By We already told you the Samsung Behold 2 would launch on November 18th for $199 and I’m proud to announce that we were wrong. But still kind of right. It WILL launch on November 18th but it will come with a $229 price tag. And nothing quite says “Officially Off The Heezy” like a press release, or your dad (or me) trying to sound cool:
T-Mobile USA Launches the Samsung Behold II on November 18
Multimedia Powerhouse Joins Broad Selection of Android-Powered Smartphones for T-Mobile CustomersBELLEVUE, Wash., and DALLAS — Nov. 13, 2009 — T-Mobile USA, Inc., the wireless leader in offering the broadest selection of Android™-powered smartphones in the United States, today announced that the Samsung Behold® II will be available beginning Nov. 18. The full touch-screen Behold II is a multimedia powerhouse with fast Web and data supported by Wi-Fi® and T-Mobile’s high-speed 3G network.
Available exclusively from T-Mobile USA, the Behold II is the first phone from T-Mobile to feature a 3.2-inch AMOLED screen for crisper colors and wider viewing angles, which is paired with a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, zoom, flash, five shooting modes and video capabilities. Samsung’s intuitive cube menu also provides quick access to six top multimedia features: music, photos, videos, the Web, YouTube™ and Amazon MP3 for music downloads.
“With its first-rate multimedia capabilities front and center, the Samsung Behold II adds an exclamation point to T-Mobile’s already impressive Android lineup for the holidays,” said Wendy Piñero-DePencier, vice president, brand and calendar marketing, T-Mobile USA. “The combination of 3G speeds, its high-resolution touch-screen, and access to loads of entertainment features is sure to make the Behold II into a holiday hit.”
The Android-powered phone is equipped with Samsung’s innovative TouchWiz™ user interface for easy customization through movable widgets and one-touch access to commonly used features and applications. The Behold II offers three different home screens to organize multiple workspaces with favorite widgets and application shortcuts.
“The Behold II raises the bar to the next level to create a rich, customizable set of different user experiences,” said Omar Khan, senior vice president of strategy and product management for Samsung Mobile. “Combined with Samsung’s advanced AMOLED display technology, innovative TouchWiz user interface and the Android platform, users can create and enjoy a mobile experience unique to their needs.”
The Behold II features built-in Google™ mobile services, including Google Search™, Google Maps™, Gmail™, YouTube and Google Talk™, as well as thousands of applications and games available for download from Android Market™. The Wi-Fi-enabled Behold II also supports personal e-mail and corporate e-mail with Exchange ActiveSync, as well as instant messaging, and text, picture and video messaging. Additional features include assisted GPS, Bluetooth® 2.1, visual voicemail that allows for easier access and response to voice mail, support for up to 16GB of external memory, and includes a 2GB microSD memory card.
With support for T-Mobile’s rapidly expanding 3G network, Behold II customers can take advantage of a reliable wireless connection and fast download speeds when browsing the Web or downloading applications from Android Market. T-Mobile’s 3G network is currently available in 240 cities across the country. By the end of 2009, T-Mobile USA expects its 3G network to be available to reach approximately two-thirds of the U.S. population.
The Samsung Behold II will be available nationwide at T-Mobile retail stores, select authorized dealers and online at http://www.T-Mobile.com beginning Nov. 18, 2009.
Also “Officially Off The Heezy” are the folks at Engadget who were able to grab some moving images of the phone in action at the launch event:
So with a $229 pricetag is the Samsung Behold 2 prime enough for the pickin’>? Or will you be looking in greener pastures?
PS: The use of Roman Numerals in product names is really annoying so I’m using the “2” although they use “II”.
I’ve played with this phone at Tmobile and it’s pretty good. I liked it more than the cliq. I’ve been waiting to replace my G1 and the behold II seemed like a good option but at that price I’m gonna wait til the sholes tablet or something else.
Is it running Android 1.6 or the 2.0?
