Pantech has announced a new Android smartphone for the Korean Market.  Called the Pantech Vega Racer, this one boasts a 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU that should get benchmark geeks excited to give it a try.

No, we haven't entered the month of even faster mobile processors yet.  In fact, this handset runs on the same dual-core chipset used by the HTC Evo 3D (Snapdragon MSM8660) -- just overclocked to get the extra muscle.  It's paired with an Adreno 220 GPU and 1GB of RAM, which should see this thing blast through mobile games like it's nobody's business (not that the games on Android right now are really that awesome... but still).

Details of the Pantech Vega Racer include a  4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen display (800 x 480 resolution), an 8.0 megapixel camera module, a 1.3 megapixel webcam in front for video chat and, we're assuming, the usual cavalcade of smartphone fittings (WiFi, aGPS, Bluetooth, the works).  The shell is 9 mm thin and houses a 1,650 mAh battery.  It weighs a light 4.23 ounces and gets Android 2.3 Gingerbread as the OS of choice.

As with many of Pantech's releases, this new superphone seems destined strictly for the South Korean market.  SK Telecom gets it before the month ends at an as-yet unannounced price.

[via Engadget]

Samsung has officially unveiled the successor to one of its most successful feature phones.  Called the Samsung Star II S5260, the handset comes with the same touchscreen form factor, along with a whole slew of attractive features.

Like the original Star which sold over 30 million units, the new device brings a whole host of talents that should help close the gap between smartphones and regular feature phones.  It runs TouchWiz UI 3.0, with full support for widgets and  QuickType, which offers a faster way of typing than your standard virtual QWERTY keys.

Details of the Samsung Star II include a 3-inch touchscreen display (480 x 272 resolution), a 3.2 megapixel camera module and microSD card expansion.  Similar to the older model, there's no 3G, but there's WiFi to help tide your hankering for high-speed data access.

For instant messaging, it comes with Multi IM 2.0, which allows you to chat across multiple platforms, including Yahoo Messenger, Gtalk, AIM and Facebook Chat.  Samsung staple SocialHub is also onboard, along with dedicated Facebook and Twitter apps.

The Samsung Star II will be available starting February.  Germany gets it first, along with the rest of Europe, South America, India and the Middle East after that.  No official pricing has been announced, but reports are pegging it at €125 (around $170).

[Press Release]

LG just announced its new flagship Android handset and it's one sexy slab.  Billed as the LG Optimus Black, it comes bearing two unique traits: a super slim frame and an impressive-sounding NOVA display.

Sporting a slender 9.2-mm body, the device is supposedly "the world's slimmest smartphone."  Just to accentuate the slimness even more, they gave it a subtle back arch that tapers down to 6-mm at the bottom.  It also weighs a light 109 grams.

A first for the Optimus Black is the 4-inch NOVA display, which LG claims to be "the brightest, clearest and most readable among mobile screens," measuring in at 700 nits of brightness.  It's supposed to be energy efficient, too, using only 50% of the power consumed by regular LCDs during indoor use.

Unveiled details of the phone include a 2 megapixel front-facing camera (which is supposed to be another first), an unspecified camera in the rear, Wi-Fi and a 1,500 mAh battery (yep, they managed to fit that somewhere in there).  Given that this is a flagship handset, you can expect the full roster of hardware niceties to be on board, as well, including 3G with HSPA, aGPS and Bluetooth.  It will have Android 2.2 Froyo at the helm (an eventual upgrade to 2.3 Gingerbread is promised), with the homebrewed Optimus UI 2.0 running on top.  LG is also touting a feature called Wi-Fi Direct, which enables "quick and high-quality data transfer between mobile devices."

No pricing, but the LG Optimus Black is slated for release globally during the first half of 2011.

[via Engadget]

LG has two new dual SIM phones just announced for some of their markets.  Called the LG A155 and the LG A120, both handsets sport a traditional candy bar form factor, along with a typical set of entry-level features.

The LG A155 sports a more business-like appearance with a metallic-looking finish and slightly angled corners.  Details include a 2-inch TFT display (144 x 176 resolution), Bluetooth 2.0 and microSD card expansion (up to 2GB).  There is no camera on board, but they did throw in a music player and an FM tuner.

