Sprint Upstage (Samsung SPH-m620) Review
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Alfredo Padilla Published on April 10, 2007 Comment on this |
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The Upstage sports an innovative new design, with a different interface on either side of the phone. On one side you find the control keys and a keypad, with a very small screen and limited access to most of the phone's functions. On the other side is a larger screen with touch sensitive controls beneath and full access to all the phone's functions, except text entry. The result of this design is a lot of "flipping", which can detract from the experience. Still, the Upstage sells itself with its slim good looks, and unusual design, although the interface leaves something to be desired.
We found the multimedia functionality on the Upstage to be adequate, with the standard Sprint music player doing a reasonable job of playing back music and a barely average 1.3 megapixel camera. Battery performance was sub-par unless you use the included battery wallet, which adds significant bulk to the device and makes it harder to interact with the flip design. Still, if you are willing to put up with it you will find that you get excellent battery life. Once you get past the Upstage's hardware design you will find that under the hood is it a fairly standard mid level phone. The Upstage is meant to impress others, not necessarily the user.
We reviewed the Sprint Upstage on Sprint's CDMA network. It is not currently available from any other carrier. You can purchase the phone from Sprint's website for $149.99 with a 2-year contract agreement.
[page title="Tour & Design"]
Front Closed
Deciding which side is the "front" with the Upstage is no easy task, for the purposes of this review we will refer to the side with the keypad as the front. On this side of the Upstage you will see the lens for the 1.3 megapixel camera at the top left, with the slot for the phone speaker next to it. Below the speaker is a small 1.3" 176 x 65 pixel display to navigate through the interface. Below the screen is a Sprint logo. All of these items take up the top fourth of the front. Below these items are the control keys and keypad. The control keys are dominated by a large squarish directional pad, with 2 soft keys, a dedicated camera key, back button and send/end keys surrounding it. The keypad is a standard 12 key arrangement. At the very bottom of the front you will see the pin hole for the phone microphone.
Left
The left side of the Upstage has a lock/unlock key near the top, with a dedicated "flip" key below it. Both of these keys are silver, and built into the silver styling that runs along the phone's edges and bottom. Below the keys is a Micro SD slot, with a hard plastic cover that stays attached to the phone.
Top
The top of the phone contains only the lanyard loop on the right side.
Bottom
The bottom of the phone has two gold contacts where the external battery wallet connects to the main body of the camera. The battery wallet is held on by two clips on either side.
Right
The right side of the phone has a rocker switch near the top and a reset hold just below it, both on the silver styling. Below these is a proprietary port for data, charging and the headset adaptor. This port is protected by a plastic cover that is attached to the phone.
Back
The "back" of the Upstage is dominated by a 2" 176 x 220 pixel display. Above the display is the upstage branding and below it the Samsung brand. The bottom of the back is taken up by the control pad, which combines a center select/play button with surrounding touch controls that change depending on the interface you are navigating.
Battery Out
Due to its unique design the Upstage does not have a removable battery. It does however ship with an battery wallet which combines an extended battery for the phone with a case.
There is no information available about the capacity of either the built in or extended battery.
In the Box (4.0)
The phone ships with a decent selection of accessories. In addition to the manual and software CD there is a 64MB Micro SD card to get you started, a charger, data cable and an adaptor that allows you to plug in your own 3.5mm headphones that includes a microphone so you can use your existing headphones as a headset. No actual headphones are included.
Handling (5.0)
The Sprint Upstage is an interesting handset to hold in your hand. It is certainly small and thin, but it sometimes feels strange to feel the other side's screen and buttons as you are interacting with the phone on the side you are currently holding. There also seems to be a lot of "flipping" from one side of the other, especially for tasks where you want to use both the keypad and a larger screen, like entering contacts. We liked the feel of the phone with the soft touch paint and soft plastic controls; even though it is small and thin, it is easy to keep a frim grip on it; we didn't worry about dropping the device.
What did bother us about the Upstage's handling was that we were forever gettign fingerprints on the larger screen on the back as we were interacting with the front of the device. We also didn't like handling the device with the extended battery "wallet", as this added considerable bulk and made accessing the phone's features something of a pain as we had to pry the case away from the back of the phone to access those functions.
Portability (9.0)
Measuring 4.07" x 1.73" x .37" and weighing in at a mere 2.57 ounces, the Upstage certainly falls into the small and slim category of devices. Adding the battery "wallet" adds significantly to both size and weight. Without the wallet the phone will slip easily into any pocket or bag, with the case you will definitely be more aware of the bulk in your pocket, but it should still fit easily into any bag. Overall we felt the Upstage was an extremely portable device.
Aesthetics (8.5)
We like the Upstage's look, and although we may not be young enough to use the word "cool" anymore, if we were we would. We liked the clean lines and soft touch paint used on much of the device. Although we weren't particularly particularly fond of the silver styling along the sides and bottom, this doesn't detract much fron the overall look and feel of the device. We also like that the device sports an innovative form factor, people should expect to get a lot of interest in the Upstage.
Durability (7.0)
Judging the durability of a never before seen form factor is a little difficult. There were no obvious creaks and all of the controls seemed sturdy. We already mentioned that the large "back" screen is a magnet for fingerprints, and we recommend you use a screen protector. Despite the fact that the phone is very thin we felt it was sturdy, and we liked that there were no moving parts that could wear out easily.
[page title="Audio Quality"]
Although the upstage is being sold as a music device, it’s still a cell phone at heart, which is why we do extensive testing on the audio quality of the phone portion of the device. To do this, we use the same equipment that audio professionals use; a HATS (Head And Torso Simulator) combined with a professional audio analysis package called Soundcheck. The HATS simulates a human head and torso, including how sound reflects from the head and shoulders. Highly calibrated microphones inside the ears capture the sound in the same way that the human ear does, and a speaker in the mouth simulates the human voice. This device is controlled by the Soundcheck software, which is produced by a Boston company called Listen Inc. For more on how we test, see here.
We found that the audio quality of the Upstage was generally good, with frequency response that only dipped outside of the limits we use very slightly. This means that it receives and transmits speech mostly clearly, although there are a few glitches that pose some minor issues.
Sound Receive Frequency Response (8.34)
The Sprint Upstage performed well on our tests of the sound it receives (such as someone speaking to you on the phone); the frequency response of the phone (represented by the blue curve) was mostly within the limits defined by the standard we used (shown by the red lines). The raph goes from low frequencies (think Barry White) at the left to high frequencies (think choirboy) at the right. It did dip outside the limits on a couple of spots at the lower end, and the curve was far from the smooth shape of an ideal phone. In particular, the two peaks imbetween the limits at the lower and upper end of the limits indicate it boosts these frequencies at the cost of the frequencies in the middle, which could make some voices a little difficult to understand; if some frequencies are overwhelmed by others, it can make it difficult to understand what the person on the other end is saying.
