SRS Labs announced its plans to bring surround-sound-quality audio to the world of smartphones, by means of its SRS WideSurround technology.

The first device taking advantage of the SRS algorithms is Samsung’s Continuum Galaxy S phone, new to Verizon. SRS will likely license the technology to other smartphone manufacturers, though it hasn’t yet revealed a list of partners.

The digital signal processing done as part of WideSurround subtly modifies the standard stereo going to a smartphone’s speakers and introduces slight delays in parts of the signal. When your brain interprets what it hears, it’s supposed to sound like the audio’s coming out of speakers farther apart than the phone’s dimensions would otherwise allow. This increased perception of signal separation hopefully produces a listening experience that sounds richer than you’d otherwise think a smartphone’s tiny speakers could pull off.

This technology isn’t exactly new, the basis of which has been used for decades in systems like Q Sound. Of course, as processors get more powerful, more advanced signal shaping can be done in real time, hopefully leading to a more natural-sounding effect. If you’ve had the chance to listen to a Continuum using SRS WideSurround, let us know what you thought. Does it impress, or just sound kind of echoy?

Source: SRS Labs