Today is a big day for Samsung. If you haven’t heard, the phone maker is unveiling the U.S. variants of its flagship handset, the Galaxy S II, tonight in New York (and you can bet we’ll be in attendance). But if that weren’t enough, Samsung also announced three new Bada-powered smartphones today, and each brings something special to the table.
The star of the bunch would be Samsung’s Wave 3, which has pretty respectable specs although it can’t really compare with the beastly Galaxy S II (that I can’t stop talking about). All three come with Samsung’s new BBM-style cross-platform messaging service, ChatOn, and we’re even seeing some NFC action.
The Wave 3 is meant to be the Bada flagship, which is probably why we’ve already heard some details about it. Meanwhile the Wave M, albeit a mid-range device, comes in as a close second with support for NFC. Rounding out the trio, the Wave Y is an entry-level smartphone with somewhat limited specs, but we’re expecting a pretty attractive price tag on the little guy.
Here’s a quick specs run-down:
Samsung Wave 3:
- Bada 2.0
- 4-inch Super AMOLED display
- 1.4 GHz processor
- 9.9mm brushed-metal build
- Social Hub, Music Hub, and ChatOn
- 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash
- VGA front-facing camera for video chat
Samsung Wave M:
- Bada 2.0
- 3.65 HVGA 320×480 display
- 832 MHz processor
- NFC capabilities
- Social Hub and ChatOn
- 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash
- VGA front-facing camera for video chat
Samsung Wave Y:
- Bada 2.0
- 3.2-inch HVGA 320×480 display
- ChatOn
- 2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash
While the Wave 3 and Wave M can certainly hold their own, these probably aren’t a great fit for a smartphone junkie. Bada is a rather smart OS, and we will definitely give credit where credit is due. But Android and iOS have some hardware out there that you just can’t beat.
On the other hand, these handsets will get the job done and probably at a pretty reasonable price. Obviously, it all depends on what you’re looking for. With the GSII announcement tonight and these Wave handsets on the way, you’ll have plenty to choose from.