But this is a relatively minor issue, and the overall performance of the speaker of the Upstage in reproducing phone calls is impressive, especially given the small size and depth of the speaker in this thin phone.
Sound Send Frequency Response (7.36)
The Upstage also did a creditable job in picking up, compressing and transmitting what the user says; the frequency response curve of the sound that the Upstage sends (the blue line) is mostly within the limits that the standard we use sets. It is, however, a little heavy on the bass; the standard calls for the bass response of phones to be a little lower and tighter than the higher frequencies, but the Upstage has a pretty flat response across the spectrum. This could lead to voices sounding a little boomier and bassier than on other phones. But again, this is a relatively minor issue that should not pose too much of a problem for users.
Handset Side Tone (6.1)
Side tone is how cell phones let you hear your own voice; they inject a small amount of your captured voice back into the speaker, so you can hear yourself speak and judge how loud your own voice is. How much of this captured sound they pass back is critical; the standard calls for -18db, but we measured the Upstage as being a little lower, at -21.9dB. That means that the Upstage passes back a little less than the standard calls for, but only by a very small amount. You might find yourself talking a little louder than normal, but you can still hear your own voice when using the Upstage.
[page title="Imaging"]
Resolution (1.94)
To test resolution we take several pictures of an industry standard resolution chart and then run them through the Imatest software. This measures how many black and white lines the camera can discern before they start to blur together (a measure Imatest calls line widths per picture height, or lw/ph).
The Sprint Upstage managed to capture 660.8 lw/ph of horizontal resolution and 549.2 lw/ph of vertical resolution. This is an average score for a 1.3 megapixel camera, similar to the LG Chocolate (654.4 and 585.9) and significantly better than the Razr V3m (521.7 and 242.2). It is not as good as even the cheapest dedicated entry level digital cameras, though. The Pentax Optio M20 recieved 1682 lw/ph of horizontal resolution and 1620 lw/ph of vertical resolution, blowing the camera phones, including the Upstage, out of the water. We use a slightly different scoring system than our sister site digitalcamerainfo.com, if they had scored the Upstage it would have recieved a lowly score of .58.
Color (3.85)
To test colors on the Sprint Upstage we took pictures of the industry standard GretagMacbeth color chart, which displays 24 different colors. We then ran the photos through the Imatest software, which compares the camera's produced colors to the chart's colors.
Imatest produces this chart that shows the original colors in the small vertical rectangle, the adjusted colors in the middle rectangle and the original capture colors in the outer square. Imatest also produces the color analysis chart below. On this chart the circles represent the colors that the camera captures, while the square represent where the colors should be.
As you can see the Sprint Upstage had a hard time reproducing yellows, with some of the washing out to almost complete white. You also see some shift in the reds and purples. Overall the colors produced by the Upstage are not very impressive and are in the same category as other poor camera phones like the Razr V3m and LG Chocolate. The Treo 700p and 750 did a significantly better job at reproducing colors, with the Sanyo M1 falling in between.
Noise (1.45)
We test noise by shooting a color chart at a series of different lighting levels, ranging from 3000 lux to 60 lux. We then run the images through Imatest, which analyzes areas of the images for noise. The Sprint Upstage produced only moderate amounts of noise at all levels, even at the very low light 60 lux. Cameras with smaller megapixel cameras often do better on noise tests, however the Upstage even beat out other 1.3 megapixel camera phones like the Razr V3m and LG Chocolate. Still, even a better score does not mean good, and camera phones tend to do very poorly on this test in general.
Live Preview (4.0)
The live preview on the Sprint Upstage is reproduces colors well but is a little pixelated, due to the low resolution of the screen. When using the smaller screen for self portraits the preview is even more pixelated and obviously constrained by the small size of the screen.
Unlocked Standby to First Shot (7.41)
To test unlocked standby to first shot we put the phone into standby and then time the amount of time it takes to launch the camera application and take a photo. The Sprint Upstage took 2.7 seconds to go from standby to first shot. This is a good score, a little worse than the LG Chocolate, which put up an excellent time of 2.04 seconds, but faster than the Razr V3m at 3.5 seconds. It is also faster than an entry level digital camera like the Pentax Option M20, which took 3.42 seconds to complete a similar test.
Shot to Shot Time (0.6)
Shot to shot time is the amount of time it takes between successive shots. When possible we measure this using a burst mode, however the Sprint Upstage does not have a burst mode, so we had to take the photos manually. The Upstage also does not have the option to turn off photo review after a shot. In this situation the Sprint Upstage had a shot to shot time of 5.1 seconds, a very poor score for a phone. This is slower than even the Razr V3m, which also had no burst mode and took an average of 4.6 seconds. 5.1 seconds works out to .2 frames per second, for comparison's sake the Sanyo M1, which does have burst mode, took 2 frames per second, 10 times faster than the Upstage. The upstage was hurt in this test by the fact that you needed to use the touch controls to get back to the camera after taking a photo.
Shutter to Shot Time (6.67)
Shutter to shot time is the amount of time it takes for a photo to be actually taken after you have depressed the shutter button. The Sprint Upstage took .3 seconds to take a photo after you depressed the shutter button. This is a good score for a phone, much faster than the Sanyo M1, which took .8 seconds, and slightly faster than the Razr V3m, which took .4 seconds.
Interface (7.0)
The interface of the Sprint Upstage's camera is fairly clean. Along the top you have indicators for the type of camera you are in and a meter that shows you how full your storage is. Along the right are more indicators showing you what the resolution is, your white balance setting and where photos are being stored. At the bottom are only two soft keys, the left one is assigned to capture and the right one assigned to the options.
Hitting the right soft key brings up a camera like menu system, with a series of icons for different functions along the bottom of the display. You move amongst them using the left/right keys while the up/down keys and select button allow you to make your selection. This approach means that even when changing settings your viewscreen is not seriously impeded. We liked the interface on the Upstage, we felt that it was a significant step up over the Razr V3m and LG Chocolate, and reminded us somewhat of the camera like interface found on the Sanyo M1.
Photo Album Software Internal (3.0)
The album software on the Sprint Upstage is very basic. It has three folders available when you open it, one for the internal memory, one for the memory card and another for online albums. When you open one of these folders images and videos are displayed as thumbnails in a 3 x 3 grid. We found thumbnails to be a little slow to load, but nowhere near as slow as the Razr V3m and LG Chocolate, which seemed to take forever. You can filter your view to show only photos or videos, and you can upload photos to online albums. You can also add text captions to items. You cannot however create even a simple slide show, a serious drawback. Navigating amongst the photos is similar to the Razr V3m, where you can select or unselect photos using the center select key. To actually view a photo full screen you use the left soft key. Overall we found the album software to be very basic, and a step below what is offered on the Sanyo M1, which allows you to create simple slideshows.
