Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus heads for UK
Samsung has announced the Galaxy Ace Plus, which slots in just above its predecessor in the Galaxy range, adding a better processor and larger screen.
The device was announced by the Korean company on Tuesday and will ship to customers in Russia first, beginning in January, and will then be "gradually rolled out" to Europe, Latin America, Asia, China and other regions, Samsung said.
"In 2012, we will continue to make every effort to create an easy and fun mobile experience by expanding our incredibly popular GALAXY smartphone range, which is now one of the most recognized and successful mobile brands in the world," JK Shin, president of IT & mobile at Samsung, said in a statement.
The Galaxy Ace Plus will join more expensive and higher specified devices in the Galaxy range, such as the Galaxy S, S II, Ace and Mini.
The Ace Plus features an upgraded processor — up to 1GHz from 800MHz in the Ace — 5-megapixel camera, 3.65-inch display and 3GB of onboard storage. It also offers smartphone staples including Wi-Fi, HSPDA connectivity and pre-loaded social networking features via Samsung's Social Hub and ChatON services.
Like some other lower-end Android devices such as the Wildfire S, the handset will arrive running the Gingerbread — Android 2.3 — operating system with Samsung's proprietary TouchWiz UI atop. However, higher-end devices are now available to buy that use the newer Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) version of Android.
The device will also have to fend off competition from Chinese manufacturers like ZTE and Huawei, which want to increase their consumer recognition and smartphone market share in the European market using devices running the Android OS.
Pricing for the Galaxy Ace Plus has not yet been disclosed.