Samsung to release two Bada 2.0 handsets with NFC in Q4, software update in July?

Some of you Samsungers are probably anticipating the snazzy Wave 578 due out in May or June outside the US, but the sad news is it won't be shipped with the upcoming Bada 2.0 OS. Fret not, though, as Russian blog Bada World claims to have obtained some juicy details that'll cheer up Bada fanatics. The above slide -- apparently sourced from a Samsung France conference from a few days ago -- lists a pair of new but unnamed handsets that'll pack the new software, along with 7.2Mbps HSDPA, Bluetooth 3.0, and the seemingly trendsetting NFC. The difference between these two phones? One of them appears to be the flagship Bada 2.0 model, which expects a September launch with a 3.65-inch HVGA display, a 5 megapixel main camera, plus a VGA secondary camera. The second device will follow a month later, sporting a smaller 3.14-inch QVGA screen and just a 3 megapixel imager.

In related news, TNW India reports that Bada 2.0 will be "first experienced in India" around July, though no hardware is mentioned here. This could imply that existing Bada users in India -- where Samsung's R&D develops 30 percent of Bada applications -- may be one of the first to obtain the 2.0 update, and it shouldn't be long before the rest of the world get their share of this piping hot pie. Anyhow, be rest assured that we'll keep our eyes peeled open for more Bada 2.0 news -- it'll be interesting to see where Samsung's next big push will take us.