The company said it plans to release the Android-running this year. During the press conference, the Samsung Mobile's executive vice president of global product strategy, Won-Pyo Hong, also gave some details about the devices in an interview with Forbes. Mr. Won-Pyo Hong didn’t reveal the release dates, but said the company plans to release two Android-running devices in the U.S. in 2009. 

 

Those devices will most likely be delivered through T-Mobile and Sprint. The two companies already said that their plans of expansion for this year include pushing into consumer home devices based on Google's new Android smartphone software. 

 

The first Android-based smartphone from Samsung will most likely hit the shelves in June but outside the United States, said the company’s executive to Forbes. United States smartphone fans will have their chance to purchase the Samsung new releases during this year’s second half. The two handsets will most likely go to two different carriers in the United States. 

 

According to another Samsung report, the company will launch three smartphones this year. The first Android-running Samsung device will be launched in Europe. The two other would be a CDMA-based handset, for Sprint, and the third would be a GSM-based smartphone for T-Mobile. Sprint and T-Mobile are believed to be the two carriers, especially since they are both part of the Open Handset Alliance.

 

No details about the looks of the new smartphones were revealed yet. All that Hong said was that the two handsets that will hit the U.S. market will look “totally different” in order to appease carrier preferences. 

 

In its interview with Forbes, Mr. Hong emphasized that Samsung will want to put its touch on Android. He talked about a distinction between Android platform-based devices and “Google Experience” device which are also Google-centric. Hong said that one of the main reasons why it took Samsung so long to bring an Android-based smartphone on the market was the fact that it wanted to add its own twist on the Android user experience and was also waiting for clearance from carriers.

 

"Our commitment is more to the Android phone than the Google Experience device," Hong said. 

 

Although the Android-based Samsung devices make the most headlines, the company is also very interested in the Linux-based software platform from the LiMo Foundation.  The Korean company said it plans to launch some LiMo phones sometime this year, most likely in the second half. 

 

"The market has been waiting for good LiMo-based devices," Hong told Forbes. 

 

The information was confirmed by LiMo Foundation’s executive director Morgan Gillis.