Samsung’s Gem has been warming up with smaller carriers before its push into the big leagues. After being linked with Cellular South and then Alltel, signs are now pointing to the smartphone’s Verizon launch, to wit, Samsung has added the Verizon-badged Gem to its website.

The Gem has been circling Verizon for months now, after an inadvertent mention in Best Buy materials last September. The word’s been mum on that Verizon release since then, only for an official-looking image of the handset on Verizon to pop up at the beginning of the month. While we still don’t have a release date, the addition of the Gem on Verizon to Samsung’s site is the clearest indication yet that the phone’s release is really happening, and presumably will be in the near future.

A low sticker price is what will likely attract most users to the Gem, since it’s not going to impress anyone interested in specs with its 800MHz processor and aging Android 2.1 system software. On Alltel, the Gem is available free after rebate; we’d expect a similar arrangement on Verizon, setting up the Gem to be an entry-level smartphone for casual users.

Though limited to just 124MB of internal storage, you can expand the phone to 16GB by way of microSD. The handset also features a 3.2-inch WQVA display and a 3.2-megapixel rear camera.

Source: Samsung