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Samsung started shipping the 4 GB SGH-i300x in Europe last month. That hanset will soon be joined by models with the same capacity Microdrive from Nokia - the N91 - and Sony Ericsson - the W950i Walkman phone.

Not content to be one of the crowd, the Korean electronics company today unveiled the world's first 8 GB phone, the SGH-i310, doubling the amount of storage available in the i300x. And, unlike the i300x, this new model will run a full fledged smart operating system, Windows Mobile 5.0.

The tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (900/1800/1900 MHz) SGH-i310 enables users to carry about 2,000 songs at about 4 MB per track in the MP3/AAC/WMA audio formats. It supports USB 2.0 for speedy file transfers, enhanced music distribution with Bluetooth stereo (A2DP), digital power amp and dual speakers.

There's a 240 x 320 pixel resolution, 65,000 color 2-inch screen. And since the SGH-i310 is a Windows Smartphone and not a Pocket PC Phone, the display won't be a touch screen.

The SGH-i310 also has a 2 megapixel camera with flash, miniSD slot, TV out, as well as video recording and playback functionality. It measures 4.4 x 1.9 x 0.78 inches (111.9 x 48.5 x 19.8 millimeters) and weighs 4.2 ounces (120 grams).

It will be on display at CeBIT in Hanover, Germany later this week and next week, and is due for release during the second half of this year.