Vodafone has announced its upcoming handset line-up for the holiday season, including the Samsung F700, a device some are calling a direct rival to Apple's iPhone.
Vodafone has an exclusive deal to offer the F700, which features a touch screen and multimedia capabilities. Unlike the iPhone, the F700 has a pull-down Qwerty keyboard and supports 3G and HSDPA networks, with speeds as high as 7.2 Mbps.
Vodafone did not say whether or not it will be offering the iPhone. Apple is expected to announce its European carrier partners in the next few weeks.
Jens Schulte-Bokum, head of the global terminal division at Vodafone, did tell InfoWorld that he liked Apple's iPhone, but that it was unfortunate that it doesn't support 3G, "which we believe is necessary to deliver a compelling music and Internet experience."
Of the 25 handsets Vodafone plans to launch for the holiday shopping season, 13 will support HSDPA and all of them will support some form of 3G network.
Besides Samsung's F700, Vodafone said it will be releasing two new Windows Mobile handsets and two new Series 60 smartphones from Nokia. The carrier did not say whether it plans to offer Palm's latest Treo, which will be released later this week.
With the current economic climate, wireless operators face shrinking marketing budgets and reduced consumer spending.
Globally, the credit crunch is very much alive, and operators will be tightening their belts into the foreseeable future by putting off capital purchases.
