The folks at AllAboutSymbian’s have been able to spend a few minutes with a “preproduction” version of Samsung’s latest VaporPhone known as i8510 or INNOV8.
Rafe Blandford and Steve Litchfield report that the device is about as big as Nokia’s N95 8GB, and is said to have a very bright QVGA screen. The device’s d-pad includes an optical sensor which recognizes gestures - the two boys liked this aspect of the phone very much:
However, the optical sensor really stands out in Web, where it is used as a ‘mouse’. It makes it much easier to select links than using the D-pad and also allows you to move around the page (scroll) more quickly. It goes at least part of the way to evening the difference between touch and non-touch screen browsing experiences.
Even though Samsung’s engineers didn’t have the brains to include a Xenon flash, the camera of the machine nevertheless hides a few surprises. First of all, the lens guard opens and closes automatically. Furthermore, the device is the first to have a dedicated “mode switch” to toggle between video, still and review modes.
Get the full scoop (and loads of photos) at AllAboutSymbian’s!
