Maybe it's just us, but the image pictured above sure looks a helluva lot sexier than the blurry depiction we saw of Samsung's G810 just last week. Along with just about everyone else in the mobile world, Samsung is making its striking do-it-all slider official at Mobile World Congress, and it's packin' quite the specs list. We're talking HSDPA, a 5-megapixel camera with face detection, Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) and image stabilization, a 2.6-inch QVGA display, built-in GPS / WiFi, a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack and a 12.9-millimeter-thick frame. All that's for sure is a March 2008 release for those in Europe, but word on the street pegs it right around €580 ($840).

Samsung just announced their new flagship "Soul" cellphone in the spirit of its Ultra Editions. Get it? Spirit Of ULtra, soul? Yeah. Anyway, as Sammy's go-to phone for 2008, we're looking at a quad-band GSM phone with 7.2Mbps HSDPA; 2.2-inch QVGA display; 5 megapixel, image stabilized camera with Power LED flash and face detection; FM radio; microSD; Bluetooth, and more in a 12.9-mm thin slider. Sweetening the deal is a Magical Touch interface which adapts to your usage (music, camera, etc) a la LG's Venus. They've even added a jumbled-up Google icon for search and gMail access. Look for it to hit European retail in April. On display next week at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress where you can bet your last money, it's gonna be stone gas, honey.

Eek! Must restore... cardiac function... ahh, there we go. 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.

Witnessing the dethroning of one crown thanks to a determined competitor is anything but surprising, but it seems that Samsung is ousting one of its own in order to make room for a newer champion, as the Ultra Edition 10.9 takes over where the D900 left off as the "world's thinnest slider." Continuing on Samsung's recent infatuation with creating increasingly slim mobiles, the 10.9's biggest feature is its ultrathin frame, as the spec list really doesn't deviate from what we found on the previous title holder. Onboard, you'll find a 3.2-megapixel camera, MP3 / video playback, Bluetooth, video output, 80MB of internal memory, and a built-in microSD slot for loading up additional media. Little more is known about the 10.9 as of now, but just about every detail you could need should be divulged during the 3GSM Congress in Barcelona next month.

[Via Unwired View]

In the cellphone game, just how thin is too thin? If you're Samsung, the answer apparently lies somewhere south of the 5.9 millimeters put up by its latest fashion accessory, the appropriately named "Ultra Edition 5.9." For the record, that's a solid millimeter less than the previous world's thinnest, Samsung's own X820 -- the phone allegedly shown snapping helplessly in two on video under fairly minimal pressure. Of course, the authenticity of said video has been repeatedly called into question, but either way, we're hoping this new one has been fabbed with some pretty crazy space-age resins and polymers that'll keep it from multiplying in our pockets. Specs include a tri-band GSM radio (though recent announcements have us encouraged that an American version could be down the pike), a 3.2 megapixel cam, Bluetooth, and 80MB of onboard storage. Look for the record-smashing Ultra Edition 5.9 to start gracing European pockets bulge-free some time in March.

[Thanks, Tony]

Contrary to previous beliefs, it looks like neither Orange nor HTC will have a part in producing the first "Googlephone," and instead it seems that Samsung is slipping in the back door to steal the limelight. When the Ultra Edition 13.8 (formerly known as the Z720) got official a few days back, we noticed the relatively unexpected suite of Google apps swarming the mobile's innards, and aside from the handset not exactly abiding by the Opera agreement that is supposedly falling into place, it seems a good fit for the first Google-infused mobile. Of course, the programs that come loaded are all available as free downloads on supported handsets, but it seems the European-bound 13.8 will be numero uno in what's likely to be quite a lengthy list of Googled mobiles.

Get ready Guinness 'cause Samsung just launched an entire series of "World's slimmest" handsets. Sure, we've seen the D830 clam, X820 candybar, and FCC approved D900 slider before, only now they've been turned-out onto that mean global scene official, spec'd, and rebadged with their ultra-slim, millimeter measurements right in the name: the Ultra Edition 9.9 (D830), 12.9 (D900), and 6.9 (X820) pictured left-to-right. The UE 9.9 brings tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) GPRS/EDGE, a 2 megapixel cam with auto-focus and flash, a 2.3-inch 240x320 262k TFT main display (0.8-inch 92x16 grayscale external), Bluetooth, 80MB embedded memory with MicroSD expansion, MP3/AAC media player, and even an MPEG4 recorder with TV-out jack slammed into this world's slimmest flip. The UE 6.9 brings pretty much the same network coverage, cam, Bluetooth, media capabilities, and on-board memory as the 9.9 but had to forgo the microSD card and flash while dropping down to a 1.9-inch 176x220 262k TFT display in order to slip into that world's slimmest, 6.9-mm, 2.33-ounce dress. The relatively plump UE 12.9 takes advantage of all that, uh, roominess to squeeze in quad-band GPRS/EDGE, a 3.13 megapixel shooter, 2.1-inch 240x320 262k TFT, that good media lovin' we've already seen, Bluetooth with A2DP stereo audio support, and 80MB with microsSD expansion. Yeah, that makes it the world's slimmest slider, er, with 3 megapixel camera -- kind of a stretch, but that's how Sammy likes to roll. They didn't bother with drop dates, countries, or prices but the fact that the press release hit their English site gives us hope for this Samsung triptych to drop in the US sometime this year.

[Via AVING]