Samsung has built on the success of the Ultra Edition range launched in July 2006 with its new Ultra Edition 2 handsets launched at 3GSM 2007.

The Samsung Ultra Edition 2 portfolio consists of two stylish and functional sliders, the Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600) and the Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700); a metallic clamshell, the Ultra Edition 9.6 (U300); and a candy bar handset, the Ultra Edition 5.9 (U100).

Like the majority of sliders, the U600 has a spring loaded case which seems to operate smoothly and functions well. Only time will tell if the slider action will deteriorate, which sometimes happens with certain slider phones, as reported by members of our 3G Forum.

I hear alarm bells ringing when I look at the slider spring ( see photo 5 ). It is visible when the slider is open and holds the whole slider together. If the spring fails or falls off then the slider action is seriously impaired. You have zero chance of refitting this yourself. Lets hope that Samsung’s quality control is therefore up to par for this spring and the spring mechanism design.

For a small slider phone, the Samsung U600 has a generously sized screen :
QVGA resolution : 240 x 320 pixels
2.22 inches corner to corner : 34 x 44mm
262,144 colours : VGA TFT LCD
A useful feature for outside use is the “Sunlight Mode” which effectively gives optimum contrast setting for outdoor use in bright light conditions.

I do not intend to relay where which controls / buttons are etc. as they can clearly be seen on Photo 4. Suffice to say that the left and right touch sensitive soft keys, navigation keys and the touch sensitive End and Send keys are designed for ease-of-use and this works for me.

However, some people may not get-on with these as there are quite sensitive and you may require some time to adjust these.

I think the keypad is nifty. Its a flatbed design with partioning ridges so in theory you could use it in the dark with no backlight. The backlight does however make reading the keypad numbers highly visible in white.

The 3.2 megapixel is located rearside ( see Photo 5 ) and becomes visible with the slider open.

The main attributes of the camera are :
- 3.2 megapixels, Digital zoom x4, LED flash, autofocus, fullsize portrait/ landscape view, single / multi / Mosaic shot, white balance / ISO. A very impressive list indeed. The maximun resolution for the camera is 2048 x 1536 pixels.

Of course, a xenon flash would produce better results than a basic LED flash but that’s Samsung’s call. The camera is a good example of what’s expected these days. The resultant photos were found to be more than adequate in the viewing and focus stakes. The brightness level was fine and the colours were natural looking.

The feature rich U600 plays multiple audio formats including MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+, and WMA. You can utilise the U600's Bluetooth capabilities with a wireless stereo headset, allowing you to remotely control your music player, or transfer your music at fast speeds using USB 2.0.

The phone has 60MB of user memory itself whilst a microSD card will provide up to an extra 2GB. A microSD card is not supplied which seems excessively mean. Hot swapping is enabled. Samsung has allocated a maximum storage allowance for 200SMS and 1000 phone book entries. A 2GB microSD card would provide up to 150 of your tunes to be stored at any one time.

USB connection has three modes : PC studio, modem and mass storage. Usual method of attachment via USB to your PC. Bluetooth 2.0 is provided for a number of functions such as hands free, headset, file transfer, printing, A2DP plus more.

A nice feature is that search, email, and instant messaging is available through Yahoo. This is offically called Smart UI / Smart Search / Smart Messaging / Smart LCD. This also allows you to search your phone for files like with a PC.

Also included and worthy of mention is : calender, scheduler, calculator, document viewer, mobile printing, converter and OPUS (Optimized Power Usage Solution).

Supplied in the box we found : User Manual, Standard battery, Travel adaptor, Stereo headset, OC datalink kit and Samsung PC Studio CD-ROM.

Specification Details :
Style of Phone Slider
Size 106.4x43.6x11.7mm
Weight 81g
Display 262,144 colours QVGA TFT LCD approx 32mmx40mm
Display resolution 240 x 320 pixel Camera 3.2 Megapixel
Video recording / playback Yes / Yes Video recorder (MPEG4, H.263, AAC)
Audio playback MP3-Player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+, WMA) Connectivity Bluetooth 2.0, SyncML, TV-out ( PAL / NTSC )and USB.
No infrared.
Internal memory 60 MB User memory
Memory card slot microSD external memory (up to 2 GB)
Java Java MIDP 2.0
Messaging SMS/ EMS/ MMS
Email client Email (POP3 / SMTP / IMAP4 / SSL / TLS)
Ringtones 64 Polyphonic Ringtone/ MP3 Ringtone
Internet browser WAP 2.0 / Internet browser
GPRS EDGE/ GPRS Class 10
Frequency Quad Band (GSM 850+900+1800+1900 MHz)
Battery Li-Ion / 690 mAh
Talktime 4 hrs
Standby 270 hrs

Samsung's Ultra Editions seem to get classier, glossier, and more far-fetched with every subsequent iteration -- and if they haven't already jumped the shark, they have now with the rather breathtaking Ultra Smart F700. The candybar with a slide-out QWERTY 'board makes do with 7.2Mbps (yes, we said "seven point two") HSDPA plus EDGE for those occasions when 3G towers are out of reach, a 2.78 inch touchscreen sporting no fewer than 440 x 240 pixels, microSD expansion, full HTML browsing, Bluetooth, and a whopping 5 megapixels of snapping power on the backside. Per protocol, America is left squarely out of the equation with GSM 850 and WCDMA 850 / 1900 all coming up missing, but at least folks in the greater Barcelona area should get a shot at it next week when it bows all official-like at 3GSM.

Like the Apple iPhone, the F700 features a full touch screen. However, although Samsung noted that the device reflects the recent trend in the telecommunications industry by using a touch screen user interface, the F700 will still include a QWERTY key pad (unlike the iPhone) for users who are not yet familiar with a touch-screen-only user interface. The F700 also features VibeTonz technology which allows users to feel the buttons accompanied by responsive vibrations.

Samsung has also touted the 3G capabilities of the Ultra Smart F700, with 3G not initially scheduled to be supported by the iPhone. Although a High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) network is not yet fully deployed, the handset supports the standard. Samsung pointed out that once the 7.2 Mbps HSDPA network is completely deployed, F700 users can download an 4MB MP3 song in 4.4 seconds.

Samsung added that a full HTML browser along with the QWERTY key pad enables access to the Internet for e-mail and data services. The device also features a 2.78-inch TFT LCD color display, a 5 mega-pixel camera with auto focus and Bluetooth support.

More Info:
Samsung.com