Samsung Vibrant is official on T-Mobile, coming July 21 for $200
By Chris Ziegler 
posted June 28th 2010 12:14AM
posted June 28th 2010 12:14AM
Samsung Vibrant from T-Mobile USA to Bring Robust Entertainment Experience on a Brilliant Screen
T-Mobile's Latest Android™-Powered Device Offers Exclusive Entertainment Experience, Including James Cameron's Avatar In a Slim Smartphone Package
BELLEVUE, Wash. and DALLAS - June 28, 2010 - T-Mobile USA, Inc. and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S.1, today announced the Samsung Vibrant™, a Samsung Galaxy S™ device available from T-Mobile.
Through pre-installed applications and pre-loaded content, the Samsung Vibrant's comprehensive multimedia capabilities combine all your entertainment and communication needs into one device - it's a television, bookshelf, radio, movie library, gaming system, and of course, a smartphone. The Vibrant comes fully loaded with exclusive entertainment features including "James Cameron's Avatar" on an included 2GB external memory card and an exclusive collector's edition of a popular game. The Vibrant also brings the Amazon Kindle for Android™ application with access to more than 600,000 books, MobiTV with live and on-demand TV, and much more.
The Vibrant's 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display gives customers a vivid, sharp color HD-like viewing experience, whether consumers choose to play a game, watch a movie or read an e-book while on the go. Featuring a slim and sleek design, the Vibrant is one of the most portable and accessible mobile entertainment devices available to U.S. consumers. The speedy Samsung 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird Application Processor and six-axis sensor are optimized for media and gaming, which gives consumers a seamless, immersive experience while reading, watching and playing. The Vibrant is also the latest smartphone in T-Mobile's lineup that can benefit from enhanced speeds in locations with T-Mobile's super-fast HSPA+ network.2
"By combining best-selling, award-winning content and amazing hardware that brings that content to life, T-Mobile continues to deliver on its commitment to bring innovative mobile entertainment experiences to consumers' fingertips," said Paul Cole, vice president, devices and accessories, T-Mobile USA. "We are proud to introduce the Samsung Vibrant as the latest addition to our growing lineup of Android-powered devices."
"The Samsung Vibrant contains all of the premium core features that the Galaxy S portfolio offers to consumers, including an industry leading display and powerful processor. The Galaxy S devices make the smartphone brilliant," said Omar Khan, chief strategy officer for Samsung Mobile. "When you combine the Vibrant's incredible hardware with preloaded content like "Avatar," along with thousands of applications available on the Android Market, the entertainment and customization possibilities are endless."
'"James Cameron's Avatar" is in many ways the most innovative film ever produced, and in working with Samsung and T-Mobile we are now able to offer this eye-catching experience to viewers in a new and dynamic environment on the Samsung Vibrant,' said Peter Levinsohn, president of new media and digital distribution for 20th Century FOX Film Company.
The multimedia experience that makes the Samsung Vibrant a great option for entertainment enthusiasts includes the following:
20th Century Fox's "James Cameron's Avatar," full-screen movie pre-loaded on the Samsung Vibrant, takes consumers back to Pandora, the fictional world created by James Cameron, in the highest-grossing film in history.
Amazon Kindle for Android application provides direct access to more than 600,000 books, including a vast majority of The New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases. Before consumers purchase a book, they can read the first chapter for free. They also can read reviews and recommendations from Amazon.com and its customers. With Kindle for Android, customers can sync their reading with their other Kindle devices so they never lose their place or are without their reading.
MobiTV mobile phone application offers consumers access to live and on-demand TV available in English and Spanish - including more than 35 channels of news, sports and entertainment. Favorite channels such as Bravo, Disney Channel, ESPN, NBC and more are available for Samsung Vibrant consumers to watch at home or away. Plus, when Vibrant consumers subscribe to MobiTV, their first 30 days of service are free.3
Slacker Radio mobile application comes pre-loaded on the Samsung Vibrant, allowing anyone to listen to free personalized radio. Slacker offers more than 120 genre stations and the ability to create your own. With millions of songs from thousands of artists, Slacker is the best way to discover new artists and hear your favorite music.
