Samsung flexes muscles with Omnia HD

Samsung launched a whole host of new mobile phones at the Mobile World Congress, but the biggest attraction was the Omnia HD, which can record video in HD resolution and play it on an HD-ready TV.

The phone has 3.7-inch touch screen and is based on Symbian S60 5.0, which makes it Samsung's first touch-capable device based on that operating system. The screen resolution is 640 x 360 pixels, so it can't display the recorded 720p signal natively, but the display still looks impressive.

It is equipped with an 8-megapixel camera and support for GPS (Global Positioning System).

The Omnia HD can surf the Web using either Wi-Fi or HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access), supporting download and upload speeds at 7.2Mbps and 5.76Mbps, respectively.

It also comes with up to 16GB of internal storage, and via a card slot for microSDHC it can store up to another 32GB.

The Omnia HD will ship during the second quarter, according to Won-Pyo Hong, executive vice president of global product strategy at Samsung's Mobile Communication division.

Hong isn't ready to announce what the phone will cost, other than saying it will be more than the existing Omnia device.

Other phones announced included the Ultra Touch Family, the Samsung Beat family and the Samsung Blue Earth, which can be charged using a solar panel on the back of the phone and is made from recycled plastics

Even though the mobile phone industry is going through some hard times, Samsung plans to increase its market share, according to JK Shin, head of the Mobile Communication division at Samsung.