Samsung has unveiled LTE (Long-Term Evolution) versions of its GALAXY S II smartphone and GALAXY Tab 8.9. Displayed at this week’s IFA 2011, the devices will have access to 4G download speeds of up to 100Mbps. If you can get yourself onto a 4G network, the (theoretical) upload speed is 50Mbps and double that when downloading. Samsung equates this to downloading a four-minute MP3 track in 0.3 seconds.

GALAXY S II LTE smartphone

The Galaxy S II 4G LTE looks pretty similar to its non-LTE counterpart, but the Super AMOLED Plus display gets bumped up from 4.3 inches to 4.5 inches with a screen resolution of 800×480, and the dual-core processor gets bumped up from 1 GHz to 1.5GHz. The phone features an 8 megapixel camera on the rear and a 2 megapixel camera on the front, and offers 16GB internal memory. The phone will of course come pre-loaded with Android Gingerbread. It’s also a bit thicker and heavier than its non-LTE equivalent, coming in at 9.49 mm instead of 8.49, and weighing 130.5g instead of 116 g.

GALAXY Tab 8.9 LTE tablet

The LTE version of the GALAXY Tab 8.9 (meaning 8.9-inch screen) retains its slimline 8.6mm (0.33-inch) profile and comes with either 16 or 32 GB Internal memory. The tablet has a 1280 x 800 pixel 8.9″ display, and its dual-core processor has also been bumped up to 1.5 GHz from 1 GHz and it now runs Android 3.2 (Honeycomb).  You’ve still got the 3 megapixel primary camera and 2 megapixel front-facing camera of the original.

The LTE models are expected to start shipping in early 2012 but no pricing details as yet. We’ll keep you posted.

Check out the full specifications of both devices below.

Samsung GALAXY S II LTE specifications

Network: LTE 800/1800/2600, HSUPA＋ 900/2100, EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900
Processor: 1.5GHz Dual-Core
Display: 4.5″ WVGA Super AMOLED Plus
OS: Android 2.3(Gingerbread)
Camera: Main(Rear): 8 MP with LED Flash, Front: 2 MP
Video: Codec – MPEG4/H.263/H.264, Format – 3GPP, MPEG4, MKV, Playback -
VGA@30fps, Recording – QVGA @ 15fps
Audio: Codec – MP3, AAC, AAC＋, eAAC＋, WMA,FLAC, OGG, 3.5mm Ear Jack
Connectivity: Bluetooth® technology v 3.0, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Accelerometer, Digital compass, Proximity
Memory: 16GB Internal memory ＋ microSD (up to 32GB)
Size: 68.8 x 129.8 x 9.49mm, 130.5g
Battery: Li-on 1,850 mAh

Samsung GALAXY Tab 8.9 LTE Product Specifications

Network: LTE 800/1800/2600, HSUPA＋ 900/2100, EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900
Processor: 1.5GHz Dual-Core
Display: 8.9″ WXGA 1280×800
OS: Android™ 3.2 (Honeycomb)
Camera: Main(Rear) – 3.0-Mega Pixel Camera AF with LED Flash, Front – 2.0-Mega Pixel Camera
Video Format – MPEG4/H263/H264, Divx/Xvid, Playback – 1080p Full HD Video@30fps, Recording – 720p HD Video
Audio, MP3, AAC, AAC＋, eAAC＋, OGG, MIDI, AMR-NB/WB, 3.5mm Ear Jack, Stereo Speaker
Connectivity: Bluetooth® technology v 3.0, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Ambient Light sensor
Memory: 16/32GB Internal memory
Size: 230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6 mm, 455g
Battery: 6,100mAh

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Samsung has announced four new Galaxy Android-based devices, and has also come up with a new naming system for all Galaxy smartphones to simplify things for consumers. Or to make them more complicated. It really depends on how you look at it.

The four new phones, the Galaxy W, Galaxy M Pro, Galaxy Y and Galaxy Y Pro, all run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and fall under the new naming system, or the “SRWMY” scale. Basically, the S (Super Smart) devices are the cream of the crop Galaxy phones. The Samsung Galaxy S would fall into that category. Secondly, R (for Royal or Refined) will designate the premium models. Then, you’ve got W (for Wonder) for the mid-range phones. Following that are the M (for Magical) high-performance models that are more affordable, and finally Y (Young), which are the entry models and aimed at a younger audience.

Besides the letter classification for the five classes, there are additional indicators to latch onto the phone name. “Pro” indicates the device has a physical QWERTY keyboard. “Plus” means the phone is an upgrade from a previous model, and “LTE” indicates that the device is designed to utilize LTE (Long-Term Evolution) connectivity standards.

As we can tell from the name, the new GALAXY W is midrange. Specs include a 1.4 GHz processor, HSDPA 14.4 Mbps connectivity, 3.7-inch, 800 x 480 pixel touch display and includes Samsung’s Game, Social and Music Hubs. Other features include a 5-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Kies Air, which allows users to track the phone if it is stolen or lost, as well as accessing the phone on a PC when connected via Wi-Fi.

Next, we can tell that the GALAXY M Pro has a QWERTY keypad. The other specs include a 1 GHz processor, features and enterprise support for Exchange Active Sync, Sybase Afaria, CISCO Mobile and CISCO WebEx. There’s also an optical touchpad, 5-megapixel rear camera, VGA front-facing camera, 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and the inclusion of Samsung’s Social Hub.

The GALAXY Y is obviously an entry-level and is intended for younger users, as it will come in a variety of colours. Specs include an 832 MHz processor, Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface, SWYPE and 3-inch 320 x 240 pixel TFT LCD touch screen.The GALAXY Y also includes Social Hub, along with a 2-megaixel camera, 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, Bluetooth 3.0, and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n.

The fourth new phone is the GALAXY Y Pro, so we can tell it’s basically the GALAXY Y but with a physical QWERTY keypad. Specs include Social Hub Premium, which supports email, social network integration and instant messaging, and ThinkFree mobile office allows for the editing of Word, Powerpoint, Excel and PDF.

Samsung will be showcasing the new phones at IFA 2011. Pricing and release dates have not yet been announced.

So, this does work for you? Or does it just give you a headache?

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