Samsung Phone Features Optical Joystick

Samsung is launching the first handset to include an optical joystick.

The SCH-V960 handset is a slider cell phone with a joystick above the number pad. A user can control the joystick with their finger, activating the phone’s onscreen cursor. This could make it easier to operate the cell phone menus and reduce erroneous button-pushing while trying to open applications.

The phone also includes a Smart Lighting feature which automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen and keypad. It also features a dedicated Bluetooth button, two-megapixel camera, microSD slot, MP3 support, and EV-DO and GPS capabilities. The handset has a 2.1-inch (240 x 320-pixel), 262,000-color screen.

The SCH-V960 will initially be launched in Korea.