Ultra Smart F700 set to launch in Jan/Feb 2008

Damian Koh | Nov 28, 2007

In Malaysia that is. According to a Samsung representative, the Peninsula is the only definite country in Southeast Asia for now that will get the F700 come early next year. The phone is currently available in Germany and the UK, while plans to introduce the touchscreen HSDPA handset elsewhere in Asia Pacific are still pending confirmation.

We had a brief hands-on with a production unit and found ourselves liking the haptic feedback when we were using the touch panel. Sliding out the QWERTY keyboard, which was aided by a spring-loaded mechanism, was also very smooth and solid. Adding a dash of style were the square keys with rounded borders that resembled those on the Apple MacBooks. Our only gripe with the unit was with the glossy surface that tended to pick up fingerprints fairly easily.

We'll be back with a more in-depth preview of the handset. And we'll update on availability once we get the information. For now, here are two shots of the F700 in the wild.