Vodafone Group plans to launch several phones for holiday shoppers in Europe, including a high-end, touch-screen rival to Apple's iPhone.

The British mobile phone operator has an exclusive agreement to offer the F700 smartphone from Samsung Electronics, said Jens Schulte-Bokum, head of the global terminal division at Vodafone.

The F700 is based on proprietary technology developed by Samsung. The phone, which Vodafone plans to customize and co-brand, has been referred to by industry pundits as an "iPhone killer."

The F700 has touch-screen capabilities and plays audio and video files. But unlike the iPhone, the device has a pull-down QWERTY keyboard and support for 3G (third-generation) and HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), which has speeds theoretically as high as 7.2M bps (bits per second).

Schulte-Bokum declined to comment on whether Vodafone has plans to offer the iPhone, which Apple expects to launch in Europe in the coming weeks, although he did comment on its lack of 3G capability. "We like the iPhone. We think it's a unique user experience and we applaud Apple for what they're doing in the industry as a new starter," he said. "But we regret that the iPhone, initially, won't support 3G, which we believe is necessary to deliver a compelling music and Internet experience."

Of the more than 25 new handsets, including the F700, that Vodafone will launch ahead of the important holiday shopping season, 13 will support HSDPA. All of the planned new handsets will be 3G-enabled.

No pricing information was available. Phones will be available beginning later this month, but a schedule of exactly which phones will be released and when was not provided.

Vodafone will introduce two handsets using the Windows Mobile operating system: the Vodafone-branded 920, which is manufactured by Taiwan's High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC); and the co-branded i620v from Samsung.

In addition to Windows Mobile phones, the South Korean manufacturer will also deliver two new handsets based on the Series 60 platform from Nokia Corp.

The Vodafone manager also declined to comment on whether Vodafone, which had an exclusive agreement to launch Palm Inc.'s Treo smartphone in Europe, would offer a new version of the phone, to be announced on Wednesday.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.