Sprint prepped to launch Samsung SPH-M800

Samsung is on a roll this morning, though this isn't as official as the SGH-F490 announced a few minutes ago, but the branding suggest this will show up at Sprint. Sadly, the word is that the 5 megapixel cam found in the F490 has been replaced here with a 2 megapixel shooter, but it does rock EV-DO, and for that we give thanks. No word on when this'll appear or how much it'll cost, but we expect we'll hear more soon.

[David Russell @ Jan 10th 2008 12:33PM]

Well... knew 2008 would be the year of the market being flooded with iPhone copies. Good to see Samsung entering the ring with this beaut. Sprint better deliver the iPhone or more phones like this if they wanna keep customers. Their customer service and rural-area service quality is taking a beating lately.

[bobartig @ Jan 10th 2008 3:48PM]

Beaut? I was thinking that this was gawdawful ugly. Considerably worse than the other iPhone knockoffs. I'm ignoring the UI for now, which is bad, but is easily changed. Almost everything about the front of this unit is wrong. Earpiece opening is too large, text between earpiece and screen is cluttered, bezel between screen and phone edge is too thick. All the proportions need changing.

Maybe all of this has important engineering decisions behind it, and the phone is amazing, but it sure ain't pretty.

[SteveMB @ Jan 10th 2008 4:45PM]

God forbid there be touchscreen phones!!!

[Ethan @ Jan 10th 2008 7:51PM]

Rural service? It doesn't work half the time where I live!

And I live Minneapolis for crap's sake!

[Ethan @ Jan 10th 2008 7:52PM]

Live IN Minneapolis. >_

[E71 @ Jan 10th 2008 9:50PM]

For a phone being marketed in the U.S. -- it would have been a lot more appropriate choosing another, more U.S.-popular sport than Soccer to place an icon for on the menu screen...

[aoeu00 @ Jan 10th 2008 12:33PM]

Would be nice if this came out soon. I'm out of contract with Verizon and waiting for the "right" phone and possibly cell phone provider to jump to. I almost bought the Voyager but this looks even sexier.

[Generic @ Jan 10th 2008 12:39PM]

iPhone has a competitor

[Jeremy @ Jan 10th 2008 1:17PM]

Ugh.

Why must everything always turn into whether or not a phone can or can't compete with the iPhone? The iPhone is great (I have one), but it's not the end-all-be-all for everyone. It has a set of features and capabilities just like everything, ever. It also has some shortcomings just like everything, ever.

We have no idea what this phone can actually do and what the user experience is like. Just because it has a touch screen doesn't mean it's anything at all like an iPhone. People with simple minds are the ones that look at completely superficial aspects and either hail something as great or awful. Often this comes with no actual first-hand experience. You people ruin everything.

[Joe @ Jan 10th 2008 1:36PM]

a sensible iphone user? impossible.

[ScooterDe @ Jan 10th 2008 3:59PM]

it had dozens when Apple decided to sell phones.
Apple made a phone in a new guise, which pumped the share price when the (potential) numbers were calculated. But give it time and Apple may be swamped by those who have dominated the phone market for many years. A bit of punishment and Apple might even exit, or do a Sony-Ericsson.

[john @ Jan 10th 2008 12:42PM]

Different UI than the SGH-490 too. Which is too bad, I really like the look of the 490.

Does it have Java?

Is it a Linux based phone OS?

If it had one of those, a slide out QWERTY, and was available through MetroPCS, I'd so be there.

[john @ Jan 10th 2008 12:43PM]

er... F490

[cobb @ Jan 10th 2008 1:00PM]

I need sprint to release some new windows mobile phones this spring and summer. Does anyone know of any?

[π @ Jan 10th 2008 4:14PM]

Why would anyone want Windoze?

[James Cameron @ Jan 10th 2008 1:00PM]

I mean does it really matter if it's 2 or 5 mega pixel? I mean camera phone totally suck at the moment. 5 mega pixel is totally overkill for a camera phone. I don't understand the point because you're going to end up having to scale it down anyhow to post on your facebook or wherever else.

[FK @ Jan 10th 2008 4:00PM]

Why not have 5 megapixel? You could reshoot your movie Titanic just by using a phone and possibly a canoe.

[Shawn Honnick @ Jan 11th 2008 9:54AM]

5 megapixel would be great for me.

