O2 confirms Samsung i7500 Galaxy Android phone for UK

O2 confirms Samsung i7500 Android phone for the UK
O2 confirms Samsung i7500 Android phone for the UK

O2 has confirmed to TechRadar that it will be bringing Samsung's first Android handset, the i7500 Galaxy, to the UK.

The new phone, which first appeared in the July issue of the network's catalogue under the 'coming soon' section, will be hitting the shops in August.

Unfortunately, O2 is being predictably coy on pricing, giving us the tidbit: "more to follow". However, there is confirmation that it will only be appearing on contract, although SIM-free sites have started to list it too for nearly £500.

Although there's no word on whether O2 will be stocking the i7500 Galaxy exclusively, it's yet another phone in the stable for a network that already has the iPhone 3G S on a multi-year exclusive deal, and apparently the Palm Pre and Toshiba TG01 coming soon.

Best specc'ed Android yet

The Samsung i7500 Galaxy phone obviously comes with the 1.5 Cupcake update, a 5MP camera with flash and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

It also packs 8GB of internal memory as well as microSD slot for expansion, all in a 11.9mm frame, making it the thinnest Android phone on the market when it lands.

O2 already has a 27 per cent share of the market in the UK, and with the rumoured stable of phones it has for the coming summer, it seems it will snatch even more as consumers flock to get the latest and greatest smartphones.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.