Verizon's Samsung SCH-i760 includes a touch screen with unique keypad design

I had a chance to hold the Samsung SCH-i760 at CES 2007 in January, but there was no battery in the device to try it out. Now, 10 months later Verizon Wireless announced that the device will be available for US$349.99 after a US$50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract starting tomorrow. The Samsung SCH-i760 is a Windows Mobile Professional (touch screen Phone Edition) device with an unique dial pad on the front and a full QWERTY keyboard accessed via a slider.

The device specs include a 400 MHz processor, 128MB ROM and 64MB RAM, EV-DO high speed radio, 802.11b/g WiFi, integrated Bluetooth 2.0 radio with A2DP support, microSD card slot, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. The specs are similar to other new Professional devices like the AT&T tilt, but it has more of a phone form factor when closed. I like the phone keypad availability in the closed mode and it will be interesting to hear what people think of the directional pad.

Verizon also announced other upcoming devices in their press release. The Verizon Wireless XV6800 (a larger Professional device that more closely matches the features of the Tilt), the Treo 755p (Palm OS version), and the Verizon Wireless SMT5800 (WM 6 Standard/Smartphone) devices will be coming in the next couple of months.