IFA 2012: Samsung intros first Windows Phone 8 smartphone ATIV S

With Nokia all locked and loaded and touted as the first brand to show off its line-up of Windows Phone 8 devices at an event on the 5th of September, Samsung has just stolen its spotlight. At the IFA 2012 event, Samsung has shown the world the first Windows Phone 8 smartphone called the ATIV S.

Commenting on this latest smartphone from its Windows Phone stable, Samsung says, “Samsung ATIV S is a new smartphone for both work and entertainment featuring Windows Phone 8.. ATIV S brings a stunning hairline design and high performance with a range of content-sharing and productivity options.”

While the operating system that ATIV S runs on may be the talk of the town, the handset does come equipped with other features that will surely set the bar for upcoming Windows Phone devices. This smartphone features a 1.5GHz dual-core dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus Krait chipset, 1GB RAM and a large 2300 mAh battery that will last a considerable amount of time.

Here is a look at the highlighted features of the Samsung ATIV S:
4.8-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels
GSM, HSDPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, DLNA, NFC
GPS with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP, microUSB v2.0
Stereo FM radio with RDS
8 MP AF, LED flash with full HD video recording, 1.9MP front facing camera
16GB, 32GB versions with expandable support up to 32GB via MicroSD card

Apart from these specifications, it will also feature sensors such as an accelerometer, gyro, proximity and compass.

Commenting on the design of the handset, Ben Rudolph of The Windows Team Blog stated, “Samsung did a heck of a job packing the latest and greatest tech into the ATIV S, but what’s even more impressive is how great the phone feels when you pick it up. Despite having a 4.8” display, which makes the ATIV S one of the bigger phones on the market, it doesn’t feel that big. I attribute that to three things. The first is that the ATIV S is impossibly thin – obvious, yes - but still important. The second is more subtle; Samsung made the bezel of the ATIV S an oblong hemisphere.”

At the announcement, Samsung’s Executive Vice President of IT Solutions Business, Seong Woo Nam said, “Samsung is delighted to introduce a wide portfolio of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8-powered devices. With our leadership in design and technology and Microsoft’s leadership in operating systems, together we are able to provide customers with a full range of ATIV devices for cross-category convergence.”

With the announcement of this handset, it looks like a great start to the next generation of Windows Phone smartphones that are set to enter the market.

As for when this handset will be launched, there is no word yet available but with Microsoft expected to launch its latest operating system by the end of October, we can speculate that the handsets will be announced at around that time.