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 F700 features a full HTML browser and other Internet capabilities so mobile workers can access e-mail and data services while on the go.

What's the Difference?

From the consumer's perspective, there might not be much difference between the functionality of Apple's iPhone and the Samsung F700, according to Avi Greengart, a wireless analyst at Current Analysis.

"In the space of a month, we've seen three different products that look an awful lot alike, at least superficially," he said, referring to the iPhone, the F700, and LG's new Prada phone. "It's part of the trend toward fashion and entertainment, whereas in the past the focus of smartphones was productivity."

Greengart said that, beyond this superficial level, it's too soon to tell how the F700 truly compares to the iPhone or the Prada phone because they haven't shipped yet. And, because mobile carriers subsidize the cost of the phones, consumers might not feel much difference in their pocketbooks, either, he noted.

"The idea with smartphones isn't just about mobilizing corporate e-mail anymore," Greengart said, noting that even Palm and Research In Motion are moving in that direction with their latest products. "It's about providing a different set of experiences than a traditional phone offered."