Samsung, which made a pledge to launch 30 3G phones and smartphones with music, video, and messaging functions this year, has unveiled a massive new batch of handsets at 3GSM.

Samsung's president of Telecommunication Network Business, Gee-sung Choi, used the launch to claim that Samsung would make inroads into Nokia's market share.

Samsung showcased two slim Symbian and Windows OS smartphones, the SGH-i520 and SGH-i600. The latter is already available in Europe and Samsung described it as an 'early example' of its forthcoming smartphone line-up.

'Thin' was the buzzword for the new products. The i520 smartphone, with a two-megapixel camera, measures 17.9mm, weighs 99g, and supports 1.8Mbps HSDPA technology. It will be available in Europe in the second quarter. Measuring 11.8mm and weighing 105g, Samsung claims the i600 is the thinnest 3G smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard.

The manufacturer launched four handsets in its new Ultra Edition II range, consisting of two sliders, the Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600) and the Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700); a metallic clamshell, the Ultra Edition 9.6 (U300); and a bar phone, the Ultra Edition 5.9 (U100). Each handset has a three-megapixel camera and high-speed web connectivity, as well as extensive multimedia and audio capabilities.

The U100 is billed as the 'world's slimmest phone' at 5.9mm thick, taking the title from the Samsung X820. The Ultra Edition II range will be released in the European market in the first quarter.

Samsung also increased its Ultra Edition range of phones with the F700, F520, F510, F500 and F300. The F700 has a five-megapixel camera and up to 7.2Mbps HSDPA. Meanwhile, Samsung's F520 has a dual-slider design. The F300 is a music player and the F500 is a video phone.

P310