Manual Control (2.0)
Manual white balance is present on the Sprint Upstage, as is the case for many current phones. More advanced manual features like aperture priority and shutter priority are not present.
Zoom (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage does not have any zoom features; not even a simple digital zoom. Although digital zoom is of limited utility, it has become standard on camera phones and can be useful in some situations. As such we were sorry to see that it wasn't offered on the Upstage. UPDATE: we have since found out that the Upstage has a digital zoom of up to 4x, but only if you lower the resolution to 640 by 480 and below. We don't think this is worth any points; the image resolution is already so low that you don't want to reduce it any further.
Focus (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage uses a fixed focus lens, this means that you will need to make sure that a photo is in focus based on your position to the object. More advanced camera phones like the Sanyo M1 or Nokia N73 have auto focus lenses, which leads to fewer mistakes when taking photos. We do not award any points for phones with fixed focus lenses.
Flash (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage has no flash, this is a shame since LED flashes have become more standardized in mid to high level phones,.Although they are of limited utility, they at least allow you to take some images inlow light.
Metering (2.0)
Metering allows the camera to gauge the amount of light in the scene and give you a proper exposure. The Sprint Upstage does not include more advanced metering options like choosing a point from which to meter. It does however provide you with manual brightness settings from +5 to -5, which allows you to control the amount of light in the scene.
White Balance (2.0)
In addition to the manual white balance settings that we spoke of earlier, the Sprint Upstage provides you with four different present white balance settings: sunny, cloudy, tungsten and flourescent, in addition to an auto white balance mode. These sort of white balance settings have become fairly standard on camera phones.
Image Handling (2.0)
The Sprint Upstage provides few image handling options. Your only real option is to rename the image. There is no option to crop or resize images or correct for color. These options are available on some higher end camera phones like the Nokia N73, however most phones lack them.
Video
Overall Video Score (2.0)
The Sprint Upstage takes video at only one resolution setting: 176 x 144. This is sufficient for MMS video, but in a time when many mid to high level phones are beginning to include 320 x 240 or 352 x 288 resolution video it doesn't impress. Video taken by the Upstage look washed out and are extremely pixelated when viewed on a computer monitor. We were not impressed by the Upstage's videos, especially compared to phones like the Treo 750, which also has a 1.3 megapixel camera but is able to take much nicer videos.
Video Resolution (.84)
To measure video resolution we shoot the standard ISO 12233 resolution chart and run stills from that video through Imatest imaging software. The Sprint Upstage scored 77.11 lines of horizontal resolution and 109.5 lines of vertical resolution. This is a terrible score for video resolution with the Razr V3m scoring 174.3 and 170.9 lines respectively, almost twice the lines of resolution as the Upstage. Frankly, you shouldn't expect to get any usable video out of the Sprint Upstage.
Video Compression (2.0)
The Sanyo M1 takes video in a variant of 3GP video. This has become a standard for mobile video and given the poor quality of the Upstage's videos, other formats would be soemthing of a waste. Still, phones like XV6700 or PPC-6700 provide an array of options for video compression.
Interface (7.0)
The interface of the camcorder on the Sprint Upstage is very similar to the stills camera interface. You will see indicators along the top and right for items like white balance, camera mode and zoom. Along the bottom you will see a meter that tells you how long you have recorded video. Below this are the two soft keys, with the left assigned to record and the right bringing up the options menu. The options in the camcorder look exactly the same as in the stills camera, with a series of icons along the bottom of the screen giving you access to various functions without unduly blocking the viewscreen. We like the camera-like interface of the Upstage's camcorder, we just wish the camera's performance lived up to it better.
Manual Control (2.0)
The only manual options on the Sprint Upstage's video camera is manual white balance, with settings between +/-5. More advanced manual features such as shutter gain and manual gain are not present.
Zoom (1.0)
For some reason Samsung chose to add an digital zoom the Upstage's video camera when it is missing from the stills camera. There are 5 stops on a 2x digital zoom for video, which you can access by pressing up/down when in the camera interface. Digital zoom is of limited utility under the best of circumstances and when dealing with 176 x 144 video it is almost completely useless.
Editing (0.0)
There are no editing options for video on the Sprint Upstage beyond changing the name of the file.
Modes (2.0)
When you launch the camcorder application the program asks you if you wish to take video for MMS or long video. We like having this preset for MMS video as otherwise you have to guess whether the video you just took will fit in an MMS message. Scene modes are not present on the Sprint Upstage.
[page title="Making/Receiving Calls"]
Dialing Speed (5.92)
To test dialing speed we measure how long it takes to make a call to 5 different phone numbers from the home screen with the phone unlocked. The Sprint Upstage took an average of 3.38 seconds to make a call, a very good time, comparable to LG Chocoate's 3.61 seconds and significantly better than the Motorola Razr V3m's 4.9 seconds. You should note however that if you are working on the other side of the phone and need to make a call, the need to hit the "flip" button and turn the phone over to dial a number will add several seconds. Although you can dial from the contacts menu on the "back" side, you will need to flip over the phone in order to listen and talk.
Talk and End Buttons (6.0)
The talk and end buttons on the Sprint Upstage are located on the "front" side of the phone, flanking and slightly below the directional pad. The buttons are made of smooth soft plastic, and are differentiated from other control keys by slight indentations, and from the directional pad by a raised ridge that surrounds the directional pad. The keys are a good size, and clearly marked, although the small size of the phone overall does make all of the controls feel slightly cramped, especially for those with larger hands. Key travel is slight, and tactile feedback when pressed is barely felt. Overall we found the keys adequate, and certainly liked them better than the strange arrangement found on the LG Chocolate.
Call Management (6.5)
The call management features on the Sprint Upstage are fairly basic. The call history can be viewed by outgoing, incoming, recent and missed calls. When looking at a list of calls you can move to the next list by using the left/right keys, and move amongst your call history using up/down.The left soft key brings up a menu that allows you to send a message to a number, save it, erase it, or erase all calls in your history. The left soft key allows you to call the number. You can also access a history of all your calls if you hit the send key. This list is not sortable, but the menu options are the same. Selecting an item on your list will show you what time and date the call was made/received.
When in a call you can access features via the left soft key, including turning the speakerphone on, switching to a bluetooth headset, recording up to 60 seconds of a call with the voice memo feature and initiating a 3-way call. The left soft key is mapped to mute. This is a good array of options, and we especially liked the fact that you could record a call; a feature not found on phones like the LG Chocolate or Razr V3m.
Startup to Call (3.46)
To measure how long it takes to make a call from phone off mode, we time how long it takes to start the phone up and make a call to five different numbers. We then take the average as our score. The Sprint Upstage took an average of 28.9 seconds from startup to call. This is significantly faster than the Razr V3m's 35.7 seconds, but slower than the LG Chocolate's 20.8 seconds. The Upstage is hurt by the fact that the phone starts up and places you in the "back" by default, requiring you to hit the flip key before you can start dialing a number.
