With all of the hype surrounding the iPhone, it was obvious that the other manufacturers were going to try and bring out their own versions. The Nokia N81 and Sony Ericsson W910 spring immediately to mind. These both have their pro’s, but neither option looks like a true contender to the iPhone. This is where the Samsung F700 comes in.

Put simply the F700 is gorgeous. Measuring 112mm x 56mm x 15.9mm the F700 is slightly thinner, but deeper than the iPhone, but this extra depth is no issue at all when it means that there is a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard hidden under the screen. The F700 looks like a serious iPhone competitor and boasts features that directly target the weaknesses of the iPhone.

Unlike the iPhone the F700 does have 3G support, in fact it supports up to 7.2 Mbps HSDPA (although you’ll need to wait for the networks to catch up with that one, as only 3.6 Mbps is currently available), meaning that it would be possible to download a 6Mb song in just under 7 seconds!

Other iPhone beating features include a 3mp camera with autofocus and the ability to record videos. The touchscreen comes with Samsung’s new VibeTonz technology, so you can actually feel the screen vibrate when you touch it and it has expandable memory (the unit ships with a 1Gb card and has 3.2 GB on board). As its not Apple branded you will also find support for a much wider array of file types such as MPEG4, H.263, H.264, Real MP3, eAAC+ & Real. To ensure superb sound quality right out of the box it is being supplied with Bose in-ear headphones.

Initially out on Vodafone, it is being launched with full support for Vodafone & Omnifone’s MusicStation service, which means that you will have access to over 1 million tracks downloadable straight to the phone.

You will not convince the die-hard Apple fans that there is a better option than the iPhone and it’s true that it does have some advantages (Wi-Fi and iTunes predominantly), but as an overall phone and media device the F700 is very impressive and a very good alternative if you don’t want an iPhone or to be locked to O2.