Samsung SPH-i550 i550 is offered by any carrier in the United States. Just weeks after Sprint canceled the phone, it was announced that the SCH-i539, a Palm OS-based smartphone by Samsung that is very similar to the i550, was available in China. The i539 is nearly identical to the i550, except that it uses a CDMA Removable User Identity Module (R-UIM), which is similar in function to a GSM SIM card. Evidence on the Samsung Website indicates that a carrier in Mexico is in trials with the i550. The devices being tested all have the Sprint logo. A petition asking Sprint to
Samsung they are not part of or connected to the Samsung Group. One Hansol Group representative said, "Only people ignorant of the laws governing the business world could believe something so absurd", adding, "When Hansol separated from the Samsung Group in 1991, it severed all payment guarantees and share-holding ties with Samsung affiliates." One Hansol Group source asserted, "Hansol, Shinsegae, and CJ have been under independent management since their respective separations from the Samsung Group". One Shinsegae department store executive director said, "Shinsegae has no payment guarantees associated with the Samsung Group". In 1980s, Samsung Electronics began to invest heavily in