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The top three handset vendors in the world all have BlackBerry-killers now. First came Nokia with the E61 (not yet in U.S., unfortunately) and then Motorola with the Q, followed this week by Samsung, which became the latest device-maker to challenge Research In Motion (RIM) when it officially introduced the SGH-i320; a smartphone with a QWERTY thumb-keyboard and BlackBerry-like familiarity.

At 4.37 x 2.32 x 0.45 inches (111 x 59 x 11.5 millimeters) and 3.35 ounces (95 grams), the Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphone SGH-i320 is even smaller than the almost RAZR-like Motorola Q. It is a tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900) phone with 2.5G EDGE support—no 3G like the Q, some BlackBerrys and the newest Treos—120 MB of memory and a microSD slot.

Samsung's President Telecommunications Network Business Kitae Lee thinks smaller and thinner is better when it comes to powerful mobile communication devices like the SGH-i320. He said, “The trend and popularity of slim phones will be carried over to the smartphone market. Samsung will lead the trend of smartphones by combining its cutting-edge technology and sleek ultra-slim designs."


From User Guide

With the SGH-i320, there's also a 2.2 inch 240 x 320 pixel (QVGA) display, stereo speakers, speakerphone, Bluetooth and a 1.3 megapixel camera. Since it is a Windows Smartphone, like the Q, the SGH-i320 display isn't touch. So you must rely on the keyboard for text entry, for example, while you surely can open Microsoft Office documents to view them, you won't be able to edit the files.

Although Samsung said the SGH-i320 signals its entrance into the smartphone space, the world's third largest mobile phone vendor has been releasing Pocket PC and Palm OS devices for years. What the SGH-i320 really is, is its first communicator-class smartphone, as with the Nokia and Motorola’s previously mentioned devices, Palm's Treo series and Hewlett-Packard’s iPAQ hw6500 and new hw6900 series models.

Communicators’ emphasize one-handed operation and their keyboards put messaging front and center; although many are no slouch when it comes to multimedia, 3G and other services and features.

Samsung will launch the SGH-i320 in parts of Europe this month, followed by the rest of the continent and South East Asia shortly thereafter for an as-of-yet undisclosed price. Although there's no word on American availability, the FCC approved the SGH-i320 for release in the U.S. back in April. So there's a good chance it will make it over here, as past Samsung smartphones have done.