14 DAY TRIAL // During the 3GSM World Congress that took place a few months ago, Samsung unveiled their Ultra Edition handsets. Samsung C170, a stylish and slim candybar phone, is the Korean manufacturer's current offering for the entry-level handset market.
To a certain extent, Samsung releasing such a phone is similar to Motorola's strategy of releasing the MOTOFONE for emerging markets. Although not as packed with advanced features as its brothers, it sports the same slim looks. Frankly, as slim and sleek as it is, even if it didn't have the Samsung brand stamped on, one could most likely guess that it's one of the Korean manufacturer's products.
Users that found the Samsung Ultra Edition phones like the U100 at 5.9 mm or X820 at 6.9 mm quite appealing as design but didn't seem to want to pay such a high price for the advanced features they'd never use now have the C170 as an option.
It's just a couple of millimeters thicker than the two, at 8.9 mm and comes with a basic set of features. The C170 is just your average entry-level phone coming equipped with a 1.5 inch 65k color screen with a QVGA resolution, FM Radio, speakerphone, Wap browser, 16-bit polyphony, 600kb of memory for storing contacts or messages, dual band 900/1800 Mhz and GPRS support.
Thus, users that would settle for a handset that offers only the basics and comes with an extra 2mm in thickness than the Ultra Edition will also be able to get the C170 for less than $100 unlocked, and most likely free after subsidies on a wireless carrier.