Gogo® Inflight Internet service offers a bonus to consumers who purchase the Samsung Vibrant: up to a month of free in-flight Wi-Fi access on their device, with Internet access on more than 3,000 daily flights and growing every day in the continental U.S.4
Samsung Media Hub, expected to be available in the near future, is a full library of video and literary content powered by some of the biggest names in entertainment.
The Samsung Vibrant's assets go beyond its impressive entertainment features. Running Android 2.1, the Samsung Vibrant offers a seven-paned home screen and access to Android Market™ to personalize the device with 65,000 applications, including applications for social networking, gaming, travel and more. Samsung's Social Hub service helps consumers to easily keep in touch with family and friends through integrated contacts, calendars, social networking sites and group messaging, including the ability to "reply all" for up to 10 contacts. The Vibrant also supports six languages: English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian and Korean.
The Vibrant delivers advanced phone features such as GPS functionality with access to turn-by-turn navigation and Swype® text input for fast, accurate communication. It also features a 5-megapixel camera with digital zoom and autofocus, and a video camera for recording crystal-clear, high-definition (720p) videos and photos for playback on an HD television. With support for up to 32 GB of external memory, the Vibrant provides ample space for consumers' entertainment favorites. Consumers can customize their Vibrant with two battery cover options in dark blue and lavender that will come packaged exclusively with the T-Mobile device.
Availability
The Samsung Vibrant and its exclusive pre-loaded entertainment content is expected to be available to T-Mobile customers beginning July 21. Customers can visit http://galaxy-s.t-mobile.com for more information.
In addition, it is expected that beginning on July 1, customers may pre-order the Samsung Vibrant at any one of more than 4,000 RadioShack® stores. To pre-order, customers must purchase a $50 gift card, which will be applied toward the retail price of the device. Customers can schedule an appointment to pick up and activate their devices at RadioShack stores with anticipated availability starting July 21. Customers who pre-order at RadioShack will receive a $50 gift card by mail after purchasing their phone with qualifying voice and data plan on a two-year contract. The ability to pre-order is also expected to be available online at http://www.radioshack.com/vibrant beginning July 1.
wow @ all the samsung galaxy S news tongiht... Sprint epic Verizon calling theirs the fascinate.. wow lol
@ajac09 I'm seeing a pattern here...
we'll probably get a release date for the Epic 4g in a few minutes.
@ajac09 Great Price for a Great Phone on a Great Carrier!
@statickeith I'm really pretty nervous. My iPhone 4 should be arriving in another day, but I just don't think I want it anymore. These phones are looking really really great. I think I've got Android envy. I mean these specs are sick, I'm just a little worried about the UI. Definitely would want to play with one first.
@Chizzed
Got my first android phone a couple days ago. Have to say, the UI is really easy to use. And it's extremely convienient. Everything I look for is readily available, usually in an obvious spot (menu, search buttons). Being able to use the dedicated menu and search buttons makes it easy to customize settings and such for apps and while browsing the internet.
I'm not saying it's more slick than iOS4, but damn, I was surprised by how easy it was. I really was expecting Android to be more of a mess but it's very clean.
@ajac09
And while all this fun is happening, AT&T says that the Captivate will be out "in the coming MONTHS."
God I hate this network.
@Dante of the Inferno LOL well at least ur getting the motorla flipout hahahahahha
@Chizzed Lol I went from 2.1 android phone the incredible to iPhone 4 and don't regret it...at all actually. The iPhone 4 doesn't crash is often technically never and battery life is amazing. Plus I can read the screen super legible in sunlight.
@Chizzed Don't worry, nothing beats the iPhone in terms of overall quality and usability. If you like plastic, you should definitely hold-out for Sam's song.
@ajac09
This looks amazing. Of course, as 8GB microSDs can be had for $20 retail, it would have been nicer if they included something more capacious than 2GB. This is a minor nit pick, for a fabulous looking device.
