Samsung shows Symbian satnav smartphones

Samsung has expanded its smartphone range with two new models, the SGH-i550 and SGH-i560, both unveiled at this week’s Symbian show in London.

Samsung's i550: the serious one?

Naturally, the company’s decision to unwrap both 3.6Mbps HSDPA devices at the event means each run the Symbian OS – version 9.2, to be exact. Both features tri-band GSM/GPRS/Edge connectivity and Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP for music streaming.

GPS navigation built into both phones means you shouldn't have any trouble finding your way around town. A Samsung rep told Register Hardware that users receive a two-week free trial of the Navteq-based software, after which it’s usable for ten minutes before locking out. So you’d better be a fast walker.

Samsung's i560: the more stylish of the two?

The i550 is a candybar model, albeit a king-size one, and has a 2.6in display, while the i560 is a slider that looks very similar to the company’s existing G600 phone and has a 2.4in display.

Both phones have a 3.2-megapixel camera that stores pictures either to a 150MB internal memory or a Micro SD card. The i550 is 1.3cm thick, but the i560 is a slightly chubbier 1.6cm deep.

Both phones will be available across Europe next month, but an official price hasn’t yet been set.