Trying to forget all that hype surrounding the failed quest to develop the world’s slimmest mobile phone? Well, with the release of the new Samsung (Jasper Morrison) SGH-E590 during Communicasia 2007 in June, it certainly seems as though the Korean mobile phone manufacturer already has.

The E590, at a whopping 13.5 millimetres (mm), is more than double that of its thinnest relative, the Samsung Ultra 5.9 U100. “How truly bold of Samsung to embark on this new journey,” most insinuate? Yes – how truly bold.

In spite of this shortcoming, the E590’s elementary design helps it enter the mobile phone market as a notable icon for sophisticated simplicity. As such, it sets a new benchmark for both form and function, integrated at its best. Once again, a new breed of abstract designer phones has been introduced.

But how could anyone substantiate this claim? How does this phone set itself above the rest? One word – Simplicity. What this phone conveys, is that to be a sell out, it doesn’t need to carry a luxury brand name nor be wrapped in expensive metal.

Utilising the most basic of colours, the E590 comes in two options, white upon black, or black upon white. As for the name Jasper Morrison, if it doesn’t ring a bell, don’t embarrass yourself by guessing aloud that he’s a singer.

In fact, Morrison designed the E590. Acclaimed for his versatility, with numerous design awards under his belt to prove it, this British industrial designer has transitioned from designing kitchenware to designing this phone.

On the exterior, the aesthetically organic (structurally clean) phone minimises the use of anything even the least bit offensive to the eye. Sharp edges are altered to curved edges; coloured buttons are reduced to the bare black and white. The E590 is so tiny, with its undersized dimensions of 94mm by 42mm by 13.5 mm, that it hides itself exceptionally well in one’s palm. Drop it into your pocket, and you’ll hardly realise it’s there, at a light weight of 66g.

Along with its niftily crafted pocket-sized proportions, the E590 comes with a quid pro quo drawback – a seemingly puny 1.79 inch screen. But despite the E590’s modest screen size, its 220 by 220 pixel resolution, 262K colour TFT LCD, is still decent enough to dazzle the eye.

Run your fingers over the E590’s keypad, and you’ll instinctively notice that the keys are firm; as a matter of fact, too firm. Fortunately, the problem (of not being able to text message at the speed of light) is only posed to those with extra-extra-large fingertips.

Now, turning the gadget onto its back, the E590 boasts a 3-megapixel camera with auto-focus capabilities for the more serious camera-junkies. However, attempt to take pictures in the dark and the results will be disappointing. The lack of a camera flash, in comparison with rival 3-megapixel mobile phones such as the Sony Ericsson K800i, gives less than desirable photos when taken in dim settings. Other than that little gripe, most users will be pleased with both the multiple shooting options and camera controls, such as panoramic shooting and white balance control, which the 3-megapixel camera has to offer.

Internally, the E590 uses a somewhat similar user-interface as others in Samsung’s current line-up of phones. The simplicity of these interfaces effortlessly echo that of the phone’s exterior design.

The examination of the screen leaves us with one minor whinge, though. While the network reception indicator displays an accurate 6 bars depending on the phone’s connectivity, the battery indicator, ironically, remains relatively useless as it only displays an imprecise maximum of 3 bars.

Despite being a tiny contender, the E590 continues to impress with its forceful volume output. Whether one uses the gadget as a wakeup alarm or as a party boom-box, it never fails to do one thing – attract attention.

However, even with its capacity to pack a reasonably powerful punch for such a lightweight, this phone best serves only minimalists.

Some would even question Samsung’s intensions in letting the E590 sit out this technological race as it neither has 3G capabilities nor wireless-LAN connectivity. We imagine that Samsung would reply– we really don’t care what the big guns offer in comparison; because truly, simple is beautiful.

Box set includes the following: a USB cable, a headset, a bean-bag camera stand, an installation CD, a user guide, a warranty certificate and of course, the sleeping beauty of a phone, the E590. The E590 retails in shops at $300 to $350 without a contract.