Buzzwords: Pantech Slate is world's thinnest QWERTY phone (but Matrix looks nicer)

Here’s another phone that’s destined to be bought by dozens of people, the Pantech Slate. This AT&T-branded device, which is due for release later this month, comes with all the normal (for 2006) fixings: a 1.3-megapixel camera, e-mail, IM, yada yada.

Supposedly it’s the thinnest QWERTY device out there. You really do wonder, though, as everything these days is thin to one degree or another, how much traction can Pantech, AT&T or whomever get out of calling a device the “thinnest.”

She should cost $50 with two-year contract.

In addition to the Slate, Pantech also has the Matrix up its sleeves, and this one, I think, looks a hell of a lot nicer than said Slate. It’s a dual slider, as the photo shows, and fully compatible with AT&T 3G network. She’s $80 with the same two-year contract.

Are phones commodities yet? They’re all starting to blur…