Sprint Samsung Upstage

The good:
The Samsung UpStage SPH-M620 has decent call and music quality, an included extended battery, and a complete feature set that includes stereo Bluetooth, a music player, a megapixel camera, and EV-DO support. It also offers an original, ergonomic design that's user-friendly and attractive.

The bad:
The Samsung UpStage SPH-M620's battery isn't user-replaceable, and its tiny phone display isn't very useful. The flipping motion can also become tedious when used over time. Finally, the music player was somewhat buggy, and the single speaker had unimpressive output.

The bottom line:
If you can get past the learning curve, the Samsung UpStage SPH-M620 is a unique, powerful, and attractive phone that successfully combines music and calling functions into one handy convergence device. It's not perfect by any means, but it remains an innovative, satisfying phone.

* Manufacturer: Samsung
* Part Number:SPH-M620BLKSPT

Phone
* Service provider Sprint Nextel
* Vibrating Alert Yes
* Speakerphone Yes
* Voice Mail Capability Yes
* Polyphonic Ringer Yes
* Alarm Clock Yes
* Calendar Yes
* Additional Features Built-in camera

General
* Cellular technology CDMA2000 1X
* Band / mode CDMA2000 1X 1900/800
* Wireless Interface Bluetooth (A2DP)
* Talk time Up to 150 min
* Combined with With digital camera / digital player

Digital Player / Recorder
* Digital player/recorder type Digital player

Display
* Display Type LCD display
* Display technology TFT
* Display Resolution 176 x 220 pixels
* Color Support Color
* Color Depth 18-bit (262000 Colors)

Messaging / Data Services
* Short Messaging Service (SMS) Yes
* Internet Browser Yes
* 3G Services / Included Services Sprint TV
* 3G Services / PCS Vision capable Yes

Physical Characteristics
* Style Candy bar
* Weight 2.6 oz
* Width 1.7 in
* Depth 0.4 in
* Height 4.1 in
* Antenna Integrated

Much of the excitement surrounding the UpStage launch was centered on its unique design. The two-sided design makes a lot of sense: a large screen for multimedia accompanied by music oriented controls and a small screen with normal cell phone buttons and a dial pad for making phone calls. Combine this unique form factor with a super slim body, and you've got one of the most eye-catching devices on the market right now. On the phone side, edge bevels make it more comfortable to hold when making phone calls. The buttons and number keys are large and easy to press and the d-pad on the phone face works very well for all functions.

The camera lens lives on the upper left corner on the phone side so you can use the larger flip-side multimedia display as the view finder. You will find the volume up and down rocker, a reset hole and the sync/headset port on one side of the phone; and control lock, flips button and microSD card slot on the other side. The music side of the UpStage features a 2.1" display and a touch-sensitive control pad that includes an 8-way directional touch pad and a click-able center action button.

We tested the dual-band (CDMA 800/1900) Samsung UpStage, and its. Call quality was admirable overall; voices sounded natural, and we had enough volume. On the reception side, there was little static or interference, and we had no trouble getting a signal. Though they could tell we were using a cell phone, callers reported no significant problems either, even when we were in noisy environments. Also, we had few troubles speaking to automated calling systems. Our only complaint was that the audio sounded somewhat harsh at times. It wasn't a huge deal, but the bass-heavy effect was noticeable in a few different calling situations. Speakerphone calls weren't always reliable. On our end the sound was fine, but callers couldn't quite hear us unless we were in quiet environments. On the other hand, we didn't have any problems with voice commands.

We successfully paired the UpStage with the Samsung SBH170 stereo Bluetooth headset. Call quality remained decent on both ends, though callers had slightly more trouble hearing us at times. We also used the headset to listen to music and were generally satisfied with the sound quality. There was slight bass-heavy effect to the sound, but that could be due to the headset. We also listened to music using the headset adapter and some generic 3.5mm earbuds and had the same experience. Without the headset, music quality wasn't quite as good due to the somewhat unimpressive output of the single exterior speaker.