Sprint Ambassador: Samsung UpStage
No keypad right? That's because they're on the other side, this side is the music player side of the phone. It's the [relatively] new Samsung UpStage wireless phone and I'm currently reviewing it as part of the Sprint Ambassador Program. I've been invited back for 'Phase III' and I'm on my third free phone. I get to review Sprint's Power Vision package which has streaming video, unlimited talk time and unlimited downloads – so I can download all the ringtones I want :). The iPod-looking d-pad at the bottom is a 5 button mechanism, not a smooth scrolling one. It takes a little getting used to, but not too shabby.
This is the phone side of the phone along with my grubby fingerprints. You'll notice that the screen is tiny. Not good for txting at all. I'm so used to my Motorola Q's QWERTY keypad and large screen, it's spoiling me. I don't think I'll leave the smartphone realm of things anytime soon. The keypad is perfectly responsive and the screen is bright and legible [unless you have grubby fingerprints on it].
This is one of the sides. As you can see, this thing is pretty thin. That's the headphone/power cover, volume rocker switch and a dedicated reset button. I haven't had to use the reset button, but having a dedicated reset button there like that, and not being a software heavy smartphone does raise some questions as to the stability of the OS of the phone.
This side has a spot for the microSD card (included is a 64MB card), the hold/lock button and the button to flip the phone from 'phone' mode to 'music' mode. It's a simple thing and comes complete with a quick animation telling you to flip the phone.
Sprint's service still sucks major goat balls. Barely any service within my apartment while Verizon comes through loud and clear. The battery life on this phone sucks. Four days of it sitting on my desk unused and it's dead – the poor service probably drains the battery quickly, but 4 days! It comes complete with a wallet-like thingie which holds an external battery. Talking with that thing on makes you look stupid. The form factor of the phone is nice, but at the cost of HORRENDOUS battery life – not worth it.
It's a nice phone, but its battery sucks. And if you're using the cool Power Vision features, the battery is sure to go dead even quicker.
Explore posts in the same categories: Gadgets, Sprint Ambassador Program
May 22nd, 2007 @ 5:25 am
Man, you just trash the folks from Sprint at every turn, and next thing you know, they're sending you another free phone to use. Makes me just slightly jealous ;)
But seriously, I have Sprint, and I got pretty good reception in your apartment last time I was there, so that must be phone-related, I guess.
As for the Samsung batteries, they do generally lag behind in the endurance factor. And I just picked up a new phone this past weekend. I actually took a look at the Upstage, but the small screen pretty much turned me off. So I got another Sanyo – their batteries have always been good to me.
May 23rd, 2007 @ 11:47 am
Man I got the upstage last Sunday. I wanted to like it soo bad. I spent a good part of the night trying to figure it all out and get use to it's slim design. Come Monday morning I was ready to throw it through the wall. The touch pad BLEW, the Phone screen was much too small, the battery life sucks unless you use an extended battery pack that comes with it but the design on that is soo bad. If you use it only the phone side is usable unless you unhook the case then you have two big flaps hanging from the phone. It didn't come with head phones, and my big man hands couldn't hold the phone. My pinkie finger was always in the air so i wouldn't block the built in antenna. The reception in the house sucked (I've had sprint for 2 years now and never had a problem until i got this phone). Anyways I took it back and got the LG fusic instead, and I'm loving it.