This is, IMO (and my opinion only), the first iPhone competitor built for the masses. It is powerful, vibrant, good looking, and available on many different networks. I foresee Samsung being very successful with this phone.
@LeonardWashington
few months ago went from a 3GS to a NexusOne, dont regret it. Love the N1 over iphone. Android OS has so much more freedom i would rather get a galaxy s over the idont4
HTC HD2 running Android or Samsung Galaxy Vibrant Phone-a-majig?
VOTE NOW!
@Wiizer
Eh, I don't know. How radically different is Samsung's customization of Android from stock?
@Special Agent Steve
Well, TouchWiz is ugly, but you can deactivate it and use stock Android.
I really love the 4.3 inch screen on the HD2 and the feel of the phone... It's just missing Android, but XDA is getting close to resolving that. I don't know if I should get the HD2 or wait for this...
@Wiizer Android on the HD2 is probably a ways off. The new kernel hack is a good start but I'd say it will be a year before Android is "usable" on HD2
@JoeSzymkowicz id imagine we will see a fully functional WinPho7 port before a froyo port... which in my opinion is more appealing, i love good graphic design
@Wiizer - how does one disable TouchWIz? In Any event.. I with this had a front facing camera. I did not see it in the specs. I hear T-Mo is going to be rebranding the sidekick with a 4.3 1Ghz Android phone. This has been around the bloggo's some weeks/months(?) ago. That I would be totally interested in. Since it does have a physical keyboard. AND its 4.3 :) Its either that, or I wait for the TMo Streak from dell. Which.. talk about ugly UI's.
@Special Agent Steve Yeah I'm worried about the "wrapper" that Samsung, and really every other company, sticks on Android. I am still using a G1, the first Android phone, with a nice stock Android UI that I love (its just nice and clean). I really want to get one of these newer Android phones when my contract is up in October, but I may just end up going with the Nexus One so I don't have to deal with slowly rolled out Android updates and funky wrappers.
@Wiizer Hey. You. Hey there. Trust me - go with the Galaxy S - Even when a *usable* port happens, it will not be perfect. And in the meantime, with the HD2, you will not be happy. It's like having a kid that's all grown up but can't get their shit together. I've got an HD2, and I completely resent it. I should have abandoned it on somebody's doorstep the moment it came into my life.
@iknowaeiou
you can abandon it on my doorstep if you like lol
@Blacksheep
Yeah, I'm never getting an android phone with a skin again. Already made that mistake with the Cliq. Still on 1.5
how the hell does avatar fit on a 2 GB sd card it must be very low rez
@ericisthename
They took out 2 of the threedees to save space.
@Wiizer Ha
@ericisthename
There is 16gb onboard.
@ericisthename
I've got avatar in avi on my HD2 at a size of 2GB or so. Really smooth and non pixelated playback at fullscreen.
@ericisthename
4inch cell phones have a lower resolution screen than your 60inch plasma.
@Spaceshipped i wish i had a 60 incher!
Wow, pre-installed with Sims 3 and Avatar. Are they that desperate to sell the phone? Seems like they're not confident they can sell this phone so they have to piggyback with other IPs (just like bundling the HD2 with Transformers 2). Whatever happened to allowing the phone to stand on its own?
@pika2000
Really?... You're really going to complain about free swag with every phone purchase?
In this case, you should be lucky! I hear some phones require you to buy $30 bumpers before you can even make a call on them!
@pika2000 It could still be a great phone. Partnership deals aren't necessarily going to hurt phone sales. Extra bonuses are always a plus. I think the American consumer expects more than just a phone; we love the freebies.
@pika2000 first thing i did when i bought the HD2 was remove both transformers movies... that phone still stands on its own heads above the competition (including the iPhone 4)
@SteveyAyo Whether you removed the movie or not, doesn't change the fact that T-Mobile is piggybacking the Transformers IP to try selling the HD2. Obviously T-Mobile thought that the phone couldn't stand on its own.
@pika2000
Used to being deprived of things all your life, pika? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!
That, or you could just be trollin'. Sounds more plausible than being stupid enough to think free movies sell $200 phones with contracts attached...
