Hands-on Review: Samsung UpStage

I've had a couple of weeks to tinker with the Samsung UpStage, the dual-sided music phone that made a splash last month at CTIA in Orlando, and sadly, I have to say it's one of the most frustrating phones I've ever tested. Sure, just about everyone I showed it to couldn't wait to hold this promising candy bar in their hands, but when I was actually using the UpStage to listen to music, surf the Web or tap out text messages, I got so annoyed that I wanted to toss the thing out the nearest window. Read on for my hands-on review.

What's good:

• Small and light: At 4 by 1.7 by 0.37 inches and just 2.57 ounces, the UpStage ($99 with a two-year service plan from Sprint) is one of the smallest candy bar-style phones I've tested, and it was a pleasure to hold. The Samsung SCH-T519 on T-Mobile may be even thinner, but because it lacks 3G capabilities, you can't watch streaming TV or download full music tracks on it as you can with the upstage. Verdict: Thumbs up.
• Lock switch: Almost every non-flip phone out there forces you to remember a secret keypad shortcut for locking the keys before putting it in your pocket or purse; why not just have a simple "lock" slider and be done with it? That's what the UpStage has, and it's a welcome addition. Verdict: Nicely done.
• Comes with USB cable, sync software and microSD card: Music phones that ship without USB sync cables and expandable memory cards drive me nuts. Take the Cingular SYNC, a music phone whose main claim to fame was its ability to sync with the music on your PC (as well as songs from subscription-based services like Napster and Yahoo! Music)—nice, except the thing doesn't ship with a USB cable. (And no, not just any USB cable will work). So kudos to Sprint for packing a USB sync cable, plus syncing software and a 64MB microSD memory card, in every UpStage box. The carrier is also offering 1GB memory cards for free until mid-June. Verdict: Hats off.
• Plays music in the background: Many music phones won't let you listen to your tunes while using other functions on your phone; for instance, you can't groove to music and browse the mobile Web at the same time. The UpStage, however, lets you play tunes in the background while surfing, sending text messages or using other phones apps. Verdict: Good show.
• Battery case: Here's something I'd like to see for other power-hungry devices (such as the battery-draining video iPod). The UpStage ships with a tough, flip-open plastic "wallet" that doubles as a second battery, giving you a promised 16 hours of playback time (I got about 12, which is still pretty good for a phone) and more than six hours of talk time (or just shy of five hours in my case). Also, the UpStage will drain the extended battery first before dipping into its internal power. Verdict: Everyone should be doing this.

What's OK:

• Call quality: Calls on the UpStage sounded loud and relatively clear, if a little muffled. Dialing on the phone's keypad wasn't a problem, and my pals said they could hear me just fine, but callers on my end sounded shy of crystal-clear. Also, holding the squared-off end of the UpStage against my ear became uncomfortable during longer calls. Verdict: Works well enough.

What's bad—or rather, what's really bad:

• Dual-screen design: It sounds great on paper—on one side, it's a phone, and on the other side it's a music player. But in practice, the cool design made using the phone harder, not easier. It's not like the music side of the UpStage works just like a dedicated MP3 player; nope, it's the same music interface you'll find on any Sprint phone, and since there are no dedicated music controls (the touch-sensitive pad is also for navigating the main menu), it's not easy to reach in your pocket to skip tracks or pause songs, especially in background playback mode. Even worse, if you want to search the Sprint music store for a particular song or artist, you'll have to flip the phone to enter text, then flip back to the main music screen—pretty annoying. Oh, and if you're surfing the Web and want to enter a URL or type in a search query, you have to flip the phone again. Finally, the tiny screen on the calling side of the phone has barely enough room for three lines of a text message. Verdict: Interesting idea, poorly executed.
• Touch-sensitive controller: In a word, horrible. Even after the initial on-screen tutorial, navigating the menus with the touch-screen control was a nightmare. Unlike the touchwheels on music players like the iPod, which let you scroll long lists with a smooth motion of your thumb, the square UpStage controller forces you to make little swipes with your finger—and since the "Back" and "End" controls live in the two bottom corners of the pad, my finger swipes often bounced me out of applications, such as the Web browser, by accident (and yes, I turned down the touchpad sensitivity in the Settings menu). A standard five-way navigation control would have been a huge improvement. Verdict: What were they thinking?

Bottom line:

Personally, I was hot and heavy for the UpStage before the reality of its fatal flaws set in. As much as I like the phone's small size and clever battery wallet, its dual-sided design and touch-sensitive controls make it so difficult to use that I could never recommend it. If you're looking for a really slim music phone that delivers the goods, try the Samsung M610 flip-phone on Sprint instead.