By way of a new handset Samsung has announced a whole new input technology that it’s describing as an “optical joystick”. The new Samsung SCH-960 does away with a d-pad or mini-joystick and instead uses a sensor that monitors finger movement similar to the way a computer’s optical mouse works. According to Samsung, the experience is more similar to using a mouse than a rigid 4-way directional device.

The SCH-960 will be launched in Korea later this month. It’s also Samsung’s first phone with a light sensor to adjust screen brightness. There are other more conventional features too:

• QVGA display with 262k coors
• 2 megapixel camera
• microSD memory card slot
• EV-DO data
• Bluetooth

Samsung did not mention if the optical joystick will make it onto other models that will ship outside of Korea.