Samsung Cell Phone Features 3GB Hard Drive

An anonymous reader writes "Samsung will be showing off a new cell phone which runs on Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system which features a built-in hard drive. The SGH-I300 will offer 3GB of storage which allows you to store up to 1,000 songs on it for playback through the music player. The 3GB hard drive is similar to the type of hard drive that is found in Apple's Mini iPod. These 1-inch drives with very low power requirements, are ideal for cell phones and other mobile devices."

Comments

Amazing how far things have come

[Anonymous Coward]

That's amazing how far things have come. I remember only ten years ago we were lucky to have 3GB in a desktop computer let alone something like a phone :lol:. then again most of us didn't have or need cellphones :shakehead:

Makes you wonder if we'll have 120 and 200GB drives in our cell phones in 2015 :worry:

Perhaps...

[goldspider]

"These 1-inch drives with very low power requirements, are ideal for cell phones"

...but first you need to convince me why a cell phone needs a hard drive to begin with.

Re:Perhaps...

[Urkki]

• ...but first you need to convince me why a cell phone needs a hard drive to begin with.

Nah, it's not about if you need one or not (of course you do). What I'd need to be convinced about is, will the hard drive survive when I drop the phone while riding a bicycle and it hits the pavement and it's parts are thrown all around. Any current phone can handle that kind of repeated abuse pretty well (well, at least my Nokias have...).

No, mobile phone isn't a place for moving parts... Solid state all the way is the only way.

What I'm looking for

[gillbates]

Is a cell phone that does everything. Yes, I've heard the whining from people who just want a cell phone to be a phone, but from my perspective, the fewer devices I have to manage, the better.

Imagine you're going on vacation. You could pack:

• Your camcorder
• MP3 player
• digital camera
• PDA
• Personal video player
• Personal tv
• Cellphone

Or, you could just take your:

• Cellphone

Right now, we do have the technology to incorporate all of these features into one device with the form factor of a small notebook or PDA. Instead, people spend 5 times the amount of money on discrete appliances, and then have the added burden of having to carry them all. And then they whine because their phone isn't just a phone - as if they enjoy having dozens of electronic gadgets lying around the house, waiting to get lost, stolen, forgotten, etc...

I'm tired of using a dozen different gadgets to do what could easily be integrated into one. If cellphone manufacturers are going to break into new markets, their phones are going to have to be more than just phones.

Re:What I'm looking for

[NanoGator]

"Right now, we do have the technology to incorporate all of these features into one device with the form factor of a small notebook or PDA. Instead, people spend 5 times the amount of money on discrete appliances, and then have the added burden of having to carry them all. "

Well... I think you're both getting the point and then missing it at the same time.

A lot of Slashdotters in a rush to get the first +3 Insightful are quick to poo-poo integration. They don't care about a camera in a cell phone because it only does 640 by 480 and they've got some whiz-bang digital camera that does 5 megapixels. They paid considerably more for that camera, and they also got considerably better quality out of it. The point has been made ad-nauseum here that the more something can do, the less competent it is at doing it. It's a valid point. However, this is where they miss they miss the point entirely: That 5 megapixel camera is only good when you have it on you to use. Common sense, right? You'd think so, but when people poo-poo phones with cameras built in, they suddenly forget this point. (Race to get that +3 Insightful?) A cell phone is a nice convergence device because it stays with people at all times. I go to work: There's my cell phone. I go to an arcade: There's my cell phone. I take my family out to dinner: There's my cell phone. I take a dump: There's my cell phone. (yeah yeah, I know that'll attract smart ass comments, oh well.) Would I take my 5mp camera to an arcade? Dinner with the family? Not likely. While I'm taking a... err. Okay, that was a really bad example. I was actually thinking more about cell phone with built in games/internet etc. You get the point. Value. My cell phone does MORE. It may not be perfect, but it's better than nothing. I have photos of my nephew being silly at dinner that I simply would not have captured if my phone didn't have a camera. (I could keep going but I think the point was made right there.)

I mentioned before that you got the point and then missed it. I think you get what I just said above. I think you understand why having this stuff in a cell phone is cool for a lot of people. But what I'm really replying to is "you're going on vacation". Ugh. That wouldn't be my first example. A stronger example would have been "going on a spontaneous trip". The "master of none" point still very much applies. You want a 5 megapixel photo of the Grand Canyon.

So, yes, I agree: Cell phone convergence == generally good. Moaning about new features in cell phones == generally obnoxious.

SMS and phone call saved on HD ?

[aepervius]

I mean, it is rather ralatively lackluster on detail, but if the HD is only for song and photo snapshot this is a utter waste. It would be interresting if this can also be used to save SMS data (and on 3 gb you can save a lot) or phone call... THAT last feature would be rather nice. There is a lot of phone call I would wish I had a way to save it ...

Re:My cell phone...

[mgranit11]

I agree. Cameras are the worst thing that has ever happened to the cell phone industry. I wish the companikes would concentrate on the phone part, and once we matered that, then move to new things.

I'm not a fan of whizz-bang cellphones, BUT:

[TexVex]

So, my phone is just about as basic as it could get, and most of the bare minimum features it came with, I'm just not using. I store about two dozen phone numbers on it, I call people, I accept incoming calls, and I use my voicemail. I've never used text messaging, or played a game on my cell phone. I don't want my phone to be a substandard camera; if I want to take pictures I want a multi-megapixel digital jobbie with real optics in it. I think pop music ringtones are just stupid; I keep my phone in my pocket on vibrate most of the time just so I don't come off as a giant anus every time someone rings me up when I'm in a public place.

But, instead of just ranting about how I think all this extra whizz-bang is wasteful, stupid, and whatnot, I spent a couple minutes thinking about what I *would* like to have in my cellphone. What extra feature would I pay to have? I've got a good idea. A genius one:

Television and Radio. Once, many years ago, I owned a handheld backlit LCD television. It was a thing of beauty; a few ounces of mass, a two-inch screen, and a telescoping antenna. It was great to have in lots of places. It had a 1/8" mono jack for plugging in headphones or an earpiece. Its integrated speaker was adequate as well.

Now, this was about ten years ago. I know the technology for LCDs has come a long way. I know that device would easily fit into a cellphone today. So, do it. And add AM/FM radio. Then, give me TiVo functionality for the TV and radio (I'm sure the television video scaled down for the phone display would compress pretty damn well!). If my phone had all that, I could justify paying for a hard drive in it.