Sprint announces Samsung Ace

Samsung has partnered with U.S. CDMA carrier Sprint to launch the new SPH-i325 Ace, a dual-mode CDMA/GSM smartphone that borrows some styling cues from Samsung's SGH-i320 from 2 years back. The Ace combines the best of both worlds with EV-DO capable CDMA coverage in the U.S. on Sprint's network and a SIM card slot for GPRS/GSM use when traveling abroad to make the handheld a true world phone.

The new Ace is similar in design to Samsung's popular Blackjack line of smartphones, but features a non-scrollable d-pad and a thumbwheel for one-handed navigation. The best feature found on the new Ace its dual-mode functionality. The Samsung Ace will work on the 800/1900MHz CDMA networks found in North America and can be used with any valid SIM card when traveling abroad on 900/1800MHz GSM networks. The GSM feature of the Ace is unlocked, meaning that users can buy their own local SIM cards when travelling, rather than having to pay high per-minute rates to Sprint.

Sprint has teamed up the new Ace with some special roaming costs, too. For example, calls placed in Canada are billed at a discounted rate of US$.59/minute, while voice and data minutes used on Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam are billed as if they were used on the U.S. mainland.

Measuring up at 118mm x 58mm x 13mm (4.65" x 2.3" x 0.5") and weighing a mere 111g (3.9oz), the Samsung Ace is both lightweight and stylish. MicroSD memory cards (up to 2GB) can be used to complement on-board memory, and the device features a large 2.3" QVGA resolution 65k color TFT LCD display. The Ace runs Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 operating system and features a full QWERTY keyboard for optimum use of the included Office Mobile suite applications. Standard features like a 1.3 megapixel camera/camcorder, Bluetooth stereo, and speakerphone are also present.

The Samsung SPH-i325 Ace from Sprint is available now for US$199.99 after mail-in rebates and savings, with a two-year service agreement.