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.

As expected, Sprint has announced the SPH-m620 "UpStage" dual-faced musicphone today, giving Sprint a decided "wow" factor in its lineup -- for the moment, at least. Manufacturers seem to be turning to unusual form factors in an effort to gain some differentiation in a crowded high-end and specialty phone marketplace, and the UpStage fills the bill nicely with a full side devoted to traditional phone activities -- "calls, text messaging, and contact management" to use Sprint's verbage -- while the entirety of the flip side takes the form of a traditional MP3 player; a button press switches between sides. Naturally, the phone offers a microSD slot for up to 2GB of external storage, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and stereo Bluetooth, while an included 3.5mm jack adapter lets folks use more traditional headsets if they so choose; even cooler, incoming calls are announced via text-to-speech while you're jamming out. Also included is a Music Manager app for sideloading tunes to the phone via USB and a unique "battery wallet" boosting the phone's stamina for playing music up to a solid 16 hours or 6.3 hours of talk time (up from 2.5 hours talk time without) -- you sacrifice a bit of girth from the phone's normal, svelte 1.73 x 4.07 x 0.37 inch form, but for music junkies, the tradeoff may be worth it. Simultaneously with the phone's release in early April, Sprint will be offering 99 cent over the air (nice!) music downloads good on its entire Music Store catalog, which we reckon is just perfect for a phone of the UpStage's nature. Look for it to hit shelves for $149 on a two-year agreement with a $50 rebate available.