@Wiizer So, you agree that selling this phone only by the spec and Android is not enough. Figures. So much for the fanboys bragging how "good" this phone is as obviously T-Mobile doesn't think so.
@pika2000 or they thought like most people do... free stuff = cool you apparently hate getting stuff for free and thats fine... i guess
@pika2000 or they want you to be able to experience the worlds greatest phone display out of the box without having to transfer a movie on to it... think with your head not your iPhone
@pika2000
Partnership deals are an important aspect of marketing. It's always nice to get something a little bit extra with your purchase. It gives your purchase value and also helps to define the product to your market when the market is flooded with competing products.
There's also something to be said for being able to pull out a new product from packaging then having a ready sample for your new gadget to take advantage of before you get home, do setup and such. Instant stickiness. Smart Marketing.
@Wiizer Sounds like you're the troll here, doing personal attack instead of sticking with the topic. Regardless of what you said, fact is T-Mobile is selling this phone with those IPs attached (Sims 3 and Avatar). Obviously T-Mobile thinks they need these to be able to sell the phones. They didn't do that with the G1, myTouch 3G/Slide (other than the Fender edition) nor the moto cliq.
@ounkeo So you do agree that T-Mobile saw that they need to bundle in something with this phone, marketing or not, to sell the phone. That's my whole point. The fanboys sure are in denial.
@SteveyAyo Again troll, care to put better comments instead of doing personal attacks? All you're saying is that you agree with my point, that T-Mobile fells the need to do this freebies to sell the phone.
@pika2000 why are you so anti being able to experience the amazingness of that beautiful screen the secong you take the phone out of the box? i mean did it bug you that apple set up a hotline for losers with no friends to facetime with? (over wifi of course) seems like they didnt think the tech could stand on its own so they had puppets answering calls OR they were marketing their product ... troll
@pika2000 personal attack? youre a moron, thats a statement of fact AND personal attack... happy?
@SteveyAyo Here we go again with the personal attacks. Did you read my comments? I never said I agree or disagree with T-Mobile's decision. All I did was pointing out the fact that T-Mobile did this, and it's clear that T-Mobile thought the phone won't be able to sell on its own.
But hey, seems like you're an Apple fanboy/troll in denial, feeling the need to mention Apple, iPhone, and their services in a thread about T-Mobile/Samsung.
@pika2000 you are clearly saying you dont think this phone is good, and hiding behind your bullshit "assessment" of how T-Mobile feels about this phone... Companies like to add in things for people to sell products, and people love free stuff, why not throw your hat in with the best selling movie ever? (despite it sucking) seems like its a win win and T-Mobile NEEDS some wins in america
@SteveyAyo
"you are clearly saying you dont think this phone is good"
Where did I say that? Proof it to me.
@pika2000 Windows Mobile has the 3rd largest market share in the U.S. and yet you think T-Mobile had second thoughts about selling the phone which at the time of release had the fastest processor and the most ram of any phone built on planet earth? Your fail sir, not T-Mobile.
@rhomaion
Your statement doesn't change the fact that T-Mobile used Transformers on their ads to sell the HD2. Are you saying that didn't happen? That all the ads of HD2 with Transformers 2 didn't exist?
@pika2000
"All you're saying is that you agree with my point, that T-Mobile fells the need to do this freebies to sell the phone."
"So you do agree that T-Mobile saw that they need to bundle in something with this phone, marketing or not, to sell the phone. That's my whole point."
"it's clear that T-Mobile thought the phone won't be able to sell on its own."
"Obviously T-Mobile thinks they need these to be able to sell the phones."
"So much for the fanboys bragging how "good" this phone is as obviously T-Mobile doesn't think so."
Great examples of YOU hiding your own ignorant opinion of the phone behind bullshit assessments of a pretty straight forward marketing technique... its pretty clear you only came here to troll on this phone and tell everyone it sucks without directly saying it... you got your fight now go troll somewhere else, thanks
@SteveyAyo
Sorry, but where in those quotes did I say the phone is not good? sounds like you have a twisted comprehension. Again Apple fanboy, go troll somewhere else.