Samsung Stinger GPRS

Year: 2002
Prototype level: Platform
Codename: Stinger GPRS

Overview

The Samsung Stinger GPRS was an early smartphone prototype developed around Microsoft’s Stinger platform, the predecessor to Smartphone 2002. Samsung demonstrated a working example in Japan, featuring applications such as Outlook, Windows Media Player and MSN Messenger, together with ActiveSync, USB and infrared connectivity.

The prototype used a 266 MHz StrongARM processor, a 176 × 220 TFT display and weighed around 110 grams. It supported GSM/GPRS on 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz, and Samsung hoped to launch it in Europe, the United States and South Korea. However, the phone never reached the market in this form.

The specimen has some particularly interesting clues to its development. It carries a Chip/BlueChip logo, although the exact connection to Samsung’s separately documented Bluechip smartphone project remains unclear. Even more intriguingly, the battery identifies the model as SGH-i200, a designation not associated with the Stinger GPRS in the surviving documentation. The original battery cells were dead, so the battery was converted into a dummy battery, retaining the original casing while allowing the phone to be powered from an external supply.

For the collection, the Stinger GPRS is an interesting example of Samsung’s early attempt to create a compact Windows smartphone, while the unexplained BlueChip branding and SGH-i200 battery designation add another layer of mystery to the surviving prototype.