Samsung UpStage phone side
(Credit: Samsung)
Samsung UpStage MP3 side
(Credit: Samsung)Sprint kicked off CTIA 2007 today by unveiling the Samsung UpStage, the first U.S. version of the cell phone with the split personality, the Samsung Ultra Music. In an event designed to, ahem, upstage the competition, Sprint said the UpStage (aka the Samsung SPH-M620) would go on sale for $149 with a two-year contract, scheduled for the first week of April. The UpStage features a unique and innovative dual-sided design that successfully integrates a cell phone and an MP3 player into one device. It has its quirks to be sure but on the whole it's a sleek, satisfying device with admirable performance. Just be advised that during your first couple sessions of use a dose of patience is needed. For a full report on the UpStage read our review.
The UpStage first saw light late last year as the GSM Samsung Ultra Music. Though it was announced originally at a Hong Kong electronics show the phone showed up on U.S. shores two months ago at CES. At that time Samsung would not say which U.S. carrier would be getting the device but it soon became clear that Sprint would be the lucky winner (albeit with a CDMA model). As we report in our review, the UpStage has the potential to be a cell phone industry trendsetter. And though it can't match the Apple iPhone on the hype factor it already has two things the Apple handset lacks: wireless music downloads and support for 3G networks.
Samsung Ultra Music
(Credit: Samsung)There's more proof that the Samsung Ultra Music will soon be landing at your area Sprint store. We first predicted the development last month at CES 2007, and now Engadget has blurry photos of an Ultra Music wearing a Sprint logo. This latest development comes just over a month after Phonescoop found the Ultra Music's FCC approval documentation, which indicated that the official Sprint model number will be SPH-M620. There's not much more to say right now but all signs are pointing toward an April 1 launch date. And just so you know, that's just after the end of the annual CTIA cell phone extravaganza.
Samsung Ultra Music
(Credit: Forfor Gadgets)The sharp guys at Phone Scoop have confirmed what we predicted at CES: Sprint will be the first U.S. carrier to land the new Samsung Ultra Music. Phone Scoop found the FCC approval forms, which indicate that the Ultra Music's model number will be the SPH-M620. This will be the first CDMA version of the phone since a GSM model made its first debut last month in Hong Kong. We hear Sprint will have it for sale by March.
You'll remember that the Ultra Music is the phone with two personalities that Samsung unveiled last week in Las Vegas. While one side looks like a phone, the other side of the slim device resembles an MP3 player. With stereo Bluetooth, a megapixel camera, a speakerphone, and a microSD card slot, the promised feature set isn't shabby, but it's the Ultra Music's quirky design that's getting the most attention.
Though Samsung was happy to show the Ultra Music at CES, the company annoyingly refused to say not only which carrier would get the U.S. Ultra Music but also which technology it would use. Yay for public records!
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Samsung Ultra Video
(Credit: Samsung)Everyone's heard about the Samsung Ultra Music, but Samsung also chose CES for the U.S. unveiling of its new Ultra Video as well. The Ultra Video looks like the Ultra Music, but it features a unique and sexy swivel design that allows you to balance the phone on a table for easy viewing. Also called the F500, the GSM Ultra Video made its first debut last month at an electronics show in Hong Kong. But don't get too excited. It's not even out in Asia yet, so a U.S. arrival should take a few eons.
Samsung Ultra Music
(Credit: Fosfor Gadgets)Samsung is no slouch when it comes to music phones, but at CES 2007, the company is doing everything it can to top its efforts of previous years. Instead of offering new music features, however, the Samsung Ultra Music brings an innovative music phone design. And if our hunch is correct, we should see it from Sprint by March.
While most music phones barely give a thought to music functionality in their designs, the Ultra Music takes a more Jekyll-and-Hyde approach by combining elements of both devices. Yes, dedicated music controls are here but you'll find dual displays and a unique two-sided design as well.
Look on one side of the Ultra Music's candy bar design and you'll see it appears to be a standard cell phone with a numeric keypad, navigation controls, and a color display. But flip the phone over, and you'll see an even larger display and a touch pad for accessing the music player's menu. And of course, it just wouldn't be a high-end Samsung phone if it didn't try to be slim. The Ultra Music comes in at just about a half-inch thick.
Other features should include stereo Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a speakerphone, and a microSD card slot. Though Samsung won't announce the carrier or technology, all signs point toward Sprint being the launch carrier by the start of March. Pricing is still unknown but we expect it to fetch arund $200 with service.
Asia got a GSM version of the Ultra Music last month (they always get the good stuff first) when the Samsung F300 Ultra Music debuted at an electronics show in Hong Kong. It's unclear whether that model will make it to the United States.
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