Slim Samsung SCH-i760 Smartphone on Tap

Coming soon: a new, slim smartphone with a slide-out QWERTY keypad and powered by the latest edition of Windows Mobile. The Wi-Fi-enabled Samsung SCH-i760, which has been making the rounds at the big trade shows for the past several months, looks poised to make its U.S. debut within a few weeks.

The SCH-i760—which, according to the Boy Genius Report, was just approved by the FCC—looks to be one of the strongest players in the slim smartphone arena. Not only will the 3G phone come with a roomy slide-out keypad, but it also packs in Wi-Fi, a gotta-have feature for heavy data users that's lacking in almost every other compact U.S. smartphone, save the T-Mobile Dash (which, when out of Wi-Fi range, is stuck in the land of 2.5G with its EDGE-only data support). The i760 will also be one of the slimmest smartphones powered by the Pocket PC version of Windows Mobile, which allows for touchscreen support and relatively robust mobile Office apps (as opposed to the stripped-down Windows Mobile Smartphone OS on such QWERTY phones as the Motorola Q and Samsung's own BlackJack). Also under the hood is a 1.3-megapixel camera, a microSD memory expansion slot, and Bluetooth.

Samsung hasn't released pricing details or an exact street date for the SCH-i760, but now that the phone has cleared the FCC, I'd expect it to arrive within about a month or so. And while there's no official word on carriers, the smart bet is on Verizon Wireless.

Related:
Samsung SCH-i760 gets FCC Nod [The Boy Genius Report]