April 10, 2007 You can literally flip between music and calls with the new UpStage phone by Samsung. The US$149 phone features two screens – one for calling, and one dedicated entirely to music. Users can navigate between the two by pushing the “flip” button on the phone’s spine. A video demonstration of the phone’s capabilities can be viewed on youtube.
When it comes to music, users can either buy songs from the Sprint Music Store for 99 cents each, or “sideload” them from their computer with a USB cable. Sprint executive Oliver Valente said the phone was designed around the concept of “making mobile music easy.” You can listen to songs while messaging, playing games or surfing the internet. The phone also employs a unique feature called Bluetooth caller ID, which announces the name of the person calling you through your headphones.
The 1.73 by 4.07 inch phone boasts a 1.3 megapixel camera, which can take pictures in four resolutions. Samsung claims the phone battery can support 16 hours of music playback and six hours worth of phone calls.