Sprint's Samsung UpStage hands-on

We got our grubby mitts on the first of many phones here at CTIA in Orlando, today: the Samsung UpStage on Sprint (which you might otherwise know as being the F300, m620, and so on). There are very few phones on the market for $150 or less that offer EV-DO, music integration, and the style and unique, ultraslim form-factor of the UpStage. But we'll be honest, the whole thing seems like a kinda hacked take on an otherwise worthy premise -- that your phone and your music device should be the same, but separate. The "scroll-wheel" on the music side has no tactile feedback and doesn't rotate in circles, only up/down or left/right, one direction at a time -- totally different from the more natural motion on, say, an iPod, and half-baked feeling. Basically, if they were going to go tactile-free, the music side should have incorporated a larger touchscreen instead of that silly trackpad. The "business" side (the one with all the buttons) could really do with a larger screen, but hey, this thing is only $150, it can't be everything to everyone, right? Check out our many pics in the gallery.

Gallery: Sprint's Samsung UpStage hands-on

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[peshue @ Mar 26th 2007 6:03PM]

So when you try to mash a mp3 player into a cellphone you get not only a unspectacular mp3 player, but also a unspectacular cellphone. Didn't we figure this out a long time ago?

[Redwood @ Mar 26th 2007 6:10PM]

I've gotten about 30 minutes hands on with this device, including taking the tutorial. Texting on the phone side is the only drawback as far as I'm concerned. The touchscreen seemed to work just fine for me, but then I've spent all of 60 seconds using an iPod nano. This phone is very close to the same size as the nano...I compared both side by side. I was contemplating going to Verizon, but I'm pretty certain I'm going to have to get this phone and stick with Sprint. I've been with them 8 years anyway. It plays MP3s just fine, so I don't know why people are upset about Sprint nickel & diming people through music store purchases. Just get the music in MP3 format and you'll be fine.

[JonathanHizouse @ Mar 28th 2007 1:06AM]

Do you text on the phone side? thats weird. reviewing what you've written could be difficult. I could see myself sending a lot of weird messages.

[Redwood @ Mar 26th 2007 7:14PM]

Cnet has done a review of the UpStage:

http://reviews.cnet.com/Samsung_Upstage_SPH_M620/4505-6454_7-32378893.html?tag=nefd.aof

[Zadillo @ Mar 26th 2007 8:23PM]

Looks interesting enough, although something still seems sort of "off" to me about it. It just seems like a bunch of engineers were sitting around thinking "Hrmm, we're having a hell of a time figuring out how to develop a single phone design that works well both as an mp3 player and a phone. Hey, I know....... let's just put the mp3 player on one side of it and the phone on the other side!".

I definitely appreciate that it gets the job done, and this device looks admirably thin, but it still just feels sort of like something that's the result of just not being able to figure out how to come up with a unified phone/music player interface (and perhaps there isn't a way).

But in terms of innovative design, I think something like the dual-hinge design of that Samsung u740 strikes me as more generally "clever".

[ethana2 @ Mar 27th 2007 2:08AM]

Add this feature, add that, add the other.

You can only add so much functionality to a device until you end up with just a PC with a really crappy interface.

Phones Game consoles TVs Radios Keys Cards Books Money DVD players VCRs mp3 players

Come on. Just go with PCs with the right peripherals and software. A little money up front, maybe, but we have all the necessary technology, and it's more efficient than all this random fragmentation.

Just give me a PC with a wireless touchscreen. Really.
Here's my solution-

Make PC's small enough to fit in one's pocket. Separate the processor from the screen. Power the screen and blue tooth headset with magnetic resonance. You now have a very powerful, ultra-thin device in your hand. Switch between incoming calls? Software. And you don't even have to take a phone away from your ears to look at it.

Really when it comes down to it, people need to help design their own. I'm gonna be frank- I'm not going to be satisfied with my hardware until I've helped make it what it is. Open source hardware.

[Ricardo @ Mar 28th 2007 12:39PM]

Yea all that flipping sounds like it would piss me off. I use the internet alot on my phone and texting as well, so im sure it will get very annoying

I love the mp3 and phone integration deal (i have a fusic) but this phone just does not look like my upgrade (and neither was that other black ugly phone sprint released)

[dr.sound @ Apr 26th 2007 1:38PM]

I've played with this at RadioShack ($99 after rebate and 2 year activation). It's interesting. Texting isn't bad on the phone side, it's a little small, but you can get a full 3 lines on it.

Pro: Nice screen on mp3 side, i like the touch control. A case that comes with it doubles as an extended battery. $99. very thin and light.

Cons: All that screen space is begging for fingerprints, one of my pet peezes. the whole flip thing is controlled by a button, you couldn't set it to motion detect, not even as an option? it's pretty annoying sometimes.