Samsung's GPS-equipped i780 "Treo-killer" revealed

Samsung seems to be working a little in reverse with its upcoming SGH-i780 Windows Mobile 6 handset, showing it first at GITEX, then providing shots to media a couple weeks later -- all without an official press release or announcement. Fortunately, we have pretty much all the information we want about it at this point, save for one key detail: will it come to AT&T as the rumored BlackJack 2? Unlike the original BlackJack, the i780 runs the touchscreen-driven Professional variant of Windows Mobile, features an "optical mouse" on the d-pad that provides the user with an actual on-screen pointer, and features integrated WiFi and GPS. If we were the wagering sort, we'd guess that an AT&T variant of this sucker would lose the WiFi and trade Euro HSDPA radio hardware for its North American equivalent, but with integrated GPS, it still seems like it could be a worthwhile upgrade. Sweden apparently expects it in early 2008, though there's no official word on launches elsewhere just yet.

[Via Unwired View]

[ItGuy @ Sep 27th 2007 11:48AM]

Looks nice, but too bad it's running the biggest POS OS ever invented, Windows Mobile.

[tcc3 @ Sep 27th 2007 12:06PM]

Could be worse - it could be Palm 5 Garnet. At least its been updated this decade.

[Jon @ Sep 27th 2007 12:54PM]

Could be worse. It could have been a 700MB bloatware known as OS X with no cut and paste feature.

[ItGuy @ Sep 27th 2007 1:22PM]

My Treo 650 with that "ancient os" is reliable, does what I want to do, and is logical. Which is more than I can say for the POS that is Win Mobile.

However, there is a reason the iPhone is the most usable phone out there......

[E71 @ Sep 27th 2007 2:59PM]

I certainly wish my HTC Kaiser was this sexy.

[crazytree @ Sep 27th 2007 8:37PM]

"However, there is a reason the iPhone is the most usable phone out there......"

yea, because it was designed for Generation "Chimp" users.

[Gero @ Sep 27th 2007 11:51AM]

This will be my next phone despite HSUPA.

[roc ingersol @ Sep 27th 2007 11:57AM]

And here I was hoping that people had seen the light and stylus-based mobile interfaces were going the way of the command line.

/sigh

[I.E @ Sep 27th 2007 12:03PM]

...and what exactly is wrong with stylus based interfaces or are you just iSheep?

[mike @ Sep 27th 2007 12:13PM]

A stylus is by far the best method of input on a mobile device! You can hand write on the screen for example.

[paloooz @ Sep 27th 2007 12:15PM]

I have an iPhone, and on my iPhone I have a terminal emulator.
I have a Mac, and I use /Utilities/Terminal.app all the time.

I'm not sure what "going the way of the command line" means.

[JeffDM @ Sep 27th 2007 12:22PM]

A stylus is kind of tedious and easy to lose. It's not just Apple products, there are other devices that use touch input.

[zargon @ Sep 27th 2007 12:54PM]

Sure, the command line isn't a big part of the below average to average computer users life anymore. But the command line is far from dead and I will go out on a limb here and say it will never die in at least the near future.

I use the command line every day at home and at work. On top of that, anyone in IT or works some people that get to work with servers at work, after Server Longhorn, kiss the GUI good buy, it won't exist anymore. I would suggest you start learning powershell now to get ahead of the curve.

[joe23521 @ Sep 27th 2007 12:56PM]

If the iPhone allowed the use of a stylus, maybe it wouldn't be so torturous when you try to navigate through a link-heavy web page.

[jon @ Sep 27th 2007 12:00PM]

I think I prefer the dial pad numbers all together (like on the Treo), not spaced out.

[Mark @ Sep 27th 2007 12:05PM]

You can hit the adjacent button for the same number. The Blackjack keyboard explains it better.

[Joseph @ Sep 27th 2007 12:03PM]

Treo killer? You can't kill what is already dead and buried.

[Darnell @ Sep 27th 2007 12:33PM]

Why would they set their sights that low?

[strider_mt2k @ Sep 27th 2007 12:08PM]

I thought Palm had taken on the job of killing the Treo?

[Jamie @ Sep 27th 2007 12:39PM]

The phrase "Treo-killer" to describe a product is equivalent to "dog-kicker"...where's the challenge in killing a helpless product?

[p-k-r @ Sep 27th 2007 12:45PM]

This is much bigger than a blackjack. AT&T seems to be using the blackjack right now as their discounted smartphone to pull in new and exisiting customers. (They were giving away free blackjacks a few weeks ago.) I expect an updated WM6 Blackjack to come out at a low price point. The i780 will be more competing against the higher priced Treo/HTC Mogule/Blackberry Curve.

[Rick H @ Sep 27th 2007 1:15PM]

As a Treo owner, let me tell you that the Treo does a WONDERFULL job of killing itself. i'm pretty sure Zach Morris' cellphone had more memory, battery power, and processing speed. the only way you could NOT beat a treo would be to take a Treo, put hello kitty on it, light it on fire, and let the plastic melt to the side of your head.

sorry. i'm just a little bitter i'm stuck with this thing for another year and a half...

[Jake Carpenter @ Sep 27th 2007 1:27PM]

HEY SAMSUNG: Where's the i760!? You skipped one! Remember? The one that was supposed to be out for verizon months ago, then a few days ago, now maybe January!? Remember? Verizon? How about you?

[murph @ Sep 27th 2007 1:27PM]

This is DEFINITELY the Blackjack 2. why you ask?

