The skinny on thin: Alltel intros Samsung’s ‘Wafer’

Alltel Wireless added “The Wafer”-a new, thin, bar-style handset from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.-to its portfolio. The handset is $50 with a mail-in rebate and two-year contract, and is available to existing Alltel customers whose rate plan allows them to upgrade their handset.
The Wafer is Samsung’s fourth handset in Alltel’s portfolio of 27 devices, and represents a modest win for the Korean vendor. Alltel is the nation’s fifth-largest carrier in terms of customers served. Samsung rival LG Electronics Co. Ltd. has five handsets in Alltel’s lineup, the most of any single vendor.
Alltel’s name for the device effectively calls attention to its quarter-inch thickness, a hallmark of Samsung’s latest devices. The device features XM Radio Mobile, Axcess TV and Axcess Mobile Guide. It offers a 1.3-megapixel camera with video capabilities, an MP3 player, expandable memory, stereo Bluetooth and Alltel’s Celltop technology, which provides shortcuts for navigating through applications.