Samsung shows 'world's first' hard drive phone

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: September 6, 2004 9:30:45 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Samsung shows 'world's first' hard drive phone
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com

Original URL: 
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/06/samsung_hdd_handset/>

Samsung shows 'world's first' hard drive phone

By Tony Smith (tony.smith at theregister.co.uk)
Published Monday 6th September 2004 11:42 GMT

Samsung has shown what it claims is the world's first mobile phone that 
incorporates a hard drive.

The SPH-V5400, unveiled today in Japan, includes 1.5GB of hard disk 
storage. That's barely more than you can get from a SD or CompactFlash 
card, but it's a start, presaging the day when handsets are as much 
iPods as phones.

The Apple product is not only more capacious than the Samsung handset, 
but cheaper too. When the SPH-V5400 goes on sale in South Korea later 
this month, it will retail for around $800, IDG reports 
(http://www.techworld.com/mobility/news/index.cfm?NewsID=2180).

The idea of adding a hard drive to a handset isn't new, but so far disk 
sizes and reliability issues have weighed against their incorporation 
into mobiles. The arrival of 1in drives makes equipping a handset with 
hard disk storage a possibility, but production isn't easy or cheap - 
one of the chief reasons why Apple's iPod Mini is proving too hard to 
get hold of.

The Samsung handset also features an FM radio, 64-voice polyphonic 
ringtone support, a 240 x 320 display and TV output - again, preparing 
the way for the day when mobiles incorporate Microsoft Portable Media 
Center-style functionality.

Ditto the phone's radio, which like the Neuros II 'digital audio 
computer' (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/20/review_neuros_ii/) 
and the Griffin iTrip can broadcast audio content to nearby FM 
receivers.


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