Samsung SGH-i600 Ultra Edition smartphone

The i600 is rich with features including a video player (supporting H.263, H.264, MPEG4, WMV) and video recording (MPEG 4), Windows Media Player 5.0, plus two digital cameras. One is a 1.3 Megapixel camera with digital zoom (x2) and auto focus located on the back of the handset, the other is a VGA camera located on the front for 3G video calling, allowing the user to have a face-to-face call with any 3G compatible mobile phone user. The phone also comes with 64MB RAM and 128MB ROM memory plus a MicroSD slot expandable up to 2GB.

Samsung couldn't confirm what other networks are taking the i600, or even if the device will be sold as a stand alone offering, but it will be available on Orange at the end of April. Pricing from the Orange network is also yet to be officially confirmed.

Verdict

The i600 is difficult to fault. Really. Compact and well-built, it is an ideal smartphone device. Even the tiny elastic-attached plastic covers to the different ports seem as though they might last as long as the handset itself. The micro keyboard might take some getting used to if you are unfamiliar with these types of devices and the mixture of grey and black colouring on the keyboard could cause a little confusion at first.

Windows Mobile 5.0 is surprisingly easy to navigate and the keypad is well laid out: with two soft keys either side of the click wheel and a one-click thumbwheel on the right hand side of the device. Unfortunately, we can't comment on value for money, as no pricing plan whatsoever was available at time of review. However, some websites have the device listed at around the £389.95 mark - given the BlackBerry 8800 is listed from anywhere between £299.99 and £324.99, it seems early indications point to it being a little more expensive than the standalone 8800.