Samsung is rolling their Ultra Edition line of slim phones forward, and this time the manufacturer seems to have the Apple iPhone squarely in its sights. The Ultra Smart F700 looks remarkably like Apple's touch-screen-only device, with a large, 2.8-inch screen and a single button on the face. However, the F700 also features a QWERTY keyboard that slides out sideways, like the keyboard on the Cingular 8525, reorienting the 440-by-240 pixel display from portrait to landscape.
Perhaps the phone's most advanced feature is its HSDPA radio, which can receive data at rates up to 7.2Mbps, though that is just a theoretical maximum. AT&T's current HSDPA network runs at 3.6Mbps, and we have seen real-world downloads reach into the Megabit range. Of course, the lack of support for this network by American carriers probably means the phone won't make its way stateside any time soon.
Along with the super-speedy networking, the phone will also feature a 3-megapixel camera, and from looking at the official photos from Samsung, will probably feature a front-facing camera for video conference calling as well. A microSD slot will expand the memory for storing photos and music, though at 3-megapixels, those 2GB microSD cards will probably fill up fast. Hopefully Samsung will spring for a quality lens for the camera, instead of just increasing the pixel count.
The phone was announced today, but will be officially unveiled next week at the 3GSM conference in Barcelona, Spain. The touch screen interface uses what Samsung cryptically calls a "drag and drop" method, which is probably the company's way of saying it will not run Windows Mobile 6.0, which will also be introduced at 3GSM. The device, which runs a Flash-based user interface, will also incorporate VibeTonz technology for vibrating, tactile feedback when you touch the screen.
At 16.4 millimeters thick, the phone will only be about a fifth of an inch thicker than Apple's iPhone, and about a fifth of an inch thinner than AT&T's 8525. Pricing and availability have yet to be determined, but without an 850 band, and considering the phone is being launched at 3GSM in Barcelona instead of at CES, which was here in the U.S. only a month ago, expect to see this phone in European markets long before it makes its way here.
Price & availability
Pricing and availability have yet to be determined, but without an 850 band, and considering the phone is being launched at 3GSM in Barcelona instead of at CES, which was here in the U.S. only a month ago, expect to see this phone in European markets long before it makes its way here.
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Cingular 8525
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Score: 67% When: November 2006 Worth: $400 Carrier: AT&T
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HSDPA support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth -- they're all present and accounted for in Cingular's new Windows Mobile powerhouse. Does the 8525 steal the 3G smartphone crown?
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