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Samsung Introduces Phone With Hard Drive

Posted by timothy on from the can-you-store-me-now dept.

swight1701 writes "It is being reported that Samsung has shown what it claims is the world's first mobile phone that incorporates a hard drive. The model, V5400, is integrated with a 1" hard drive with 1.5GB of capacity. Other features of the phone include - 2.2" LCD display, an MP3 player, electronic book reader, and Korean-English dictionary. Samsung has also included a built-in microphone to enhance the audio in the phone's camcorder feature. The included dual-speakers allow the user to listen to music with a 3D appeal." loid_void adds a link to this Reuters story, too.

11 of 241 comments (clear)

  1. Most important feature.. by Jason1729 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Can it survive being dropped?

    I've dropped my Nokia 5100 series about 5 feet from ear level to concrete several times. Except for a few scuffs (mostly on the battery, it must be the heaviest part), it's survived perfectly.

    I doubt a phone with a hard drive can survive that kind of abuse.

    Jason
    ProfQuotes

    1. Re:Most important feature.. by winkydink · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Or have have a built-in accelerometer that detects sudden changes, and pauses the drive, like recent Thinkpads.

      --

      "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

    2. Re:Most important feature.. by Darth+McBride · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Why would anyone use a 1.5GB hard drive when you can put an 1GB SD card in for $98? Surely the flash memory would do much better in drop tests and be more portable for use in REAL digital cameras and REAL MP3 players...

    3. Re:Most important feature.. by khrtt · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes, they park the heads whenever the accelerometer shows freefall or what not. The drive is a regular drive; the accelerometer is built in to the computer. Look up any new ThinkPad (like the X31) on http://ibm.com. The more expensive models would have this.

    4. Re:Most important feature.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      This 1" HDD is tested for shock resistance. It can never achieve the flash in this area, but this problem is taken into account. And it will get better (cheaper, more GB, smaller size, more resistant).

      Other things to watch in such HDD phones is the minimum temperature it can work in. Until recently, HDD were working in quite warm and constant temperature environment, so outside HDD operation is a new challenging area.

      PS. Posting anonymously for obvious reasons

  2. Hack it by AssaultMonkey · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I cant wait until someone hacks it and runs linux on it.

    --
    Until our children are no longer molded into castrated sheep democracy remains a fake and a danger. -A. S. Neill
  3. Stealth & Surveillance by The-Bus · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Reminds me of the guy that rigged his ex-wife's/ex-girlfriend's phone in such a way that it would turn-on anytime it moved. He planted it under her car and was able to track her movements via GPS.

    How easy will it be to hack this phone to become a miniature security camera? Just place a couple of them around --- pretty inconspicuous since they're just phones. I'm sure it can be done with current tech, this device just seems to combine all those things into a mass-market product.

    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

  4. Re:Is this a phone? by Rei · · Score: 2, Interesting

    No.

    Must... have.... larger.... featureset....

    I look forward to the day when a simple handheld device can do pretty much anything. I'd like to see standardized incorporation of GPS into a net-capable portable phone. Talk about redefining mobile gaming... you could even have a virtual map of your city, and any friends not set to "invisible" would show up in their actual locations. It would be great! :)

    --
    I'm you from the future! We have to finish our time machine before the Angels of Destruction find the portal!
  5. Bettery life will go to hell, why not flash? by cft_128 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Nothing like moving parts to send battery life down the toilet, not to mention reliability. I'm not an expert, but with 2GB of flash ram (0.5GB more than the HD) being about $150 street you would think an $800 dollar phone would use it.

    --

    Underloved Movies and Pub Quiz: donotquestionme.org

  6. Still no Bluetooth Samsung by z3021017 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I really really want to like Samsung phones. They have a really good combination of style and functionality yet all (but maybe a handful) of their handsets don't feature Bluetooth.

    It seems they are the only cellphone manufacturer that doesn't want to support Bluetooth. If they had it in their handsets, I'm sure more phonegeeks would purchase them - I know I would, as I'd instantly hand over cash for something like the Samsung E715 with Bluetooth functionality.

    --
    Bored? Visit my exciting counter page!
  7. Re:Gotta love the featureset! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    "I don't care about the mp3 player, but it's about time I had a phone with a Korean-English dictionary!"

    Since Samsung is a Korean company, I assume that that's where the phone will be marketed first. I imagine the dictionary could be fairly useful for English speakers moving to Korea for work or school.