Samsung mid-year roadshow

Even with CommunicAsia 2008 just days away, Samsung has made time this week to show off some of the best of its upcoming mobile handset line-up.

In true Samsung fashion, the Korean company's mid-year roadshow was like a toy store for the tech hungry media in attendance, showcasing around 30 handsets. We have the best of the bunch for you to peruse.

One every 15 seconds
Samsung Australia's Director of Telecommunications Josh Delgado opened proceedings with the astonishing fact that a Samsung mobile phone is bought in Australia every 15 seconds.

Getting Touchy
You may have seen our gallery of the F480 (aka Tocco) after our colleagues in the UK had the chance to play with the touchscreen beauty. We had the opportunity to have a play yesterday and we're impressed with how responsive the screen is.

Mobile Wizard
Samsung calls this touchscreen interface TouchWhiz and it incorporates a widget panel on the home screen for accessing most common functions with a drag and drop finger gesture. Look for more TouchWhiz love when we get a sneak peek at the i900 at CommunicAsia 2008.

Samsung Mash-up
What do you get when you combine the Samsung G800 and i560? The G810. It features the same 5-megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom found in the G800, plus the GPS and Nokia's S60 operating platform found in the i560. This is definitely a phone to watch out for come August.

The bigger the better?
Similar to the G800, the 5-megapixel camera on the G810 does make the handset one of the chunkier sized phones available at the moment.

Turn it up!
Another feature that put a smile on our faces is the included 3.5mm headphone jack on the side of the G810.

Little Brother
If you've checked out the U900 and thought you'd love a phone with the adaptive touch panel, but didn't want to pay for all the bells and whistles, then Samsung has you covered. The S7720 looks like the U900 but is bound to be a fair bit cheaper.

Feedback
Not only does the touch panel work a treat, but it supports haptic feedback — the panel vibrates to register your input.

Go Go WiMo
There were several Windows Mobile devices on display at Samsung's Roadshow, including the i780. However, it was the J200 (pictured) that caught our eye. Running Windows Mobile 6.1, the J200 looks like a standard Samsung handset, and will hopefully be priced as a budget alternative to the higher-end devices.

Cheap as chips
While there is a strong shift in the market towards smart, full-featured mobile phones, there is still a massive market for phones that do just the basics, and do them well. Samsung's B100 will set you back a measly AU$49 and is guaranteed to, umm ... make calls.