Because I just bought a Blackjack 1 yesterday. :)

[MrFuNKy76 @ Sep 27th 2007 1:42PM]

omfg yes! I love windows mobile its so sleek, slim and fast, it works awesome love it!! Windows mobile is the best mobile OS evaR!!!!111

[Garst @ Sep 27th 2007 1:52PM]

This is pretty nice. Now I'm not sure if I want a phone like this one or like the 8525. The keyboard would be nice so I wouldn't have to use the virtual keyboard or write all the time. But I'm not sure if I would like that "optical mouse" feature. That could get annoying since I'm use to not having something like that on my PDA. Also, you know Microsoft is going to release its next mobile OS now that there are a few with WM6. I know that there have been a few out for a while, but there still isn't a good selection yet.

[Mark Balcerak @ Sep 27th 2007 2:12PM]

Why Can't the US version have Wi-Fi?!?!?!?

[Stylinexpat @ Sep 27th 2007 2:17PM]

Will consider buying Korean products when Korea considers buying non-Korean products. For those of you who have been to Seoul, Korea you will know what I am talking about. The Koreans in Korea will pretty much only buy their own products and boycott any non-Korean product. Try visiting Korea and selling the Koreans a non-Korean product. Shop around and you will see that most of their products are a copy of a famous western brand. This can be anything from a Mars candy bar to a Honda Accord.

[Elliot @ Sep 28th 2007 5:20AM]

Honda a famous western brand. It's Japanese, just incase....

[CHINESE_R_UNTRUSTWORTHY @ Sep 27th 2007 10:23PM]

Hmm, it sounds like this dumb stylinexpat is confusing Korea with China/Taiwan. The fact is that Korea is also a victim of the "rampant-chinese/taiwanese-piracy-crisis'...

Check the following links:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aSm8mwwFMr8k&refer=home
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200701/200701150004.html
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/24/keepin-it-real-fake-part-xxxvii-china-car-makers-strike-again/
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200611/200611240009.html
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200701/200701160009.html
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Korea-Convergence-Multiplayer-E-Government/dp/095560690X

BTW, FYI, the Chinese/Taiwanese piracy costs legit companies around the world more than $650 billion
annually.

Hope this helped.

[byungsohn @ Sep 28th 2007 2:00PM]

this may be a little late, but since im a us citizen who travels to korea (and china for that matter) A LOT, i felt that i should chime in.

- One of the most popular cell phones in Korea was the Moto RAZR even though it could only perform probably 60% of the functions that 'Korean' phones could do.

- Koreans buy US consumer products like its nobody's business if they could afford it. The US gov. supports this claim (p.4): http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Fact_Sheets/2006/asset_upload_file650_8883.pdf (Warning PDF).

- Now that the FTA between S. Korea and the US has passed, the tariff on automobile sales has been eliminated and now more foreign cars will be sold in Korea (everyone wants a foreign car, they just couldnt afford it due to the tariff, now defunct).

bleh, theres more evidence, but this is getting old. but next time, do some research.

[PEZ @ Sep 27th 2007 2:20PM]

Isnt that kind of sad... why would you need to kill the treo? Shouldnt they be aiming a bit higher than that?

[xman @ Sep 27th 2007 3:44PM]

Not for nothing, but the treo was a benchmark at one point and everyone seemed to like it and the direction palm took it. Unfortuntely, they fell off, just like Motorola. What's up with the American companies now. So I guess this would be more of a "Q9 killer" since that would be the latest offering from Moto that matches this device or the Blackjack for that matter.

[Christian @ Sep 27th 2007 3:53PM]

Following the link to unwiredview.com, the side shot and back shot don't appear to match up... The side shows a hole in the top right corner (for the stylus I am assuming), but the back shot shows the stylus hole on the other side.

Photoshop mistake?

[Alex @ Sep 27th 2007 5:51PM]

I Really Wish That Nice Devices Like This Would Come Out For T-Mobile.... TM Gets All The Bad Devices, Every Once In A Great While Does T-Mobile Get A Good Device........

[tuwato @ Sep 27th 2007 11:22PM]

Makes the user feel like plastic, smell like plastic and look plastic!

[Al Hu @ Sep 28th 2007 4:07AM]

GPS chips are in ever phone sold in the US since Oct 2007 by law. Why isn't ever phone running a gps output, even if its just time, lat/long?

[Air4ce @ Sep 28th 2007 12:19PM]

how about the two big buttons at each side of the sensor? are they clickable?

[stylinexpat @ Sep 29th 2007 2:13AM]

Most cars if not over 90% that you see on the roads in Korea are Korean. Most cell phones used By Koreans are either LG or Samsung. Most computers are either Samsung or LG. Most of the clothing being sold and bought in Korea is Korean. Try visiting Hong, Taiwan or Thailand and look at the consumer related goods on the markets there. If you are a salesman selling anything you are more likely to find a customer in Taiwan or Hong-Kong before you find one in Korea to buy your products. Presence of expats alone is a clue..

[stylinexpat @ Sep 29th 2007 12:15PM]

This is to Byungsohn. You are an American citizen but you are Korean by Blood so you don't see this when you are back at home. Seoul has a couple of famouse Red Light Districts, can you tell us if they cater or serve non-Korean western men? The fact is that if you are not Korean you will not be catered to or offered any services. They buy their own products and service their own people pretty much.

[G$-off @ Oct 4th 2007 8:11PM]

If this this thing has everything the specs say, I'll wait for it.

[carlos @ Nov 21st 2007 2:59AM]

that is innovative concept!
expecially the point thing device, Optical joystick!

During googling, i found the website of manufacturer that

developed Optical joystick.
Check this out!!

http://www.crucialtec.com/

I saw some of produt applying that module.(Samsung V960,

Raon' EVERUN UMPC). Finally it apply on samsung's mobile phone. the usability of Optical joystick is quite similar to general PC-based Optical Mouse.