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Samsung showed off several upcoming handsets at its annual showcase in New York last November. Although one phone raised more eyebrows than any other, the diminutive for a Pocket PC SCH-i730, it has yet to come to market.

Enter Verizon Wireless. The carrier has announced it would release the i730 in the United States this summer. The mobile operator didn't reveal any other details. So we can't tell you exactly when the i730 will be released or how much it'll cost.

As with the number two carrier's edition of palmOne’s Treo 650 (see Verizon Launches Treo 650 ... Finally), the Samsung smartphone is third-generation network enabled. So users should be able to exchange data and browse the Internet via the operator’s high-speed EV-DO (evolution data only) network at 400 kilobits per second (Kbps) to 700 Kbps, with bursts as high as 2 Mbps.

Verizon currently charges $79.99 a month for unlimited access to its EV-DO network and $59.99 for the same type access to its standard 1xRTT CDMA data network—with transmission rates between 60 and 80 Kbps, with bursts up to 144 Kbps.

EV-DO isn't the only advanced feature of the i730.

Although the Pocket PC Phone uses the standard tablet Pocket PC design, it integrates a retractable QWERTY thumb-keyboard that slides down from underneath its 2.8-inch (240 x 320 pixel resolution, 65,536 color) display. You can also view the screen in either portrait or landscape modes because the handset runs on the Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Second Edition platform.

Here's what else we know:

The Pocket PC Phone should bundle 64 MB of RAM and 128 MB of ROM. It'll also integrate Windows Media Player 10, dual stereo speakers and 3D sound. Other features include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking, which are increasingly common to high-end smartphones (e.g. Hewlett-Packard's iPAQ h6315, Motorola's MPx, Nokia's 9500 & 9300 Communicators, among others). It also has a camera, SDIO-enabled Secure Digital slot for peripheral and memory expansion, as well as a 500 MHz processor.

Although the i730 offers similar features to Verizon's current 4.92 x 2.83 x 0.75 inch, 7.4 ounce Audiovox XV6600 Pocket PC Phone offering, it is quite a bit smaller. Purportedly, the i730 is closer in size to the 4.4 x 2.3 x 0.9 inch, 6.3 ounce Treo 650 with its keyboard retracted.
(For more on the Audiovox XV6600, see our review of Sprint's edition of that phone)

You would see a lot less hand with
the average Pocket PC Phone

What About GSM?
Samsung often develops versions of its cell phones and smartphones for the two most important cellular-wireless standards, CDMA and GSM. So it wasn't a shock when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a similar Pocket PC Phone from the electronics company, the SCH-i830, a couple of months ago.

Unlike the CDMA-enabled i730, the i830 integrates both CDMA and GSM/GPRS radios. Since GSM is the more prevalent cellular network worldwide nowadays, those who frequently travel between Europe and North America, for example, won't find the i730 attractive. With the i830, there wouldn't be a problem using the handset on both continents.

Nonetheless, bundling a second cellular radio has its drawbacks. It appears the i830 nixes the i730's integrated camera and built-in Wi-Fi capability. It is not known whether the i830 maintains the i730’s third generation network capabilities: EV-DO for its CDMA radio or EDGE for its GSM component.

No wireless carriers have announced support for the i830 yet.