Samsung unveils "world's thinnest" 6.9mm phone

Always one for a decent "world's ____" tag line for their product releases, Samsung is naming their new SGH-X820 Ultra Slim Phone the "world's thinnest" at a mere 6.9mm (0.27-inches) thick, the same thickness as the iPod nano. Not content to be merely skinny, the candybar phone also features a 2 megapixel camera, MP3 playback, Bluetooth connectivity and TV out. There is a minor hump near the top of the phone off the back that might sully your results when using this thing to pick door locks, but otherwise it's hard to imagine how it can get much thinner than this and still have a claim to 3D space. The phone should be out in Europe and Russia this week, with China to follow in June, no word on price.

[Gowtham Mahalingam @ May 8th 2006 1:12PM]

i don't think this is right. the sgh x820 is flip... i think you mean sgh x828 ... you guys made a post about it a few weeks ago.

gm

[Brian @ May 8th 2006 1:16PM]

boy, that sure is a thin phone. did anyone else notice that? how thin it is? real thin. like really, really thin, that phone.

[Nukes and Candy @ May 8th 2006 1:16PM]

Oh, your so pretty I just want to caress you, and cuttle with you. Come into my pocket you preety phone you!

[Brian @ May 8th 2006 1:19PM]

seriously guys, look at it. it's really, really thin.

[PodMonkeys @ May 8th 2006 1:22PM]

Are they counting the thickness at the hump? or under it?

[Neeraj @ May 8th 2006 1:45PM]

Does anybody know how much will it cost?? Now a days, samsung is launching a lot of new models with superb technology, that can be a warning sign for nokia,

[Master 0f None @ May 8th 2006 2:06PM]

SNAP!!!

[ECM @ May 8th 2006 2:13PM]

Can I get a spell check on aisle 6?

[Whiplash @ May 8th 2006 2:24PM]

Hey Brian, how thin is it man?

[Whiplash @ May 8th 2006 2:27PM]

You know, pretty soon you won't even be able to handle these things without fear of bending them in half or losing them in that pile of business cards in your desk "junk drawer".

Seriously though, I've always thought it kind of strange that they design modern phones to fit in your pocket/purse, instead of designing them to be comfortable to hold and talk into.

[silver @ May 8th 2006 2:28PM]

gosh with that huge bulge who is going to buy that thing?

[Mat @ May 8th 2006 2:30PM]

That's hot!

And still with a good camera too!

[Marcos @ May 8th 2006 2:33PM]

Will it work with Apple's iSync?
No Samsung phone is supported, as far as I know, right (which is a shame, with T-Mobile offering the t509 in the U.S....

Correct me if I'm wrong, please.

[Lectoid @ May 8th 2006 2:39PM]

Why does Europe and Asia get all the cool phones. Isn't America the largest consumer of cell phones in the world? Why does Nokia and others turn away easy money by releasing the better phones over here?

[Brian @ May 8th 2006 2:47PM]

dude, seriously whiplash, soooo thin, man. soooo thin.

[david @ May 8th 2006 2:53PM]

who will carry this phone? Sprint? maybe... I hope...

[Lemmi @ May 8th 2006 2:55PM]

Lectoid -

When you Yanks either build or design the cool phones, you can have them first!

(Not really - I have no idea)

[blahblah @ May 8th 2006 2:58PM]

HOLY SHIT! That's THIN man!

Does it support A2DP and Mini SD or something similar?

[Baumann @ May 8th 2006 2:58PM]

Okay... now just imagine how thin this thing would be if they didn't feel the necessity to include a freaking camera on this thing.

You know the market is in bad shape when 90% of cell phone reviews say something like, "The Good: There's a camera, so I can snap pictures to post on myspace. The Bad: Call quality isn't that great."

People! Make a phone that's a good PHONE. The video camera, MP3 playback, 11" screen and full QWERTY keyboard just add to the bulk and the subtract from the battery life.

[AndrewNeo @ May 8th 2006 3:00PM]

How can you have the 'world's thinnest' 6.9mm phone? Is there a 'world's biggest' 6.9mm phone?

[Neoterix @ May 8th 2006 3:12PM]

Any word on whether this thing is cdma?

[nilram @ May 8th 2006 3:27PM]

Yes, it's also the world's _thickist_ 6.9mm phone. Much thicker than all those other 6.9mm phones out there.