The LG A120, on the other hand, takes on a more plasticky, albeit youthful, styling.   Details include a 1.77-inch TFT display (128 x 160 resolution), integrated torch light, an FM tuner and, surprisingly enough, dual speakers.    There's no microSD card support, though, and no way to load music onto the thing, so you can only play whatever's coming through on the radio.    Battery is 950mAh, rated at 13 hours of talk time.

I'm not entirely sure why almost every single dual SIM phone I've seen packs low-end hardware.  Could be people use it  as a spare in case they need to be available on two networks or something.  At any rate, pricing for the LG A155 isn't known, but the LG A120 is supposed to retail for around $55 unlocked.

[via UnwiredView]

It first appeared in the rumor mill a couple of weeks back.  This time, though, the Acer beTouch E140 has been officially announced.

Running Android 2.2 Froyo at the helm, the handset is intended to line budget shelves with the likes of the LG Optimus and the Samsung Galaxy 5.  Like many affordably-priced smartphones, it falls a bit on the compact side, but the curvy lines and sleek-looking design should more than make up for the rather diminutive package.

Details of the beTouch E140 include a 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen (yes...resistive), a 3.2-megapixel camera module, aGPS, 3G with HSPA, WiFi, stereo Bluetooth, FM tuner, microSD card expansion (up to 32GB) and a 1,300 mAh battery.    A 600MHz CPU powers the action, so Flash 10.1 support will probably be disabled to compensate for the lack of processing muscle.

The usual Google apps will be on board, along with preloaded clients for Facebook and Twitter.   Other confirmed apps include Acer Spinlets (streaming music service) and nemoPlayer.

No exact release schedule nor pricing was given for the Acer beTouch E140.  The early rumors, however, billed it as the "€200 Android phone," which is probably quite accurate.  So far, the only markets confirmed to be getting it are UK and Italy.

[Acer]

Samsung just announced a new phone for the Russian market.  Called the Samsung C3530, it's a rather basic device clad in a traditional candy bar form factor with old-school alphanumeric keys.

Details of the phone include a 2.2-inch TFT LCD (320 x 240 resolution), a 3.2 megapixel camera module, Bluetooth 2.1, an FM tuner, a 3.5mm headset jack and microSD card expansion (up to 16GB).  Connectivity is strictly quad-band GSM/EDGE, with neither 3G nor WiFi thrown in.  Like most of today's phones, it bundles access to social networking services, Facebook and Twitter, along with a number of IM apps, such as Google Talk, AIM and Parlingo.

Although its features tow along the basic range, Samsung does step it up with the C3530's design.  Not only is the body slim at 11.9mm, it uses primarily metallic materials in the case, including a brushed metal back panel -- a nice departure from the usually plastic make of similarly-featured devices.

The catch?  Samsung seems to think that sturdy materials and a nice feel in hand equal a good chunk of extra on the price.  As such, the Samsung C3530, which is now selling in stores across Russia, is priced at 5,990 RUB (around $190).

[Unwired View]

Nokia just announced a new pair of affordable feature phones.  The duo consists of the Nokia X2-01 and the Nokia C2-01, which the company claims "offer maximum functionality at the lowest price possible."

The first of the two, the X2-01 is a QWERTY candybar, measuring 119.4 x 59.8 x 14.3 mm and weighing 107.5 grams.  With slightly rounded edges and angled corners, it's definitely got a unique style going.  Sporting a four-row QWERTY keyboard, you know it's geared towards messaging, with a heaping of music features necessitated by its Xseries branding.  Features include a 2.4 inch display (320 x 240 resolution), an uber-basic VGA camera module, limited connectivity (only GPRS/EDGE, no 3G and WiFi), stereo Bluetooth, 55MB of internal storage and microSD card expansion (up to 8GB).  It comes with the usual Ovi apps and services, along with the Communities app for social networking.

Nokia bills the C2-01, the second of the pair, as their most inexpensive 3G phone.  Clad in a classic candybar form factor with T9-style keys, it measures a compact 109.8 x 46.9 x 15.3 mm and weighs 89 grams.  Details include a 2.0 inch display, a 3.2 megapixel camera module, stereo Bluetooth, an FM tuner and microSD card expansion (up to 16GB).  It has Nokia Messaging for email and IM, as well as a threaded messaging view.

Release for the Nokia X2-01 is slated this quarter, with pricing at  €80 before taxes and operator subsidies.  The 3G-toting Nokia C2-01, on the other hand, will retail for €70 and will come out by the first quarter of next year.