I have a photoblog of car vanity plates. Recently moving to Sprint and down from a 3 megapixels Nokia N80ie (T-Mobile) to the 2 megapixels HTC "Mogul", I've basically lost my ability to get a clear enough image of vanity plates to post to the site. Of course, my passengers and some other cars near me on the road look and act like they feel much more safe and at ease with my driving now. But I still want a better camera on my phone!

[DP @ Jan 10th 2008 1:07PM]

Where is the QWERTY keyboard?!? So close...

[DP @ Jan 10th 2008 1:08PM]

Where is the QWERTY keyboard?! So close...

[DP @ Jan 10th 2008 1:08PM]

Where is the QWERTY keyboard?! So close...

[DP @ Jan 10th 2008 1:09PM]

Don't act like it hasn't happened to you.

[Seth Porter @ Jan 10th 2008 1:19PM]

Not to sound like an iphone fanboy or anything, but none of these manufacturers come close to the iphone in terms of a simplistic interface. This interface, like the Voyagers, seems a littl clunky and non-user friendly. And if it's anything like the voyager, the screen will be very irresponsive at times.

[Bob @ Jan 10th 2008 1:38PM]

How do you know if this interface is non-user friendly, as you state? All you see is one screenshot. True Apple Fanboy indeed.

[Seth Porter @ Jan 10th 2008 1:47PM]

The interface looks exactly the same as the voyager, and the voyagers interface is extremely clunky.

[roach @ Jan 10th 2008 1:52PM]

The only thing preventing from getting iPhone that is too connected too iTune (virus).

I also want 3 mega pix camera, for reference gathering (I texture/model game art) and other whot nots.

[π @ Jan 10th 2008 4:18PM]

@ bob: He can't be an Apple Fanboy: He didn't capitalize the P in iPhone. FYI: Don't use "Apple Fanboy" detrimentally. Some of us are Self Proclaimed Apple Fanboys

@ Roach: iPhones and iPods don't have viruses, but any other mp3 player can get them.

[Seth Porter @ Jan 10th 2008 4:27PM]

For the record, I do own an i"P"hone, which I enjoy very much. But I can still appreciate devices from other manufacturers that tailor to the needs of a different target market. the i"P"hone is just the best device for my needs. I appreciate its simplistic interface, web and email formatting, and its integration with my media player.

[Bhagiratha @ Jan 10th 2008 1:37PM]

Damn ... and thinking I just recently canceled my contract with sprint and moved over to AT&T to prepare to get an iPhone. Apple better come out with a new revision SOON!

A few more days to find out how much longer I need to wait.

[Seth Porter @ Jan 10th 2008 1:49PM]

Perhaps clunky wasn't the correct word, Bob, I should have said that the icons on this phone are not visually appealing at all. Perhaps this can be fixed with themes though.

[no @ Jan 10th 2008 1:51PM]

So any article that doesn't have this Veronica chick in it has to include the rapidly-becoming-overused slang "rock" in it?

[Michael @ Jan 10th 2008 1:54PM]

Wow I'm very interested. I made a stupid move mid 2007 and bought an iPhone with a go-phone plan as I was still on contract with Sprint. Talk about expensive and limited. Not to mention horrible customer support from AT&T. So I returned it, swallowed the lost funds and started using my Samsung A900 again with Sprint.

Some people make the iPhone out to be the god of all phones, but it's definitely not. It didn't ring nearly loud enough, about half as loud as my A900 can. AT&T service is horrible, the touch screen is kind hit or miss and the thing is huge if you try to carry it around the pocket of your jeans.

I have high hopes for this new Samsung. But they really need to make the price reasonable.

[JB @ Jan 10th 2008 5:54PM]

Samsung should do a promo like Jawbone @ CES - I'd trade my A900 for a M800 right now. Maybe the bluetooth will be more functional than the iphone/itouch. (Yes, i know the ipod touch DOESN'T have BT, it irks me)

[DP @ Jan 10th 2008 6:26PM]

You are right about that, the price needs to be on point. The Touch at $250 was WAY off.

[Mark @ Jan 10th 2008 2:30PM]

The only thing the iPhone did was bring touchscreen to the dumbass masses, er, dumbphone market.

Before the iPhone, only smartphones had touchscreens.

That's the only bit of credit I will give the iPhone.

