Samsung yesterday announced the F700, and it didn’t take more than a day for the comparisons to come rolling in, some of them proclaiming the iPhone one-upped before it even made it into stores.

The F700 certainly looks like it has potential, featuring a touch-screen LCD, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 5-megapixel camera, HSDPA, Bluetooth, and microSD memory support. The keyboard in particular could be critical, depending on how well the iPhone’s keyboard functionality works. The iPhone isn’t without its advantages, though, as it has a significantly bigger display–3.5-inches vs 2.78–wifi, quadband, and HTML email support, which will certainly give it a leg up for some international travelers.

There’s still a great deal we don’t know about the F700, though (just as there’s still a great deal we don’t know about the iPhone). Samsung hasn’t said how much onboard storage the phone features (though the microSD support makes this less of an issue), and there’s no word yet on what operating system it uses. Just like with the iPod, Apple probably won’t focus on specs for the iPhone, as their game has rarely been about the lowest prices and the biggest numbers. Making a smartphone that is usable and intuitive is where Apple potentially has the big leg up, and it remains to be seen what Samsung is throwing into the ring here. If it’s anything like Samsung’s current, and generally-lackluster, phone software, it’s going to be a pushover, despite the nice hardware. If the F700 can come in at a significantly lower cost than the iPhone, though, it could do a good job of scooping up some of the iPhone-lusters who can’t justify the price tag.

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