Ring Volume (8.1)
To measure ring volume we choose the loudest ringtone available on the phone and measure how loud it gets using a sound pressure meater 4 inches away form the phone. The Sprint Upstage scored 80.9 decibels, significantly less loud than the LG Chocolate's 88.7 decibels or the Razr V3m's 88 decibels. In fact the Upstage is one of the quieter phones we have reviewed, which may be a problem when you are hoping to hear your ringtone in a loud environment.
Ringtone Customizability (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage does not allow you to use your own music files are ringtones, this is an unfortunate omission for a music oriented device, albeit an unsurprising one since ringtone sales are a cash cow for carriers.
Non Audio Alerts (2.0)
The Sprint Upstage has a vibrate alert, but it might as well not as it is extremely weak, and we barely felt it in our pocket while standing still. The combination of a low ring volume and almost useless vibrate alert means that missed calls on the Upstage may be a regular occurence. you also receive notification via the screen when you get an incoming call, but this is only useful if you are happen to be looking at the screen when a call comes in.
[page title="Messaging"]
Supported Email Services (0.0)
As with most of Sprint's regular phones, the Upstage uses web access for email. We do not score web access email because it fails to provide the ability to read your messages when you are not connected to a data network, nor does it allow you to access basic POP3 and IMAP4 accounts that are not always available via the web or web based services do not work with the browser built into the phone. For these reasons the Upstage will receive zeros in many of these sections.
Push Email (0.0)
There is no built-in email client, so there is no support for push email services such as Microsoft Exchange.
Multiple Email Accounts (0.0)
There is no built-in email client, so there is no support for multiple email accounts.
HTML and Attachements (0.0)
No email client.
Email Customizations (0.0)
No email client.
Time to a New Message (0.0)
No email client.
Email Auto Complete on Address (0.0)
No email client.
Email Usability (0.0)
No email client.
Supported IM Services (0.0)
As with all of Sprint's regular phones the Upstage supports instant messaging via AOL, MSN and Yahoo's services. The phone uses an online client that requires you to log into each service separately. We would have preferred to see a client built into the phone that allows you to simultaneously connect to all the services. We also would have preferred that Sprint didn't charge you for a text message for each IM sent or received. We do not award points for IM services that use SMS gateways such as this.
MMS Support (6.0)
MMS messages on the Sprint Upstage are called "picture mail" as they are on all Sprint phones. You cannot turn an SMS message into an MMS message, however there is good integration with the camera. After taking a photo or video you can choose to send it in an MMS message from the menu when you review it. We found MMS a little clunky to use due to the unique design of the Upstage. When creating an MMS, if you wish to enter a phone number in manually, you will need to flip the phone in order to do so. This is a drawback that we encountered in many places when using the Upstage. Compared to regular phones where the keypad is easily accessible, this is a drawback. Except for this item, we found the experience little different than other Sprint phones we have reviewed, such as the Motorola Razr V3m.
SMS Smiley Face Interpretation (8.0)
To test how well the handset interprets smiley faces as graphical representations, we send the phone a test SMS message with 4 common smileys. We were happy to see that the Upstage interpreted all of our smileys correctly in the received message. This is in sharp contrast to the Motorola Razr V3m and Sanyo M1, which displayed them as simple text. Unfortunately the Upstage does not support automatic insertion of smileys, instead requiring you to enter each manually using the text equivalents.
SMS/MMS Ease of Use (4.5)
The SMS/MMS client on the Sprint Upstage is located in the Messaging menu. From here you can send and view messages. SMS and MMS messages each have their own section and inbox, meaning you cannot view all messages at once. To get to another inbox you will need to go back to the messaging menu. Messages are organized in a simple list that you can move up and down with the directional pads, or you can scroll using the Upstage's touch sensitive pad on the back of the phone by running your finger up/down the touch sensitive area. You can send messages to multiple users, however we did not see support for sending to groups. As with other areas where text entry is necessary, you may find yourself flipping the phone over quite a bit. Overall the experience is little different than other Sprint phones we have reviewed, such as the Sanyo M1 or Razr V3m: straightforward, but a little clunky.
Time to a New SMS Message (5.88)
To measure how easy it is to send an SMS message, we time how long it takes to go from the home screen to a new SMS message dialogue. We repeat this five time and take the average for our score. The Upstage has a curious interface for creating new SMS messages as a result of its unique "flip" design. On the front of the device there are a limited number of menu choices, however creating a new text message is one of them. If you are interacting with this side of the phone it only takes 1.7 seconds to access a new message. If you are interacting with the "back" of the phone however it will take you longer to navigate the larger menu, plus you will need to flip the phone in order to enter text using the keypad. This will add a couple of seconds to your time. We chose to score the Upstage on the faster of these times. Using either method we found getting to a new message dialogue faster then either the LG Chocolate or the Razr V3m.
[page title="Organizer"]
Synchronization (0.0)
The Srint Upstage does not allow you to synchronize your personal information items with a computer out of the box.
Alerts (6.0)
You can only create alerts for calendar appointments on the Upstage. You are limited to certain presets: 10 minutes before, 30 minutes, 1 hour or on time. You can also choose to set no alert. We were pleased to see that you can choose any of your normal tones or ringtones as the alert directly from the appointment. You cannot choose to set a vibrate alert from the appointment however if your phone is set to vibrate it will do so when an alert goes off. When an alert sounds you are presented with a page that lists all of your alerts, including things liked missed calls and voice mails, and the tone you selected sounds. If you don't have any other alerts you are simply presented with an animated alarm clock with the name of your event and the time before the event which updates dynamically. You can choose to snooze the alert or dismiss it. When snoozed it will wait for 5 minutes and then sound again. If you miss the alert the tone will sound for 2 minutes and then the display will turn off. When you turn your phone back on the alert will still be on the screen ready for you to snooze it or dismiss it. We found the alerts to be fairly full featured, but we would have liked the ability to change the length of the snooze, or set it dynamically when the alert goes off. We would have also liked to see more precise control over when alerts sound.
Over the Air PIM Sync (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage does not support over the air synchronization of your personal information.
Address Book
Adding Contacts (4.69)
Entering a new contact is one of the few features that is available to the menu on the front of the phone, so we tested it from this point. To test adding a new contact we time how long it takes to enter the name and phone numbers of five test contacts with diverse names. The Upstage took an average of 21.3 seconds to enter each contact, this only slightly faster than the LG Chocolate's 21.7 seconds, but significantly faster than the Razr V3m's 27.9 seconds. As with many features you can also begin entering a new contact from the back of the phone, however you will need to flip the phone to enter text and numbers, adding several seconds to the time.