[Nokia Conversations]

Still in the market for a cheap, entry-level smartphone?  You might want to fix your attention on the Motorola Citrus, a compact Android handset with some fairly decent specs.

Granted, it's not the prettiest candy bar touchscreen on the block.  Body is made from 25 percent post-consumer recycled plastic, though, so there's a fair excuse for the less than stellar appearance.  There are other green credentials, as well: it's CarbonFree-certified via Carbonfund, is cleared from a couple of hazardous materials (PVC and BFR), and uses 80 percent post-consumer recycled paper in the packaging.

Details of the Motorola Citrus include a 3-inch capacitive touchscreen (320 x 240 resolution), a 3.0 megapixel camera module, aGPS, 3G with HSPA, WiFi, stereo Bluetooth, a 3.5mm jack,  microSD card expansion (2GB preinstalled) and a 1,150 mAh battery.  It measures 104 x 59 x 15 mm and weighs 110 grams.

A 528MHz Qualcomm CPU moves the action along, running Android 2.1 at the helm.  It's got the familiar suite of Google services (Gmail, YouTube, Calendar and Gtalk), along with Motoblur on top.  Search and Maps, though, were replaced with Microsoft's Bing Search and Bing Maps, respectively.

The Motorola Citrus is out now, priced at an affordable $49.99 on a new two-year agreement (after a $100 mail-in rebate) with Verizon Wireless.

[Motorola via Engadget]

Samsung has been one of the more consistent manufacturers when it comes to putting linear successors for their feature phone models.  That continues with the Samsung Solstice II,  a newly-announced touchscreen messaging handset.

The successor to last year's Samsung Solstice, the device puts messaging and social networking at a premium, touting a full range of messaging options (SMS, MMS, IM and mobile email), threaded SMS and AT&T Social Net.  It runs TouchWiz 2.0, which features the familiar home screen for one-touch access to apps and services.

Details of the Samsung Solstice II include a 3-inch touchscreen display (240 x 400 resolution), a 2.0 megapixel camera module, aGPS (with AT&T Navigator and AllSport GPS), 3G with HSPA, Bluetooth 2.1, 256MB of internal storage, microSD card expansion (up to 16GB) and a battery rated at up to 5 hours of talk time.  Phone takes on a slate-style form factor, measuring 4.29 x 2.13 x 0.47 inches and weighing 3.35 ounces.

Slated for release by AT&T, it comes with a slew of the carrier's services, including AT&T AppCenter, AT&T Music and MobiTV.  Other preloaded extras include PicDial, Star Tweets and Vlingo.

The Samsung Solstice II is dropping this Sunday both online and at AT&T's retail locations all over the US.  Price is pegged at $29.99 on a two-year agreement.

[Samsung USA]

Environmentally-conscious cellphone users will get another option for their texting, calling and "doing the environment no harm" needs.  That option comes in the form of the Samsung Evergreen, a dual-keypad messaging handset armed with some decent mid-range features.

Clad in a slider candybar form factor, the device features two sets of keys: a standard alphanumeric in the front panel and a slide-out QWERTY from the side.  To help facilitate easier use, it comes with sensors for automatic screen rotation when you go from portrait to landscape and back.

As for the green credentials, the Samsung Evergreen meets all of the RoHS standards, making it free from PVC, BFR and Berrylium.  It's also shipping with an energy-efficient charger, which qualifies for Energy Star Version 2.0.  Packaging is made from 80% post-consumer recycled waste, it uses soy ink for printing and the device itself is 100% recyclable.

Details of the actual phone include a 2.4-inch TFT LCD, a 2.0 megapixel camera module, aGPS (with AT&T Navigator), Bluetooth 2.1 and dual-band 3G.  No word on preloaded apps and features.  Given that it's styled for messaging, though, we imagine the usual roster of basic messaging, IM and email, along with a smattering of social networking onboard.  If not, it will be terribly disappointing (though, I suppose, the included environmentally-themed wallpapers and ringtones can make you feel a little better).

Samsung announced it will donate $1 for every Samsung Evergreen sold to Cellphones for Soldiers, a non-profit that provides prepaid calling cards to overseas soldiers who want to call home.  AT&T will be peddling it for $29.99 on a two-year agreement beginning November 7th.

[via PRNewswire]