14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung U470 just received the name of Juke, which best reflects the fact that it is a highly evolved music phone. The phone is said to head towards Verizon Wireless and should see a release in the near future, although there is no official statement on when this should happen.
Samsung took a bold approach to developing music phones when it started bringing out its line of such handsets under a form factor that makes a striking resemblance with MP3 players. The F200 and X830 models also come in this shape, giving up large display screens, slimness and even evolved performances for narrowing down to slender shapes. It's rather about the unusual design that will make it stand out rather than functionality, as such handsets pack only average performances.
Samsung U470 also packs a camera, supposedly a 2 megapixel one, although images should display pretty uncomfortable on the small display screen with a resolution of 128 x 220 pixels. There is also a navigation wheel, similar to that found on iPods, which adds even more to the phone's resemblance with MP3 players. It looks like a pretty fun to use handset, although its modern design will not come too cheap.
Some details on the phone's button functions have just sprung out of nowhere, although they reveal nothing out of the ordinary. Samsung U470 has a microSD slot capable of supporting cards of up to 2GB. That should take care of providing the right amount of storage space for the user's music files. Compared to what MP3 players are capable of providing nowadays, that's next to nothing and will surely take away from the handset's glamour as a music phone.
The phone is expected to be released at Verizon Wireless sometime at the beginning of year 2008. The operator has made no official statement on the exact date when this will happen.