As noted in an earlier post on this blog today, I am in Johannesburg (South Africa) following the Samsung Africa Forum 2010. At the event, I received reliable information that Samsung will be launching its Wave mobile handset in Kenya sometime in August 2010 in conjunction with Safaricom, the leading mobile network in Kenya. The Samsung Wave is the first mobile handset to be released on Samsung’s new, open mobile platform, Bada. Bada allows mobile users to simply and easily download apps from SamsungApps, an integrated application store accessible from the device and online. SamsungApps include games, e-books, utility services and health and lifestyle applications.

The full touch Samsung Wave has a Super AMOLED 3.3” display, which is brighter and less reflective than previous AMOLED displays and it is powered by a 1GHz processor. This offers users the best graphic performance available today. The fast-response display has a high resolution WVGA (800×400 pixels) at 400 candela brightness. Samsung’s latest TouchWiz 3.0 user interface on the Wave provides a tactile, intuitive user experience and includes iconic new features such as motion UI, smart unlock and customizable widget screen. This means that the TouchScreen user interface is responsive and intuitive.

Samsung Wave features The Social Hub – creating a center of social networking and messaging activity with push-based, “Always On” integrated messaging. SNS, IM and e-mail contact information is listed on the phone’s display alongside traditional contact email and phone number information.

The Wave’s high-speed CPU ensures swift, smooth application usage and multi-codec support for DivX and Xvid, making the device into a personal entertainment system. Finally, HD video decoding and recording capabilities make the Samsung Wave an outstanding device for capturing, sharing and viewing video.

I had a chance to use the Wave briefly at the Forum and the first thing that grabs your attention is the Super AMOLED display which is stunning in its visual quality being both crisp and sharp. Its also quite easy to use as far as the user interface is concerned and certainly represents a leap forward from the Samsung Jet which was launched in Kenya earlier this year. The Samsung Wave is already available in South Africa as of this writing so Kenya is one of the first entry markets for Africa. The specifications for the Samsung Wave are as follows:

Network
2.5G : 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
3G: 900/2100 MHz

Display
3.3” WVGA (480×800) Super AMOLED with mDNIe

Camera
5.0 Megapixel AF camera w/ LED Flash
Touch AF
Face/Blink Detection, Lomo Shot, Vintage Shot, Beauty Shot,
Smile Shot, Panorama Shot, Geo-tagging, Photo Editor

Video
HD video playing & recording
5.1ch mobile theater
MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV,DivX, XviD
Video editor

Audio
Music Player with DNSe & SRS Sound Effect
Find Music, DISK UI
3.5mm ear jack
FM radio/ recording
100 hr playing time

Value-added Features
Integrated messaging (by Seven)
Samsung branded application store based on bada platform
TOUCHWIZ 3.0 w/integrated phonebook, voice & motion UI
Dolphin Browser 2.0 / one finger zoom
A-GPS, On/off board navigation (3D Map), LBS
SMS/ MMS/ Email/ Video Messaging/ Exchange ActiveSync
Accelerator Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Digital Compass
BPP, OPP, PictBridge (USB Printing)
Offline/ No SIM mode, voice command, RSS reader, communities, mobile widget

Connectivity
Bluetooth technology v 3.0
USB v2.0 (Full -Speed)
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n

Memory
2GB/8GB + microSD (Up to 32GB

Size
118 x 56 x 10.9mm

Battery
(Standard) Li-Ion, 1,500 mAh