[Brian from Texas @ May 8th 2006 3:50PM]

Companies make money by slowly releasing the good stuff to us. Even if the technology, or the devices, have been in other countries for 1 year America will eat it up in mass quantities.

They wait 3 months, drop the price to pick up the stragglers, and release an update. So that technophiles will upgrade. Thus spending more money.

It's how businesses make billions of dollars, American dollars.

Are you part of the machine or just an observer?

[thedaniel @ May 8th 2006 3:58PM]

Lectoid: I think it has a **lot** more to do with the US carriers than the handset companies.

[Eugene @ May 8th 2006 4:04PM]

"Why does Europe and Asia get all the cool phones. Isn't America the largest consumer of cell phones in the world? Why does Nokia and others turn away easy money by releasing the better phones over here?"

I don't know about Europe and Asia, but Russia gets all the cool phones (including for-Russian-market-only Nokia 8800 Black) because people don't have to ask questions like "who will carry this phone?". We just remove the SIM card from the old phone and put it into the new one. That's it.

[Miz @ May 8th 2006 4:06PM]

Lectoid,
US carriers pretty much dictate which phones are out there. US markets have been very difficult, especially on high end devices.

Another factor is the radio technology used. In US, CDMA is still very dominant and Qualcomm with it's patent portfolio keeping competition away.

[187 on John Doe @ May 8th 2006 4:24PM]

I would assume the US gets most phones later because it uses a different frequency for mobile phones. I think Japan and the US might be the only ones with it and everyone else has the other one.

[grouchomarx @ May 8th 2006 4:40PM]

I've been using on for the last month and it's so thin you won't believe...

Man, that's totally thin.

[Sayuri @ May 8th 2006 4:56PM]

yahaaahhhH! go samsung! totally kicks razr in teh ass.

[Atanas Boev @ May 8th 2006 5:02PM]

TV out?? What king of TV out? Antenna? S-video?

[Jesse @ May 8th 2006 5:29PM]

marcos-
I just got a t509 last week and while it took some fiddling, I got it to sync contacts using OnSync, nada on the calendar though :( I expect that things will get ironed out once enough people have them and push for functionality. I've got to say though, it's damn thin and I don't know how much thinner I'd want it. I've had it in my front pants pocket all day and just remembered it was there. Quite handy. Now if only I could get opera mini to run on it...

[Mintz @ May 8th 2006 6:01PM]

Anyone else worried about bending your leg while having this phone in your pocket?

*SNAP*

Oops! Oh well; even cell phones have insurance nowadays, don't they?

[Maff @ May 8th 2006 6:44PM]

i think the tv out is composite, one yellow and one white, i think its the same as in the D500/D600 models

[Maff @ May 8th 2006 6:46PM]

Come on engadget, can u say 'google it' : http://www.samsunghq.com/content/view/255/5/

[Tim @ May 8th 2006 9:01PM]

TV Out? WTF? That's tight!

I bet you 5 bucks that the GUI is MUCH better than anything Motorola can shell out. I mean seriously, Moto needs to hire a new software team or something. That or put Windows Mobile 5 for smartphones on it - now that would be something.

[Lord Farkward @ May 9th 2006 6:05AM]

er..... lectoid...... sorry to break the news, but N. America is far from being 'the largest consumer'..... APAC (asia/pacific excluding japan) sold around 165 million units during 2004 (source from gartner) when N. america 133 million (oh and, w. europe sold around 143 million), and don't forget the humongous growth we saw from China and India during 2005......... yes n. america's market is huge, but it's nowhere being 'the largest'

[sushi @ May 10th 2006 11:17PM]

maaaaan thats friggin thin

[leanbean @ Aug 17th 2006 4:33PM]

this is a great phone, nice and thin. It does feel very breakable but disappears in my pocket which is what I wanted. Does not feel cheap like the slvr.

The interface is pretty cool and works very well. Not too much battery life but I dont use it that much.

I am still looking for a way to sync the calendar and contacts with my mac. Anyone have any ideas? Onsync doesnt do it yet.

l

[Tran Chan @ Mar 22nd 2007 3:46AM]

IT IS NICE PHONE COULD TELL ME IT COMMING YET AND HOW MUCH IS IT?

Thank You

[Tran Chan @ Mar 22nd 2007 3:56AM]

Let me know if they are coming out to the market.

Thank