So, I got a chance to play with the only Samsung F700 Croix in the US. Pictures weren’t allowed, which goes without saying, so you’ll just have to take my word as truth here. The Samsung Croix, hyped to be the baddest UI this side of the iPhone, is almost everything you’ve heard. The capacitance-based touchscreen is an incredible experience, but haptic-feedback is a bit wishy-washy. The screen doesn’t respond to touch per se, the entire phone vibrates to indicate a touch-input – it’s slightly disconcerting, but since the touchscreen isn’t pressure-sensitive, the vibration feedback (pseudo-haptic) is somewhat useful.
The black, glossy finish of the device is as slick as it gets, and the spring-loaded slide mechanism is a pleasure to use. But, the real story here is the award-winning Croix interface. Talk about a break from the pack. The Croix UI implements cross-based interaction – slide up to increase volume, to the right to fast forward. In terms of intuitiveness, the Croix UI fully deserves the iF Design Award.
We’ll try to get some live Samsung F700 Croix pics for you guys, but until then, enjoy this video from Slashgear.