Samsung Introduces an ‘iPhone Killer’

By NewsFactor Network | February 9, 2007

With Apple’s products garnering so much attention these days, the company’s biggest competitors have been busily designing new gadgets to steal some of that limelight. Microsoft’s Zune didn’t turn out to be the iPod killer that some had predicted it would be, but Samsung is ready to launch a new smartphone that it hopes will turn out to be an iPhone killer.

On Thursday, Samsung announced a new addition to its Ultra portfolio, offering similar features to Apple’s highly anticipated iPhone, which is scheduled to launch in June through Cingular. Samsung’s Ultra Smart F700 will formally debut at the 3GSM telecommunications event held next week in Barcelona.

In a published statement, Geesung Choi, president of Samsung’s Telecommunications Network Business, said the Ultra Smart F700 is a good example of how mobile phones will evolve in the future. Indeed, the new model does reflect an emerging smartphone trend toward large touch-screen displays. But for those who still want access to phone functions through a more traditional keyboard, the F700 offers a slide-out Qwerty keypad as well.

Features Galore

The F700 also offers VibeTonz, a technology developed by Immersion Corporation to provide tactile feedback for touch-screen interactions. This feature is designed to make touch-screen buttons feel more like mechanical buttons by sending confirmation vibrations when users press the on-screen controls.

In addition, with more consumers feeling the need for greater mobile speed, the F700 offers 7.2 Mbps download capabilities through High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) connections. Once the 7.2 Mbps HSDPA network is completely deployed around the country, F700 users will be able to download a 4-MB MP3 song in roughly four seconds, according to Samsung.

Now fairly standard in advanced smartphones, the F700 also offers Bluetooth technology and a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus. However, for those who are all work and no play, the…

Bookmark and Share :-)