I can’t lie the phone looks really nice in person. If I was able to upload video of me uisng the phone I would. Its a sleek and slinder phone. Don’t like 3d cube crap but the phones cool. We want the sense ui. Tmobile do you here me? WE WANT THE SENSE UI!!! Point blank. If this phone had the SENSE UI and ofcourse a keybord like a g1 it would be perfect. If I could out of a keyboard or sense ui. I would take the sense ui all day. My girl wants this phone. She likes my g1 but she hates the wy it looks.come on tmobile. Your g1 customers waiting for a BEAST of a phone. If you have had ur g1 since launch date you know why you still have one. Mytouch is a rehash and cliq is for kids. So bring out the BIG BEAST tmobile stop playing before you loose 545,000 customers like spring in qtr 3 of this year!!
$229 price point. I don’t know tmobile. Where’s the rebates??
Yeah, $229 is too much, considering the Eris being $99, the Hero going for $149, MyTouch for $149, etc. Hell, the DROID is only 2 bills. I say if you really want this, wait a month or two. Either the price will go down, or a much better phone will come out at the same pricepoint.
Did anyone notice that this phone has Google branding but runs a custom UI? That could mean the HTC Magic owners will be getting Sense UI sometime in the future.
I’d rather wait till 2010 and spend the same amount of money for a nicer phone. For $229 you can get way nicer phones on another carrier. This phone may be unique, but that’s all it is (its different but not any better than what we’ve seen). Thats just me though
what are the specs? What are they hiding? For a phone that’s overpriced and that’s coming out in a week you can’t really find official specs for this phone?
Why aren’t they telling use the processor?
Hey coolMANDINGO, Sense UI is developed by HTC, not Samsung. The TouchWIZ UI is Samsung’s. So the only way you will get Sense for the Samsung, is by rooting and hoping someone can port you a copy.
You like making up numbers, don’t you?
The Behold II is $199 with a 2 year contract. This is old news. Please do some research.
Holy crap, from that video, not only does the skin look HIDEOUS, it also looks DYSFUNCTIONAL. Did you see the guy try to use the music player widget? He kept on hitting the menu button instead. The cube? Pretty, but watching him try to navigate it was painful to behold (see what I did there?).
UGH. So far only HTC has really knocked it out of the park in terms of custom skinning.
I own 3 G1s, 2 Magics(1 myTouch and 1 Ion), and a Droid. I have used the Behold II extensively and I will say it is the best Android phone to date.
Finally released the specs:
http://www.samsungusanews.com/index.jsp?tab=2&product_id=1101
it’s still missing some stuff though
seriously about the specs whats the damn deal.? i found somewhere it has like 128mb ram, they arent bragging about ram so maybe thats accurate, in which case TMO ought to be auctioned off to investors who understand the free market. The android people on tmo came for the G1, theyve had the phone for a minute and they know what an IMPROVED device looks like, and it doesnt look like this
It’s the same processor as the Cliq.
let’s see if this gets removed again
http://www.samsungusanews.com/index.jsp?tab=2&product_id=1101
Just another “Oh I’m sorry Sir. But Samsung doesn’t support their phones”
1. Probably the worst phone overview demo I’ve ever seen!
2. @CoolMANDINGO…T-Mo doesn’t make phones! I understand the point about trying to get T-Mo to influence manufacturers but they don’t make the phones and only have so much influence on manufacturers. Also, Sense UI isn’t opened sourced. Granted they released the kernel but it’s not open sourced so only HTC has the “rights” to put it out there.
@F14, my hero says “with google” on the back and has senseUI, I think I read somewhere about other, older HTC phones getting senseUI but I dont remember where and I dont think it was ever confirmed.
@Jwise…. i know tmobile doesnt make the ui or phones. im just saying they choose to sale the worst phones. they dont try to compete.i have the g1 for a year like i sad before. they tried to hoodwink me and the rest of the g1 massive by coming out with the mytouch.Then the cliq which is pretty much a kids phone. now the samsung behold 2 with a wack ass ui.Im 30 and im a male. I love my cool graphics and fresh new designs.
@Beanz0nToast… i didnt know that! thanks for that info.im still trying to see what tmobile does. i really want cancel and get an eris or droid but i will see what tmobile brings.
I think naming this phone the Behold 2 was a stupid move on samsungs part…..I actually bought the orginal Behold, and will probably never buy another samsung phone again after it…I know i’m not the only person who regretfully purchased that phone, so I think it may have been a dumb marketing move on their part…