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Samsung have recently announced their Ultra Smart F700, a worthy competitor in the touch screen war.

With the iPhone hype still pretty much the talk of the nation, it has become clear that iPhone’s competitors are not taking it lightly. 

Along with such phones as the NEO1973 and the Meizu, Samsung have announced a competitor in the touch screen war, code named the Ultra Smart F700.

The Ultra Smart is a part of Samsung’s Ultra portfolio which boasts a full touch screen as well as QWERTY key pad. This is mainly for users who are not yet familiar with touch screen only user interfaces, which maybe a problem trying to get to grips with. The QWERTY keypad can slide out, which allows users to hide it when not in use. Many earlier handsets which feature a slide out keypad are usually bulky, which doesn’t bode well when the handset is meant to be ‘mobile’.

The phone also features VibeTonz technology which allows users to feel the buttons accompanied by responsive vibrations. A Drag and Drop method of touch screen was adopted for easier menu navigation along with music play list controls for a better multimedia experience.

Samsung has also included HSDPA in their new handset, something which Apple failed to implement. The F700 reflects the latest speed of 7.2 Mbps under the High Speed Downlink Packet Access network. Once the 7.2 Mbps HSDPA network completely deployed, F700 users can download an mp3 song (about 4MB each) in 4.4 seconds. A full HTML browser along with the QWERTY key pad enables easy access to the internet for e-mail and data services.

The F700 also features a 2.78” color display with a top of the line 5 mega-pixel camera with auto focus and Bluetooth.

Unlike its rivals, Samsung have finally given its customers a choice on whether or not they wish to use keypad or a touch screen. Although the touch screen technology is the up and coming ‘must have’, it is surprising to see the various disadvantages of the feature. How accessible will the handset be to blind and visually impaired users, considering that its operation relies almost entirely on touch-screen technology?

When comparing the iPhone and the Samsung F700 side by side, the differences become clear. The Samsung's F700 has more mega pixels, a little bit more format support, an actual QWERTY keyboard, and 3G connectivity –All things which iPhone fanatics will be missing when their eagerly anticipated iPhone is released. This being said, speculation surrounds Apples second release of the iPhone, which will hopefully live up to its expectations.

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