The Samsung Stratosphere is one of the most rumored phones from Samsung recently. Its release date was postponed twice. Finally, an official release date for this smartphone has been confirmed. This October 13, 2011, the Samsung Stratosphere will be available on Verizon’s shelves.
The Stratosphere, a 4G capable smartphone, is enabled to run on Verizon’s 4G LTE Network (up to 12Mbps download speed and up to 5Mbps upload speed on Verizon 4G covered region in the US). Likewise, it is also 3G capable (up to 1.4 Mbps download and p to 800Kbps upload speeds). Pricing is expected at $149 on a 2-year plan.
Form and Display
What makes this phone unique among its 4G peers on Verizon’s shelves is full-Qwerty keypad which is a slider. Meanwhile, its display is a 4-inch Super AMOLED enabled screen, 480 x 800 pixels resolution, which promises great movie and TV show experience via its access to the Samsung Media Hub. When it comes to touchscreen operations, the Samsung stratosphere assures full-touch experience through its TouchWiz interface.
OS, CPU, Cameras
The Samsung Stratosphere runs the Android 2.3 Gingerbread Operating System (It is not yet confirmed if it can be upgraded to the upcoming Android 4.0 Ice Cream sandwich which is expected to first run on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note). Of course, it has access to over 250,000 apps and games in the Android Market. Google Mobile Services are also pre-installed.
Its single-core 1GHz Cortex A8 processor will be responsible for running apps and services along with the 512MB of RAM. When it comes to storage, it is equipped 4G internal memory and a 4GB microSD card is provided (supports up to 32GB though).
The primary camera is a 5-Megapixel rear unit with LED flash. It supports video capturing at 480P. The secondary camera is a 1.3-Megapixel unit.
Specs Summary
| OS |
• Android 2.3 Gingerbread |
| CPU |
• 1.0GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor |
| Display |
• 4.0-inch Super AMOLED• 480 x 800 pixels• Samsung TouchWiz Interface |
| Memory |
• 512MB RAM• 4GB internal storage• 4GB microSD (expandable up to 32GB) |
| Cameras |
• 5MP primary (LED flash)• 1.3MP secondary |
| Data |
• 4G LTE |
| Release Date |
• Oct 13, 2011 (Verizon Wireless) |
Overall, the Samsung Stratosphere is deemed as a mid-tier choice at a low cost with sound specs and fast data connectivity.