Looking/Sorting/Search (1.0)
The contacts interface on the Sprint Upstage is very simple and is the same on both sides of the phone. You are presented with a simple list of your contacts organized alphabetically by first name. You can also sort your contacts by group by choosing this option from the menu. There is a search feature built into the contacts program which you can access at any time by simple beginning to spell out a name. Unfortunately the search will only work with first name. As you type out a name it will jump you to the entry that best fits what you have entered, it does not filter your contacts. You will also have to use multi-tap to enter the text you want, it does not support predictive text search. Of course the search feature only works when you are on the front of the phone, when you are interacting on the back of the phone with the larger screen you cannot search, however you can use the scrolling touchpad feature to move up and down the list. Overall we were not very impressed with the sorting and searching options available on the upstage, perhaps they dummed it down because of the small screen on the front of the device. The Razr V3m provides you with many more sorting options.
Fields (2.6)
The Sprint Upstage has 9 different fields for your contacts. The phone number field allows you to enter up to 5 different numbers, and allows you to choose the type of phone number for each. You can also enter an email address and web address, assign a custom ringtone and picture. We were also pleased to see a memo field, allowing you to enter any information you wish. The Upstage's selection of fields is fairly standard for a feature phone, and compares well to the Razr V3m. The presence of a memo filed is a step above the LG Chocolate. Of course, none of these handsets compare with the dozens of fields available on smart phones.
Speed Dial/Voice tags/Voice command (3.67)
The Sprint Upstage allows you to assign speed dials to any of your contacts and has a voice command feature built in that allows you to dial numbers from your contacts without training them. You cannot assign a voice tag to your contacts. We found the voice command feature to be lacking, only recognizing 2 of the 5 sample contacts we tested it with. The LG Chocolate by contrast recognized all 5 of our test contacts. The voice command feature is buried in the menus, but can also be accessed by pressing and holding the talk button.
Calendar
Adding Calendar Items (3.78)
To test how easy it is to add calendar items we time how long it takes to add a simple lunch appointment for the following day. We repeat this test 5 times and take the average for our test. The Sprint Upstage took an average of 26.46 seconds to complete this test. This is significantly worse than the LG Chocolate and Razr V3m, both of which took 22.6 seconds to add a calendar item. The Upstage is hurt by the fact that it does not allow you to enter new calendar appointments on the front of the phone, requiring you to use the full interface on the back of the phone instead. This means that we needed to flip the phone in order to enter text information. It was also hurt by the fact that the touch controls used to navigate to the calendar in the menus gave us problems at times and the calendar application itself is buried in the menu system.
Calendar Views (3.0)
The calendar on the Upstage is only accesible from the interface on the back of the phone. The Sprint Upstage provides you with 3 different views, monthly, weekly and daily. The monthly view shows a single month and allows you to navigate between days using the directional pad. As you highlight each day an indicator at the bottom of the screen shows you how many appointments, tasks, etc. are listed in each day. You use the center select button to jump to that specific day's view. Days with appointments are surrounded by a red box, the current day is highlighted in red.
The weekly view on the Upstage is different than we've seen on other phones. It shows the days of the week in a list. Events on each day are shown by indicators that are the same as those seen on the bottom of the monthly view. You can move between days by using up/down or the scroll feature, and you can move to the next or previous week by using left/right.
The daily view provides you with a chronological list of all the appointments on that day. Tabs along the top allow you to view appointments, tasks or countdowns. Each item has a title and time, with no indicators for things like You can use the back key to navigate to the previous view. You cannot filter any of your views by category. Overall we found the views on the Upstage to be very basic, providing little information. We also found it annoying to use the touch sensitive controls to navigate the interface. Still, the Upstage's calendar is no better or worse than than the poor calendars found on the LG Chocolate or the Razr V3m.
Fields (6.0)
ToDo/Tasks
Adding ToDo/Task (3.52)
The Sprint Upstage allows you to add tasks through the calendar program. To test how easy it is to add a task we time how long it takes to add a simple task reminding us to pick up groceries. We repeat the test 5 times and take the average for our score. The Upstage took an average of 28.38 seconds to enter our sample task. This is significantly longer than the Sanyo M1, which took only 18 seconds to enter our sample task. The Upstage is again hurt by the fact that you need to start the task creation process on the back of the phone and then flip it around to enter text. The task program is also buried in the menus.
ToDo/Task Sorting and Prioritizing (3.5)
The tasks program on the Upstage is very simple and does not include any options for sorting your tasks. You can however set priorities for your tasks to either high or low.
Fields (3.0)
As we mentioned the tasks program on the Upstage is exceedingly simple. The only fields available are title, priority and due date. You can also set the task's status, however this is a menu option in the main taks screen, not a field when you create the task. There is not even an option for an alarm to sound to remind you of the task. The Sanyo M1 was a little more full featured, with the ability to set status from within the creation screen and the ability to set a category for the task.
Notes
Adding Notes (1.68)
The Sprint upstage includes a very simple text memo application. To test how easy it is to add a note we time how long it takes to go from the standby screen until we have completed entering a simple note about lunch the next day. On the Upstage it took an average of 29.72 seconds to add this note. This is faster than the LG Chocolate, which took 33.8 seconds. We still found the interface a little clunky however as again we needed to flip the phone over to enter text, but were forced to launch the note application from the back of the phone due to the limited menu options on the front.
Note Interface (1.0)
The Notes application on the Upstage is exceedingly simple, allowing you to view a list of your notes in the order they were created. There is no option to search through notes, categorize or filter them. The left soft key allows you to create a new note, while the right soft key allows you to erase one or all of your notes. The LG Chocolate had a more advanced options, such as allowing you to search through your notes.
Note Formatting (1.0)
The Sprint Upstage allows you no text formatting options, such as font, text size or color. We did however find a nice feature that allows you to add a "skin" to your note, which is basically a colorful background. You can choose from 18 different options for the background, including sports and holiday themes. Although not very useful, it is a nice feature for those who like their phone interface to be colorful.
Voice Memo (3.0)
The Sprint Upstage includes a voice memo application that allows you to record voice notes up to 1 minute in length. You can also record up to 1 minute of a phone conversation. You can edit the description of the voice note, however you can not send a voice note via MMS directly from the application. The voice notes application is also buried in the menus, so there is no one touch voice recording available. The voice notes application on the Upstage falls a little short of other phones, for example the LG Chocolate allows you to send an MMS directly from the voice note application, while the Razr V3m allows you to record notes up to 10 minutes in length and the Sanyo M1 has a dedicated key for easy access to the voice notes application.
[page title="Multimedia"]
Accessing Music Software (3.06)
To test how easy it is to access the music software we time how long it takes to go from the home screen to a song playing. The Upstage took an average of 6.54 seconds to get a song playing. This is significantly faster than the Razr V3m's extremely slow 12.1 seconds, however it is slower than the LG Chocolate's 4.73 seconds. The Sanyo M1, another newer phone using the Sprint software, took a similar 6.3 seconds to get a song playing. This leads us to believe that the major issue that slows down this test is the Sprint Music software itself, which takes an inordinate amount of time to launch. The Upstage's music software is only accessible from the back, so that was our starting point for this test. If you are starting from the front of the device you should add another second or so to the time in order to account for the flip.
