Samsung Continuum Dual-screen Smartphone To Launch on Thursday

Verizon Wireless has made it official: the Samsung Continuum is going to be released later this week.

This Android OS smartphone is going to have an unusual design featuring two screens, as well as a high-end set of features.

The Continuum was pre-announced last week, but when it will be available wasn't revealed at that time. Now, however, Verizon has given the launch date: November 11.

The carrier has also revealed that this smartphone is going to sell for $200 with a service contract.

An Overview of the Samsung Continuum
This Android OS model is going to have a fairly standard high-end feature set, but with an unusual addition: a second screen just below its main one. The primary display will be a 3.4-inch WVGA (480 x 800) touchscreen, while the smaller one will be a 1.8-inch 96 x 480 display. Both will be Super AMOLED.

The secondary display will light up whenever the user is holding the bottom of the device, and  give basic status information, including the contents of Text messages, RSS feeds, weather, etc. The intent is apparently to give the user the latest updates without having to turn on the main screen, which would have a greater drain on the battery.

The Continuum is going to run Google's Android OS 2.1 on a 1 GHz Hummingbird processor from Samsung.  It will have 384 MB of RAM, 2 GB of internal storage, and it will be bundled with an 8 GB microSD memory card slot.

This smartphone is going to support Verizon's voice and 3G data network (EV-DO Rev. A), and it will have Wi-Fi b/g/n, Stereo Bluetooth, and a GPS receiver. It will be able to act as a portable hotspot for other computers.

The Continuum will also include a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash that will support 720p video.

Overall, this Samsung model will be 4.9 x 2.3 x 0.5 inches, and 4.4 ounces.

Like all smartphones running Google's operating system, it will come with an array of communication and entertainment software, including a very capable web browser.

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