Since Apple has not officially launched the iPhone in the Asian market, Samsung chose to take advantage of the situation and launch the Haptic SPH-W4200. The company considers the Haptic to be a true iPhone competitor. The Haptic has a 240X432 resolution, 3.2 inch touch-screen display. The display can be manipulated in a similar manner to the iPhone, but unlike the iPhone includes tactile feedback (in the form of vibrations). In fact, the Haptic has 22 different set vibrations designed to enhance the user’s experience. For instance, while scrolling through a long list, vibrating ‘clicks’ grow stronger as the list continues, indicating its length.
The SPH-W4200 has a high quality TFT-LCD screen that can display numerous applications, including widgets. The widgets and icons are fully customizable, as dragging and dropping icons and applications changes the display completely, creating a truly personal user interface.
Since the phone supports HSDPA connectivity, Mobile digital TV, also known as Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), which is very popular in many Asian countries, can be accessed. The Haptic also includes Bluetooth connectivity but has no WIFI support. Another nice feature for the Asian market is the included Korean-English dictionary, containing about 330,000 words. The dictionary can be used not only for translation but also for correct pronunciation, using the text-to-voice feature.
In addition to serving as a cellular phone and a music player, the SPH-W4200 is equipped with a 2 mega-pixel camera. Although the photos taken are good enough to make nice wallpapers, the quality is not on par with some other high-end camera-phones, such as Nokia’s N95. Unlike the iPhone, the Haptic is a 3G device, and is equipped with a front 0.3k camera for video calls. The built-in memory capacity can be enhanced using the microSD slot. Another comparable feature is the mounted G-sensor, which allows automatic horizontal rotation of photos and videos. Although the Anycall SPH-W4200 might not have the chic of Apple’s iPhone, it may certainly become very popular in Asia.
TFOT has also covered Toshiba’s G450, a unique multifunctional device, which includes a HSDPA modem, a mobile phone, a USB data storage device and an MP3 player, all in one device. Also covered is the xTablet T8700, which is an extremely durable tablet PC. Another related story is Nokia’s Morph Concept, a joint nanotechnology concept designed to demonstrate the future of mobile devices.
Anycall is currently selling the new phone only in Asia. For a demonstration of the Haptic SPH-W4200 abilities, see this YouTube video. For more information, see the Haptic’s official website (Korean).
