Announced just prior to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was the latest addition to the Samsung Ultra series - the U900 Soul. Intended as a final hurrah for the popular U-series following on from the U600 & U700, the U900 is much more than a marketing ploy to cover up a re-branding. As well as packing in top-of the range features, the U900 Soul (which stands for Spirit Of Ultra) adds in some genuinely innovative navigation features, therefore clearly establishing it as the next Samsung flagship model.
In keeping with the design ethics of the previous U-series phones, the U900 Soul measures only 12.9mm thick in a sleek sliding design (in case you didn"t know, it"s a Samsung.) The main design feature that sets the U900 apart from the U600 & U700 is the materials used in the construction. As opposed to glossy plastics, the U900 is fully metallic on the outside casing which although will surely add to the overall weight of the handset, the official amount is still to be officially confirmed.
The most eye-catching part of this phone is the navigation solution implemented instead of the usual soft keys & D-pad combo. The replacement to the standard design is a square navigation panel. The basis of this is a touch-sensitive pad whereby the icons change dependent on the application being used at the time, such as the home screen or music player. A very similar method was used on the Samsung E950 but was clearly still in the early more experimental stages. As the U900 Soul is clearly a highlight of the latest Samsung range, I think it"s safe to assume that more care will be taken in ensuring such an integral part of this phone works to its full potential.
3G HSDPA up to 7.2Mbps is supported which is currently the highest connection speed available, although 3.6Mbps is all that is supported by the networks at this time. In the near future 7.2Mbps will be available meaning that the U900 Soul offers support for the present, and possibilities for the future. Support outside of 3G areas is offered by Class 10 GPRS but no EDGE, which is a possible sign for the future that EDGE may become obsolete soon due to the poor support offered, with 3G signposting the way forward.
Further in keeping with the idea of the U900 Soul being a flagship device for Samsung, the digital camera is looking to be of the highest order as well. With a 5 Megapixel module, image stabiliser, face detection, autofocus and LED flash, the U900 Soul offers enough potential to usurp the best Samsungs current leading cameraphones - the G600 & G800.
Music (as with most mobile phones lately) is an integral part of the feature set, and the U900 is certainly no different. A music player with support for the usual formats is present, as is an FM Radio with RDS. Sound quality is likely to be top of the range for a mobile phone as the Bang & Olufsen ICEpower technology has been implemented to reduce distortion at high volumes.
Personally I am really looking forward to hearing and seeing even more of the U900 as it combines top line features with a genuinely unique navigation method which if properly utilised should be an absolute joy to use. There is still plenty of time for it to all go horribly wrong though, so full judgement will be reserved until its freely in the public domain, but all in all, very exciting.