A new agreement has been forged between TomTom and Samsung that will bring the Wave 3 “Bada” smartphone access to the company’s GPS-related services.

Charles Cautley, Managing Director of TomTom Automotive and Licensing had the following to say about the new agreement:

Signing the deal with Samsung highlights TomTom’s ability to deliver the map and enhanced content needed to enable the location based services for wireless users. TomTom is excited to collaborate with the global leader in the smartphone market.

So what kind of features does the new agreement bring to the table? Here is a breakdown:

• Map coverage for over 200 countries globally, providing over 35 million kilometers of road network
• Points of Interest providing information that enables users to find the people, places and services they need, wherever they are
• 3D City Maps and 3D Landmarks adding a dimension of clarity and reality to the map, enhancing recognition and providing a visual orientation aid
• Enterprise Traffic delivering live road conditions, including the location and length of a traffic incident, helping drivers find the quickest route to their destination
• Speed Cameras providing a location alert for safety related cameras to promote safe driving habits and optimize the navigation experience.

For now, there’s no word on if the service will be free to use or when it’ll be available. While this is a fairly interesting announcement, it really doesn’t effect those of us in the States since Samsung hasn’t released its Bada OS this way. Of course this could all change in the future.

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Samsung has apparently given up on Symbian, but they’ve still got plenty of other smartphone operating systems at their disposal. One of the most noteworthy is the in-house developed Bada OS, which debuted with the first Samsung Wave. Well, the relatively new smartphone OS has already paved the way for a sequel.   Check it out. Here is the suitably-named Samsung Wave II. It’s basically an upgraded version of the first Wave, complete with the Bada OS. They’ve bumped the display to a 3.7-incher, backing it upw ith a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 5MP camera, and the Swype-based Trace text input software.

I have nothing against Samsung, but I’d be much more inclined to get something from the Galaxy S line than a Wave phone, although you will be dealing with TouchWiz. There won’t be nearly as much going on with Bada apps as Android has going for it. The Wave II is scheduled for a November launch in Germany with an asking price of $600 or so.

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Samsung Wave Bada OS Smartphone

Samsung’s bada OS has finally reached retail and is making its initial debut with the Samsung Wave smartphone, adding another option to the ever-growing list of devices.

The bada OS platform was originally announced back in November of last year, but now we’ve got some actual hardware running it and ready for purchase. The Wave takes Samsung’s lineup beyond Windows Mobile, Android, and even the TouchWiz-equipped feature phones. I think they’ve still got Symbian going on somewhere too.

In terms of specs, the Wave is no slouch. It gets a 1GHz processor, 3.3-inch Super AMOLED capacitive WVGA touchscreen, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi, 3G, GPS, 5MP camera, and microSD slot. I’m assuming that speedy processor is Snapdragon too.  As great as bada OS may be, I think it might have been a better strategy for Samsung to focus more of its efforts on Android instead. Then again, Samsung is doing anything but putting all its eggs in one basket. Look at all those OS choices, but the lack of apps on Bada may kill it in the end.

Look for the Samsung Wave in all sorts of places around Europe including Germany, UK, and France. Prices vary from carrier to carrier, so shop around for the best deal.

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While Research in Motion sticks to BlackBerry OS and Apple does nothing but iPhone, Samsung is different. Even so, we thought that the Korean giant was done with Symbian. Apparently not.

Details are still at the slim-to-none level at the moment, but it seems that Samsung is indeed developing some new Symbian-powered hardware, continuing to use the largely Nokia-sourced smartphone operating system. Is this really the right move?

I don’t really mind Symbian on my Nokia E71, but I will admit that it’s not exactly the prettiest operating system out there. Samsung already has smartphones with Google Android. It’s already doing Windows Mobile and plans to do Windows Phone 7. And then there’s that whole Bada OS thing they have too. And let’s not forget about TouchWiz and the different “feature phone” platforms that Samsung uses.

Having a manufacturer other than Nokia produce a Symbian phone is good for the platform, but I don’t feel it’s the smartest move on the part of Samsung. What do you think?

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