I got a chance at long last to try out the Ultra Smart F700, the uberphone just released on Vodafone over in Europe. The HSDPA-capable F700 features a touch screen backed by the new "Croix" user interface, a slide out keypad, and 3 Megapixel camera (while the phone was originally shown with a 5MP camera, the Vodafone release is 3MP).
The F700 is nice - the screen is big and bright, the touchscreen functionality works well and provides vibrational and/or auditory feedback, and the QWERTY board is pretty comfortable to type on. And the phone is surprisingly light but not at all cheap feeling. While the Samsung guys wouldn't go so far as to say a US version is confirmed, I got the impression that it's certainly worth hoping for an F700 on this side of the pond before too, too long.
Check out the hands-on video for a closer look at the F700, and special thanks to Kim and everyone else from Samsung for making this available at the reader meetup in San Francisco.
I heard another rumor that this is going to be Helio's follow-up to the Ocean, and while I really like that idea I wouldn't bet on it just yet. I'd love to see it on T-Mob, personally, but can't imagine it launching without 3G data ... T-Mob will roll out 3G, though ... eventually!