Samsung UpStage-M620 Review - Conclusion

Conclusion

Samsung and Sprint took a chance with UpStage, hoping to push the envelope when it comes to designing the ultimate convergence device.  Part phone, part music and media player, UpStage is certainly an eye-catching device with some great attributes.  It's overall look and feel is excellent, it's lightweight and thin and yet loaded with features.  Unfortunately, the dual-sided design wound up being better in theory than in practice.  While the idea of devoting an entire side of UpStage - complete with a big widescreen display and touch-sensitive controls - to media, and the entire other side - complete with a dedicated display and roomy buttons - to phone functions might sound great, it just doesn't work that well. 

If you don't send text messages and don't mind scrolling through your contacts on a display limited to three lines, UpStage might just satisfy your need for an ultra-thin, ultra-chic phone that can (sorta) do it all.  Pair UpStage with a 2GB memory card and stereo Bluetooth headphones, and you've got yourself an iPod-nano sized music player with a phone built in.  Just don't plan to use all of those extra features - messaging, Internet, calendar, SprintTV, and so on - very often unless you really, really like flipping your phone over and over.  And over and over.

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