Dedicated Music Controls (3.0)
Despite the fact that the directional pad on the back of the Sprint Upstage doubles as music controls when in the music application, these controls revert to their normal function when you are playing music in the background, as such we did not award points for them. The volume keys on the Upstage do control music volume when playing in the background. We were also happy to see a dedicated lock/unlock switch on the Upstage. Similar to the one found on iPods this switch allows you to lock the keys on the device so you can place the phone in your pocket without worrying about accidently activating functions.
Music Software Functionality and Organization (5.0)
The music software on the Sprint Upstage is the same music software found on all Sprint phones. You can create and edit playlists from within the software, and it also recognized the .pls test file we used. You can sort your music by title, artist or genre, but there is no search feature available. Album art is supported for music downloaded from the Sprint music store, however our test file's album art was not displayed. We were happy to see background play, allowing you to access some, but not all, of the phone's functions while music is playing in the background. Our test Idv3 tags were recognized, as were the tags from our iTunes encoded aac file. There is no equalizer function available. Overall we found the music software to be adequate, but nothing special.
Online Song Downloading (8.0)
The Sprint Upstage supports Sprint's music store, which allows you to download tracks directly to the phone via the EVDO network. When you purchase a song you also recieve a higher quality version that can be downloaded to your PC. At the same time that Sprint announced the Upstage, they also announced that they would be dropping prices for music purchased from the store to 99 cents per song, which puts them in line with online services like Rhapsody and iTunes.
Streaming (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage does not support streaming audio from any of our test websites.
Podcast Support (3.0)
We were pleased to see that the Sprint Upstage included a podcasting application. This application is java based and allows you to stream podcasts from an extensive catolog. It does not allow you to download podcasts directly to your device. Despite this limitation, this is a step above phones like the Sanyo M1 and LG Chocolate, which did not include any podcasting support.
Music Sync with PC (7.0)
The Sprint Upstage ships with synchronization software from Sprint. Unfortunately we were unable to get this software to work as it requested activation of the phone even though it was already activated. We were able to easily synchronize the Upstage with Windows Media Player using the mass storage device function on the Phone. It's nice to see that handset manufacturers are beginning to include support for such synchronization with the phones, for example the Razr V3m and LG Chocolate lack this feature out of the box.
Update: We were able to get Sprint's synchronization software working with our PC, the problem was with our internet connection, which is required to authenticate the software. Sprint's music synchronization software provides one central place from which you can manage, purchase and transfer music to your device. To use the software connect the included USB cable to your PC and choose the music sync function from the home screen on the back of the Upstage. The software will recognize your phone and you will see an indicator in the top left that shows how much storage is available on your device.
The software has 3 main sections, which are accessible by tabs near the top of the software. The transfer tab is used to move music from your library to the device. The get tab connects you to Sprints Digital Lounge, their online store, where you can purchase new music. The manage tab allows you to manage music on your PC.
The software can play back music and allows you to create and edit playlists, so you can use it as your main music software for your PC, although it does not have the functionality of more fully featured software like iTunes. You can import music easily and the software can search different locations and for different file types. We were surprised that wma was an included file type as the Upstage does not support this format, however the synchronization software converts these files into m4a aac files on the fly when you transfer them to the Upstage.
Overall we found the software to be fairly basic and a not very intuitive, although we applaud sprint for including a "show me how" button that is always available in the bottom left. Considering that you can also synchronize your music with Windows Media Player on your desktop, Sprint's software is only really useful if you make a lot of purchases from their store.
Music Formats and DRM (2.5)
The Sprint Upstage is able to play back unprotected aac and mp3 files. The only DRM it supports is that used by Sprint's music store. This is a shame as it means you cannot use the Upstage with a Rhapsody or Napster account, or other similar online music store. However, with Sprint reducing their prices to 99 cents per song, this is not as large an issue as when they were charging $2.50 per song.
Music Interruption (10.0)
The Sprint Upstage does a solid job of handing incoming calls when music is playing. The Music is automatically paused and the interface is flipped to the front side for the phone call. When the call ends the music resumes from where it left off and the interface is again automatically flipped.
Video
Video Software Access (1.83)
To test how easy it is to access video playback software we time how long it takes to go from the standby screen to get a video playing. The Upstage took an average of 10.92 seconds to complete this process. This is much slower than the Sanyo M1 at 3.7 seconds and even slower than the Razr V3m's 6.3 seconds. The Upstage is hurt in this test by the fact that the album software used to play back video is buried in the menus and the touch controls used to access it are not very responsive.
Video Controls (2.0)
The video player on the Sprint Upstage is extremely basic. The center selet key acts as play/pause, while the left soft key is also mapped to this function. The right soft key is mapped to stop. The volume keys control video volume. There are no other hardware keys that can be used to control video playback. This is a poor selection of controls for phone, the Sanyo M1 for example allowed you to move to the next or previous videos using hardware keys, and there is no reason why you could not do this with the Upstage as well.
Video Software & Organization (1.0)
The video player on the Sprint Upstage is extremely basic. It is built into the album software and is generally meant to be used to watch the 3GP encoded videos that you take with the phone. There is no support for library management, full screen viewing or landscape viewing of videos. It must be noted that the Upstage also comes with a separate application that allows you to view Sprint TV, Sprint's streaming video service. However this software will not allow you to watch your own videos that you place on the phone. There is no support on the Sprint Upstage for video playlists, library updating, search or background play.
Video Sync with PC (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage does not allow you to synchronize videos with your PC.
Video Formats (4.0)
Incredibly the Sprint Upstage did not recognize any of the test videos we placed on the device. This is a serious problem for anyone who wants to watch their own videos on the Upstage. We understand that this functionality is not necessarily supported, however even phones like the Razr V3m allowed us to watch our 3GP encoded videos using the album software.
UPDATE: We tested this further, and found that the Upstage can play back 3GP videos if they are encoded at low bitrates. However, 3GP videos at higher bitrates refused to play back.
Video DRM (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage does not support any video DRM standards.
Video Playback Smoothness (1.0)
Because the Sprint Upstage did not recognize any of our videos we were unable to run our normal playback smoothness test. Typically this test involves viewing a series of videos encoded at different bitrates to see if the handset can play them back smoothly.
UPDATE: We tested this further, and have found that low bitrate 3GP videos can be played back. However, the higher bitrate videos in our test either could not be played back, or were so jerky as to be unwatchable. We have adjusted the scoring for this section accordingly.
Online Video Downloading (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage does not support any online video download services, although there is streaming video available via Sprint TV.
