Samsung SCH-i760 smartphone slider

Samsung's QWERTY slider wears a Windows badge and will browse Wi-Fi networks with a distinct, dual-keypad design.

Design:

The more advanced of the two unusually designed QWERTY phones that Samsung was showing at CES (read about the SCH-u740 here), the SCH-i760 seems to be a more business-oriented phone, judging by the Windows ''Start'' key on the lower-right half of the keypad. Without a stylus, we're betting this will be a Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition phone, akin to the Samsung BlackJack, though Samsung tells us the phone will have Wi-Fi support. The phone leaves the numeric keypad on the top half of the slide, with the QWERTY pad coming out sideways from beneath. We wondered if the navigation button wasn't a bit far from our thumbs in landscape mode, but because the model we tried wasn't powered-up, we'll withhold our judgment. We're also wondering how easy this phone will be to use one-handed with Windows, since it lacks a trackwheel or trackball for faster navigation.

Features:

Unlike the BlackJack, the SCH-i760 will feature Wi-Fi. Though we're not sure about network capabilities, the model number designation leads us to believe this will be a CDMA phone, and hopefully Samsung won't skimp on EV-DO. The phone will have a 1.3-megapixel camera and will be able to play MP3 files, no word yet on downloadable music or other multimedia functions, such as stereo Bluetooth or streaming video.

Pros:
Unique design. Wide, comfortable QWERTY keyboard. Wi-Fi.

Cons:
Diagonal number keys? Keyboard is plenty wide, but not very tall. Thicker than a BlackJack.

Conclusion:

A slim smartphone from Samsung that isn't a BlackJack coming to a carrier that isn't Cingular - sounds interesting enough. We're not completely sold on the slide-out QWERTY idea, we'll reserve judgment until we've gotten our hands on a review unit, but certainly the design is more interesting than the thin, slab-like BlackJack. Hopefully, the phone will retain the BlackJack's multimedia prowess, especially with its Wi-Fi capabilities.

Specifications

Wi-Fi
QWERTY keypad
1.3-megapixel camera/camcorder
MP3 player
1/17/2007 1:30:26 AM
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