Photos: Samsung U600, U300, U100 and U700
If you thought Samsung's last set of thin phones were impressive, then be prepared to be blown away by its new ultra-slim offerings
Samsung came out in force at 3GSM and launched an array of new handsets, including a bunch of super-thin phones dubbed the Ultra Edition II range. These handsets looked like they've been run over by a steam roller but impressively manage to pack decent feature sets.
If you thought the D900, X820 and D830 were cool then you'll absolutely love the Ultra Edition II range. Interestingly, Samsung has done a deal with Yahoo so that you can access Yahoo search, IM and email using the U600, U300 and U100.
Keep in mind, however, that thin phones mean thin batteries, so the battery life might not be as good as on other models.
First in the super slim line-up is the Samsung U600 (pictured), a slider phone that measures 11mm thin and features EDGE and quad-band GSM connectivity, a 3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus, stereo Bluetooth (A2DP), a document viewer, an MP3 player and an expandable microSD slot.
We had a quick go with it out at 3GSM and the soft keys on the top section are a little annoying to use. Also the keypad is completely flat and doesn't give much tactile feedback. We'll reserve our final judgement until we get our hands on it for longer, but our first impression is that the thin design may have compromised its usability.
Update: A full review of the Samsung U600 is now available.
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Next up is the Samsung U300, a clamshell phone that measures 9.6mm thin and features EDGE and tri-band GSM connectivity, a 3.2-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, a document viewer and an MP3 player.
There's no auto-focus on the camera and there's no expandable memory slot, but you do get 70MB of on-board memory. Again, the keypad on the U300 is flat like the U600's and doesn't give much tactile feedback either.
The U100 is the thinnest handset in the new range and looks similar to the Samsung X820, but is not only 1mm thinner at a wafer-like 6mm thin, it also packs a 3.2-megapixel camera and stereo Bluetooth.
Again, the keypad is completely flat giving little tactile feedback and we're disappointed to see that there's no expandable memory slot, but it is incredibly thin so we understand if they couldn't jam one in there.
If it's specs you're after then the U700 will really impress you. Not only is it a skinny 12mm thick, it also packs high speed mobile broadband (HSDPA), so you can download data at up to 3.6Mbps.
Other features include a 3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus, a full HTML browser, video-calling capability, an MP3 player, stereo Bluetooth, an expandable microSD slot and a document viewer.
This is the one we're most excited about, as not only is it a feature-packed mobile phone but you can also hook it up to your laptop and use it a high-speed modem, making it one of the most compact all-in-one mobile data solutions out there.