The new Phone Edition-based MITs M400 offers Koreans blazing wireless transfer speeds, bogs of RAM, GPS, a camera with camcorder functionality, 2-way radio and - get this - TV.
Effectively providing competing wireless handheld makers with a view of its rear bumper, Samsung has now introduced its latest Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition-based device in Korea: the MITs M400. Similar in shape and size to the recently introduced SGH-i700 and SPH-i700 models, the M400 offers the most comprehensive line-up of features of any wireless handheld on the market to date - including unprecedented 2-way radio and TV tuner capabilities.
 | Samsung's new MITs M400 packs more features into a wireless handheld than any other device on the market
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For the time being only available in Korea, localized versions of the M400 are expected to arrive both in North America and Europe in the not too distant future, as Samsung stated the company aims to introduce 6 or 7 new products in these markets this year. Samsung did however not comment on whether this includes already launched products such as the SPH-i700 and SPH-i500.
Powered by a 300 MHz Intel PXA255 XScale processor and running Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition, the M400 is at a performance disadvantage when compared with the battery of Pocket PCs - most of which run at 400 Mhz - recently launched in conjunction with the introduction of Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC. Similarly, the 16-bit, 3.5" transflective TFT display of the M400 is of the same variety as those of the majority of recently introduced Pocket PCs.
However, no recently introduced models are powered by the Phone Edition of the platform, which will arrive in the shape of upgrades to existing Phone Edition devices and also with the introduction of new devices later this year. And, its basic hardware is regardless not what makes the M400 stand out in a crowd.
What distinguishes the M400 from other Pocket PCs, is its support for CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, the in CDMA technology which increases data transfer speeds from the 144 Kbps offered by current 1xRTT networks to a whopping 2.4 Mbps. With increased transfer speeds also comes the natural evolution of storage space, as the M400 offers 128 MB of on-board memory, as well as an SDIO capable SD/MMC Card expansion slot allowing storage to be increased to over 1 GB, and input/output peripherals to be added.
Not content with this, Samsung has also added an integrated GPS receiver to the M400, enabling location-based services without the need for add-on peripherals of any kind. According to Samsung, an optional navigation system can be installed to aid drivers, providing voice recognition, voice services and 3D images.
The list goes on, as the M400 also offers an integrated digital camera with 16-bit color depth and 0,3 megapixel (VGA) resolution capable of both taking still pictures and recording video. Also, the M400 contains a 2-way radio feature which Samsung has yet to elaborate on.
And lastly, in an unprecedented move, Samsung has also included a TV tuner in the M400 which lets owners tune into regular broadcasts to watch and even record video on the unit for later playback.
An additional hi-res picture of the Samsung MITs M400 is available on the following page.
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