โEnjoy the luxury lifestyle, break into the aristocratic life,โ is the mantra Samsung is using to sell its latest flagship, and nothing screams blue-blood quite like a flip phone.
No, itโs not 2003, but Samsung did release a clamshell smart-flip-phone called the Samsung G9198 on Friday, complete with a 3.9-inch dual screen 768p touch display, powered by Snapdragon 808.
While it may seem like a strange move in China, a market defined by incredibly cheap smartphones, Samsung isnโt the only player who seems to think thereโs potential in a high-end clamshell. Just two weeks ago LG released a single-screen flip phone, the LG โGentleโ with a physical keypad along with a touch sensitive display. Itโs powered by Android 5.1 Lollipop and retails for over $170 USD.
The Samsung G9198 โ while not exactly โaristocraticโ โ packs a punch for its size, and is definitely a significant upgrade on the previous model G9098. It comes with 2 GB of RAM, 1.8GHz hexa-core processor, 16 GB internal storage capacity and dual cameras (16-megapixel f/1.9 forward facing and a 5-megapixel f/1.9 selfie camera) with LED flash. It also has a heart rate monitor and supports dual-SIM along with a microSD card slot.
But if youโre looking to tap into โthe luxury lifestyleโ from outside of China, youโll be disappointed. For now, the G9198 appears to only be on sale in the Chinese store. Since it seems to be a Middle Kingdom exclusive, it wonโt support Google services, and from the images available it appears to be run on a modified Android system.
Itโs not unusual to see the occasional flip phone on the streets of China, though with Xiaomi and Apple fighting for domination of the 20-35 age range, itโs likely these clamshells are targeted at the older generations. Samsung hasnโt yet released a price point for the G9198 flagship.
@catecadell
Image Credit: Samsung China