Video Streaming (unscored)
Because of the disparate codecs and standards used for streaming video we do not score this section. As we mentioned the Upstage does support Sprint's streaming video service. We were pleased to see support for streaming 3GP video from www.zoovision.com. It did not support streaming video in WMV format from windowsmedia.com.
[page title="Software"]
OS (2.5)
Home Screen Score (3.0)
As with many features on the Sprint Upstage, there are two home screens, which provide different functionality. On the front of the device the home screen shows you basic information about the device, such as battery, signal strength, time and date. The left soft key is assigned to contacts. When you flip the phone to the back the larger screen provides the same indicator information, but this time has three icons along the bottom for accessing music related features such as the music player, music store and initiating a music sync with your PC. The soft keys are not assigned. Both home screens are fairly basic, for example the Razr V3m allows you to assign programs to the four directions of your D-Pad, as well as the ability to change the function of your soft keys.
Extensibility (3.0)
The Sprint Upstage allows you to install java programs to extend the functionality of your device. This means that you can add programs like Google maps or Opera Mini, as well as an array of java games. Unlike smart phones such as the Treo 750 or 700p the Sprint Upstage will not allow you to install native applications that take full advantage of the device's capabilities.
Customizability (2.5)
The Upstage provides you with several customization options. You can change the menu interface to one of three options, change the background of the home screen on the back of the device and assign which side the phone starts up in. We did not see any option to change the look and feel of the device via themes, nor were there options to change font type or size. We found devices like the Sanyo M1 and LG Chocolate provided better customization options with support for themes.
OS Responsivness (6.0)
We found the operating system on the Sprint Upstage to be very responsive, even when music was playing in the background. The flip feature seemed to occur quickly and easily, and we did not detect significant lag when most programs where launched. One notable exception to this was Sprint's music player. The Upstage was much more responsive than Razr V3m, and displayed a little less lag than the Sanyo M1.
Gaming (1.7)
The Sprint Upstage ships with several demonstration versions of java games and one full version game, Texas Hold'em. This is an improvement over other Sprint phones like the Razr V3m, which had not one full game loaded. The touch controls on the back of the phone that are used to control games leave much to be desired. They lack responsiveness and mistakes are inevitable. They are not quite as bad as the LG Chocolate's controls, but they are close.
Browser Features (6.0)
The browser found on the Sprint Upstage is very similar to the browser on the Sanyo M1. WAP and HTML pages are supported, as are javascript, images and cookies. Advanced features like saving items from a web page or RSS feeds are not included. Overall the browser is run of the mill, those seeking a better browsing experience should consider the Opera Mini browser, which is available as a free java application from mini.opera.com.
Browsing Interface (5.0)
The browsing interface on the Sprint Upstage is also fairly basic. Pages are reformatted to fit the screen, and no other view options are available. There are no shortcut keys beyond the soft keys, which are assigned to Go and Menu. The back button on the touch pad is used to go pack to the previous page. The history is a simple list, with no advanced options, not even the ability to save an item to your bookmarks.
Bookmarks have no folder support, but you can edit existing bookmarks and move them up/down the list of items. We were pleased to see support for 3 different font sizes to accomodate differing needs, as well as the ability to change text, link and background colors. Advanced features like those found on the Series 60 browser are not present. Overall we found the browser to be a step above that found on the Sanyo M1 in terms of features, but still fairly basic.
Browser Access (3.08)
To test how easy it is to access the browser we count the number of steps it takes to access our website. We use steps instead of a timed test here to take the network out of the equation. We count entering the URL as a single step. The Sprint Upstage took 13 steps to access our website. This is the same as the Razr V3m, and slightly more than the Sanyo M1, which took 8 steps. The Upstage is hurt by the fact that without a keypad you are forced to navigate to each item using the directional pad, rather than using numeric shortcuts.
Calculator (3.0)
The calculator on the Sprint Upstage is launched via the tools menu but the interface is located on the front of the device, yet another place where you have to flip the phone. The calculator is simple and straightforward, providing the ability to perform basic arithmetic, but with no advanced features. The directional pad is assigned to each of the four arithmetic functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) with the center select key assigned to equals. The star button is used for decimal point, while the pound button is for +/-. The left soft key clears the function.
Alarm (6.0)
The alarm clock on the Sprint Upstage allows you to set 3 different alarms. Each can be set repeat daily, on weekdays, weekends or once. You can set a separate ringtone for each alarm and also change snooze intervals to between 5 and 20 minutes. We liked the ability to set multiple alarms and choose our own ringtone for them, however this functionality is not significantly different than phones like the Sanyo M1 or LG Chocolate. The Razr V3m has a step up in this case as it allows you to set 5 different alarms.
Document Software (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage does not include document software that allows you to view or edit common office documents, such as word and excel files.
[page title="Battery Life"]
Call Time (7.94)
To test call time we make a phone call to the device using Skype and then record how long it takes for the phone to go from full battery power to zero. Because the Upstage ships with an additional battery "wallet" we ran this test twice for the sake of completeness, once with the wallet and once without. Without the wallet the Upstage lasted 2 hours and 53 minutes, with the wallet it lasted a much more impressive 6 hours and 37 minutes. This is a significant difference in battery performance, with the lower number one of the worst scores we have seen from a phone and the higher one of the best. Becuase the battery wallet is an included accessory we have chosen to give the Upstage the better of the two scores, however users should not that if they do not wish to use the battery wallet battery life will suffer significantly.
Music Playback (18.41)
We test battery performance during music playback by playing a test album back continuously at full volume until the battery dies. When testing with the battery wallet the Sprint Upstage put up an extremely impressive 25 hours and 34 minutes of continous music playback. This blows away any other phone that we have reviewed. At this point we have not yet tested music playback without the wallet, we will update this review shortly when that test is complete.
Web Browsing (7.4)
Updated: We have run our web browsing battery test on the Sprint Upstage. To test battery life while browsing the web we point the phone's browser to a web site that refreshes automatically every 10 seconds. We also ensure that the screen remains on and that the phone's buttons are pressed intermittently. The Sprint Upstage was tested with its extended battery wallet, as this is an included accessory. The Upstage lasted an impressive 6 hours and 10 minutes in our test. We will be running this test without the battery wallet for comparison purposes, check back for updates shortly.
Idle Time (0.0)
In order to ensure that we release reviews in a timely manner we do not test standby time. Neither Sprint nor Samsung publish numbers for standby time, however you should note that we expect standby time to be as disparate as other battery performance depending upon whether you use the wallet or not.
[page title="Connectivity"]
Cellular Bands (4.0)
The Sprint Upstage is a dual band (800/1900) CDMA phone for the Sprint network. This means that the phone will not function on any GSM network. Because most of the world runs on GSM technology, the phone is not a good choice for world travellers. Our score for cellular bands is standardized based on the number of bands supported.
