The iPhone Gets Stiff Competition
02.09.07 - 11:35am
Watching videos, listening to songs, swapping photo’s, and the fasted internet-capable phone anywhere = the Samsung
Ultra Smart F700. The F700which will debut next week at the 3GSM in Barcelona, Spain, was announced today.
The phone has the new trendy look of the iPhone, with a touch screen that looks very similar, yet it incorporates a slide out QWERTY keyboard, for those not used to touch-screen interfaces. The keyboard only adds a fifth of an inch thickness over the iPhone st 16.4mm thick.
The touch screen includes a system called VibeTonz, a vibration system that has responsive vibrations for “feeling” the buttons. It also incorporates a “drag and drop” method for simple navigation and straightforward music play list control. It has a speed of 7.2 Mbps, which will allow you to download a MP3 song, in approximately 4.4 seconds. It has full internet access, and an impressive 5 mega-pixel camera. (the iPhone only has a 2 mega-pixel camera) No word has yet been given on the lens quality for the camera.
The F700 is also compatible with 3G (something the iPhone was criticized for not having), WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), as well as HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) and EDGE data transmission systems. The audio supports MP3, AACplus, eAACplus and Real audio formats. Video support MPEG4, H.263, H.264 and Real Video. The phone also adds Bluetooth technology.
There are only a couple of areas where it has less to offer than the iPhone. The touch screen is slightly smaller than the iPhones 3.5 inch at only 2.8 inches and the resolution is 240×440 pixels, compared to iPhones 480×320. There is also no wi-fi on the phone, which gives the iPhone a slight advantage for anyone looking to tap into a wireless network.
There is no pricing or a time for availability yet from Samsung. The Ultra Smart F700 is expected to be available in Europe long before it becomes available in the U.S..
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