.

[Mr Brightside Posted Feb 14th 2010 5:17PM]

The leaked pictures are strange, 4 times a app store??? it looks like a great device!

[Patlex Posted Feb 14th 2010 5:20PM]

So the Samsung Galaxy Android phone comes with a microsd card slot, and 8gb of space built in, but this better/higher end phone for Samsung does not? I don't get the logic here.

[MrThunderfield Posted Feb 14th 2010 5:30PM]

Meh, won't be much more than a novelty. Wake me up when pico projectors do 720p in good quality.

[twoone Posted Feb 14th 2010 6:52PM]

Did they forget the 3D screen?

[locknroll Posted Feb 14th 2010 6:57PM]

I can't believe no-one has done it yet so here goes:

Please Help me Obi Wan Kenobi!

[Wesley Posted Feb 14th 2010 7:04PM]

I have to say, Samsung have the best hardware out there. Just crazy:
1Ghz cpu
8Mp camera
720P video recording
Amazing 3.7" super amoled screen
huge 1800 mAh battery
pico projector

and they know better than to make cameras that stick out like a sore thumb like HTC does!

Q3 is too long away...

[iheartsynth Posted Feb 14th 2010 7:22PM]

Would you look at that 1800 mAh battery on this thing! Any word if its GSM or EVDO?

[Alex1995 Posted Feb 14th 2010 8:39PM]

Look at this real-life pic by gsmarena.com .
(The phone on the right)
http://www.gsmarena.com/showpic.php3?sImg=newsimg/10/02/samsung-phones-in-the-wild/gsmarena_007.jpg

[Alex1995 Posted Feb 14th 2010 8:44PM]

you can clearly see the tiny focus-wheel of the pico-projector on the side of the phone, indicating that it WILL have have the pico-projector!!!

[korbermeister Posted Feb 14th 2010 11:12PM]

Thanks for the laugh!

[ckent Posted Feb 15th 2010 3:13AM]

This phone has some really great specs..I mean the AMOLED alone should be great.

Forgive me for my ignorance, but whats to stop you from putting on a different frontend on this device if it does run android? Say the HTC UI?

[NODOGT Posted Feb 15th 2010 4:06AM]

then why there is now such market place Icon with andorid guy on the Wave? watch the video and photos of its UI, you will not find such icon on Wave running Bada OS.
So i think this icon we see here is definitely an android OS with TouchWiz 3.0 UI on it.

[Electrofreak Posted Feb 15th 2010 9:02AM]

HFS. After 9 months of constant, obsessive cell phone news whoring, I've found a phone that I actually want.

This thing has everything I could want in a phone. It is perfect.

Of course, that means it will probably end up on some sort of crappy carrier like T-Mobile like the HD2, but that's life.

[dkirby Posted Feb 15th 2010 4:05PM]

Looks like a good phone... That's alot of stuff in your pocket! I would definately modify the UI if I were to get one!