Besides announcing the upcoming Italian availability of the high-end i900 Omnia Pocket PC, Samsung has also recently unveiled the release of another new phone, named M150 and targeted for fashion-conscious users who don’t want to spend too much money on a mobile device.

First presented together with the J800 model, which is a slider, the new Samsung M150 comes in a simple but nice candybar case. It measures only 106.5 x 45.4 x 12.7 millimeters and brings the following features: a 1.77 inch TFT display with 65K colors and 128 x 160 pixels, dual-band GSM connectivity with GPRS (EDGE is missing), Music player (supporting MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+ and RA), FM radio, WAP 2.0 browser, email capabilities, personalized ringtones, a VGA camera with video recording, speakerphone, embedded games, calendar, alarm clock, 20MB of internal memory and so on (it’s not clear yet if the phone has a microSD card slot too).

In order to attract as many users as possible, Samsung will offer the new M150 in no less than 5 color versions: Ice Blue, Pure White, Light Gray, Charcoal Gray and Lavender Pink.

The first market to get the Samsung M150 (or SGH-M150) will be Germany, where the slim candybar should be on sale starting mid-August. After that, the handset will also be released in other markets across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Apparently, mobile users from North and South America will not be able to buy the M150.

No word yet on the exact retail price of Samsung M150, but its features don’t actually qualify it for one higher than 200 Euros. With a contract agreement from some carriers, the M150 might even be offered for free, so if free handsets are your coup of tea, be sure to check out this new Samsung.

Bell Mobility and Samsung seem to be pretty involved in Canada’s participation at this year’s edition of the Olympic Games (celebrated in Beijing, China, between August 8 and August 24), as the companies have announced that they will offer Samsung Ace smartphones for every member of Canada’s Olympic Team. Moreover, Bell and Samsung will also release, on the 4th of July, a Samsung M530 Olympic Edition phone.

Samsung Ace is a Windows Mobile 6.0 smartphone that features a 2.3 inch TFT display, a full QWERTY keypad, stereo Bluetooth, a 1.3 Megapixel camera, email and Web capabilities, document viewer and so on.

Talking about Samsung Ace, Paul Brannen, General Manager, Wireless Terminal Division, Samsung Electronics Canada, said: “With its all-in-one wireless solution, including built-in web browser, camera, camcorder, email and voice, the Samsung ACE will enable the Canadian Olympic Team to stay closely connected to the people and information they need while competing in Beijing and around the world.”

Sylvie Bernier, Canada’s Chef de Mission for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, completed: “The Canadian Olympic Team athletes are so excited to receive these phones and service from Samsung and Bell. Being able to connect with their Olympic support network of coaches and trainers from Beijing will also ensure Canada’s athletes have the tools they need to remain focused on their performance.”

Samsung Ace is also available for non-members of the Canadian Olympic team – hence normal users – but in order to have the handset they have to pay $149.95 (with a contract agreement for three years).

The other Olympic Samsung, the M530, is a brand new handset that comes in a clamshell form factor and is packed with GPS, Media player, external music-dedicated keys, a 1.3 Megapixel camera and 40MB of expandable memory. The price of the clamshell will be $99 with a 3-year contract agreement.

Samsung’s phones and female users have always had a special relationship, and I say this because the South Korean handset manufacturer is known for coming up with girls-only versions for lots of its mobile devices. Now Samsung has done it again by presenting the U900 Soul
slider in a pink edition.

This is the second color version of the U900, coming after the original metallic silver one. The Pink Soul is available, for the moment, only in the UK, from Phones4U, the well-known online retailer. Moreover, the handset can only be acquired after the signing of a contract agreement with Orange (currently the fourth largest carrier in the UK, after O2, Vodafone and T-Mobile). The good part about this is that, theoretically, the pink U900 is free. Practically, those who get it will have to pay 35 GBP per month (about $70 or 45 Euros), based on an 18-month Orange contract.

Despite it’s quite high retail price (about 400 Euros or 620 USD), Samsung U900 Soul is already a smash-hit. Only yesterday, the South Korean company said it had sold more than 1,000,000 units of the fancy slider, after less than two months from its launch. This, mainly in European countries, as Samsung has not yet released the handset in all the markets it wants to.

With its new “pink dress” and measuring only 12.9 mm in thickness, the U900 Soul is set to conquer the hearts of British girls and women. Even more, they will not get just a fashionable gadget, but also a highly advanced device. Among the best features of the Soul, we must mention its 5 Megapixel camera (with auto focus, flash and video recording), its Magical Touch navigation pad, its 240 x 320 pixel display with 16 million colors, plus lots of other Multimedia capabilities.