Slim Samsung Wafer Debuts on Alltel

Disappointed by the promising but ultimately flawed music phone that is the Samsung UpStage? Check out Alltel Wireless' Samsung Wafer, a 0.3-inch sliver of a phone that comes with XM Radio access.

Available now from regional carrier Alltel for $50 (with a two-year service plan), the 2.7-ounce Wafer is, indeed, wafer-thin at just 0.3 inches thick. The EV-DO-enabled phone doesn't have the UpStage's two-sided display—but given my problems with continually flipping that phone back and forth to enter text on the keypad, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Wafer also lacks the UpStage's access to full-track music downloads, but the handset does offer 20 channels of XM Radio—pretty cool. You also get a 1.3-megapixel camera, an MP3 player, a memory expansion slot, streaming video via Axcess TV, and support for stereo Bluetooth headsets. The only bummer is that the Wafer is (for now, at least) and Alltel exclusive, which means you'll have to be in Alltel's coverage area to snap up the phone—bad news if you live on the West Coast or in the Northeast.

Related:
Press release [Alltel Wireless]