If other cell phone manufacturers release dumbphones with touchscreens, it isn't copying, it is being competitive. It's how this industry works. Motorola creates a very thin sucessful cell phone, everyone else rushes to their engineers to make theirs just as thin.

[jake @ Jan 10th 2008 3:20PM]

Now that you mentioned it, that's quite true. When Motorola had success with thin phones, virtually every other manufacturer jumped on the band wagon. Some even released phones that were quite similar to the RAZR. Seems noone got any flack for that. However, when it comes to the iphone, it seems every time that someone releases a phone in the same form factor (ie a rectangle with a large touchscreen in the middle) it is called an iphone clone.
I suppose that is how the industry works. Phone manufacturers grab on to any successful trend they see. The trend now seems to be touchscreen consumer phones (aka dumbphones) and the manufacturers are just following the trend.

[@sushi @ Jan 10th 2008 5:27PM]

even apple was touting how thin their phone was when it was released...

[Jack @ Jan 10th 2008 3:17PM]

It is very iPhoneish, which isn't a big deal to me. One big difference though, and that is EVDO. Wonder if that's really WinMo under the hood....

[Jeff @ Jan 10th 2008 4:30PM]

i really really hope it isn't winmo under the hood, but i bet it is, which is to say that i bet right under that home screen is the same old tiny, ugly, unintuitive, stylus-requiring windows mobile garbage that'll keep me from buying it.

:(

[cromas @ Jan 10th 2008 3:36PM]

Is it really THAT hard to hire a graphic artist to design icons that don't make me want to cover my eyes in horror? That menu screen is even uglier than Vista.

[ar @ Jan 10th 2008 3:45PM]

Yep, have a look at any version of Windows...

[Jeff @ Jan 10th 2008 4:23PM]

I'd REALLY like to see a decent iPhone knockoff come from Samsung to Sprint, and this looks promising... (I'm not leaving Sprint for an iPhone, but i'd really like to have an iPhone or something good enough to actually be considered competition.)

i just hope the interface won't suck as hard as the HTC Touch.

It's all about interface, and so far no one seems to have it even remotely figured out. Some day these idiots will figure out that you can't just slap a few big icons on top of a junky Windows Mobile interface and think it's somehow just as good as an iPhone.

[Michael Voigt @ Jan 10th 2008 5:37PM]

The Samsung designers that 'designed' this phone must feel so pathetic. They have to come into to work and shamelessly copy an iPhone with no original thought whatsoever. Dam, Apple has to stay ahead of the clone market in Asia!

I have some pride, if I came in to work every day to make a downright copy of the iPhone .. I would quit.

[Zabien @ Jan 10th 2008 6:07PM]

looks more than a lg voyager knock off without the qwerty keypad, its a shame that these cell phone makers would rather copy the "hot" phones than to innovate and be original , oh well.

[PEZ @ Jan 10th 2008 6:10PM]

Its funny how the iphone took over 2 years to come out, and only 6 months for all the competitors that are kicking arse. AHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHA!

[benfilan @ Jan 10th 2008 6:55PM]

I'm already sick of all these so called 'iphone killers', make something NEW ffs, dont just cope whats already there. This is why Apple leads, innovation.

[Greg R @ Jan 10th 2008 9:31PM]

Why is everything called an "iPhone copy"? If you ask me the iPhone is a copy of the LG Prada. So I say that all of these phones are Prada copies. Its also hard to design a phone that is all touchscreen to look much different than any of these phones do. It's not a lack of research, its a lack of variable possibilites. Think about it kids.

[Nash @ Jan 11th 2008 3:46PM]

I agree...take that Apple Fanboys

[plh2034 @ Jan 11th 2008 5:47PM]

It could be oval, triangular or squared hell it could have been shaped like the #8.
They can also try making the UI totally different.
No one calls the HTC Touch a iPhone rip because it doesen't have blocks with a quick launch row of blocks at the bottom.

[dave @ Jan 11th 2008 5:09PM]

i was hoping sprint would release an iPhone-esque device with EV-DO. you got the hardware part right, samsung. you definitely hit that nail on the head. and i think the black brushed back looks classier than the iPhone.

but that UI is pathetic. bring back the F490's user interface, release this in july when my current sprint contract is up, and i'll trade my (also samsung) A900 in for this in a heartbeat. and help me avoud weird looks when i carry around an iPhone lookalike in one pocket and the real iPod touch in the other pocket.