Data Support Score (6.0)
The Sprint Upstage is a CDMA phone that supports both Sprint's older 1XRTT network and Sprint's high speed EVDO network. EVDO provides download speeds between 400 to 700 kbps (note the small b) with bursts up to 2 Mbps. The Upstage does not support Sprint's newer EVDO Rev A network. For users in the United States EVDO provides solid coverage and performance. International travellers will find that the Upstage's data techonology is not compatible with other networks. Our data support score is standardized based on the type and bands of data supported.
Bluetooth (7.0)
The Sprint Upstage supports bluetooth 1.2 with support for the headset, hands free, audio service, object push, file transfer and dial up networking profiles. It also supports A2DP and AVRCP for stereo bluetooth headphones. Pairing the Upstage with a bluetooth headset was a quick and easy affair, as we've come to expect from phones nowadays.
Wi-Fi (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage does not support Wi-Fi connectivity.
Infrared (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage does not support infrared connectivity.
[page title="Hardware"]
Keypad
Text Words Per Minute (7.51)
To test how easy it is to type on a phone's keypad/keyboard we time how long it takes to enter a smaple string of text. We do this 5 times and then take the average for our score. The Sprint Upstage took an average of 25.58 seconds to enter our sample text. This was using two hands with predicitive text entry on. This works out to a words per minute score of 37.5, an excellent score for a cell phone without a QWERTY keyboard. This is signifcantly better than the Razr V3m (29.4 WPM) or the LG Chocolate (25 WPM), and a little better than the Sanyo M1 (36.4 WPM). It's almost on par with the Motorola Q, a QWERTY phone that managed 39.5 WPM. Of course the Upstage's keypad is not as comfortable as a QWERTY keyboard, however it does have large buttons with a nice click when pressed that we appreciated.
T9 and Auto Complete (10.0)
The Sprint Upstage supports both T9 predictive text entry and auto completion of words. The auto completion features learns words that you have used in series before and suggests them when a similar string appears the next time you type. We were pleased to see both of these features, especially the auto complete as it is missing from phones like the Razr V3m and LG Chocolate.
One Hand Usability (6.54)
For those who love to text one handed we also run our words per minute text using only one hand. The Sprint Upstage took 29.36 seconds to enter our sample text with a single hand. This works out to a word per minute score of 32.7, significantly slower than two handed typing, but still sufficient to enter a quick SMS message. We did find our hand cramping a little when typing one handed as the Upstage doesn't have a whole lot to hold onto.
Keypad Backlighting (7.0)
The keypad backlighting on the Sanyo M1 can be controlled separately from the screen backlighting. The backlight comes on when a key is pressed and can be set to stay on for 8, 15 or 30 seconds. You can also set the backlight to always stay on, or turn it off entirely. There is no light sensor that manages your backlight automatically, nor can you change the brightness of the keypad backlight. We found the keypad to be even and bright enough to clearly illuminate the symbols on the keys without burning your eyes out.
Controls
D-Pad/Joystick (3.5)
The Sprint Upstage has two directional pads. On the "front" of the device, the directional pad is a large squarish button located beneath the screen and surrounded by the other control keys. The directional button has a center select/menu key surrounded by a bevel, and the directional pad is also surrounded by a bevel to provide tactile differentiation from the surrounding keys. When pressing the different directions there is very little play or tactile feedback, and the same is true of the center select key. We preferred the directional pad found on devices like the Treo 700p, which provides much more play and is easier to use by feel.
On the "back" of the device is a touch sensitive pad, with a center select key that acts as a directional pad. The center select key is a real button, raised above the surrounding touch sensitive pad. This key provides good play when pressed, but not a lot of tactile feedback. The surrounding touch sensitive controls provide no play or tactile feedback, and there is no differentiation that allows you to tell where on the directional pad you are. We did find the touch sensitive controls to be more responsive than those found on the LG Chocolate. Because there are two directional pads on the Upstage, we scored each separately and then averaged them to reach our final score.
Touch Screen (0.0)
The Sprint Upstage does not have a touch screen.
Jog Dial (3.5)
The Sprint Upstage does not have a jog dial, however it does have a feature that allows you to scroll up and down lists easily. When in a list you can use the touch sensitive pad on the "back" of the device to scroll by moving your finger along the pad in an up/down fashion. It does not function like an iPod's scroll wheel. You can scroll continuously by moving your finger down and holding it at the bottom of the touch sensitive pad. Although not a true jog dial, we will award points for this feature as it does provide some of the functionality you would get from a jog dial.
Soft Buttons (4.0)
As with many controls the Sprint Upstage has 2 sets of soft keys. On the "front" of the device, the soft keys are distinct buttons flanking the directional pad just below the screens. These buttons are slightly differentiated from the surrounding buttons by a dip where the buttons touch. Finding them by feel is not very easy, however they are well placed. There is only slight play when the button is pressed, and very little tactile feedback. On the "back" of the device the soft keys are assigned to the top left and right corners of the touch sensitive pad. In this case there is no differentiation from the surrounding touch pad and no play when pressed. We are not big fans of touch controls, however we did find the touch controls in this case to be slightly more responsive than those found on the LG Chocolate.
Volume Control (7.0)
The volume controls on the Sprint Upstage are located on the right side of the device near the top. The volume control is a rocker switch, with the top and bottom of the rocker raised clearly above the center to provide goot tactile feedback. Play when pressed in is good, but tactile feedback is not strong. We were able to find the volume key easily when using the device on either the "front" or "back". Compared to the volume keys on the LG Chocolate or the Razr V3m, we found the volume keys on the Upstage to be easier to find with better feedback when pressed.
Power and Standby (5.0)
The power button on the Upstage is a secondary function of the end key on the "front" of the device. A long press on this key will shut the device down, while a slightly shorter press when off will turn the phone on. Like many keys on the Upstage tactile feedback and play when pressed is small. We preferred the secondary function power key on the Razr V3m as the key is larger and provides better feedback, however we found the power key on the Upstage to be better placed and more functional than the one on the LG Chocolate.
Other Buttons (4.0)
In addition to the buttons we've spoken of the Upstage has several other buttons that provide useful functionality. Like many of the control keys, the Upstage often has two sets of these additional buttons. On both the front and back you will find a dedicated back key. On the front this key is located to the left of the D-Pad, and suffers from the same lack of play and tactile feedback that the other control keys have. On the back the back key is part of the touch sensitive pad, located on the bottom left. It is illuminated to find it easier, but of course has no tactile feedback or play.
On the front of the device you will find a dedicated camera key to the left of the directional pad. We found the placement to be somewhat peculiar since hitting the key will prompt you to turn the device over so you can use the larger screen on the back of the device as a viewfinder. Again, tactile feedback and play are minimal for this key.
On the left side of the device are two other keys, a dedicated "flip" key that switches the interface to the other side of the phone. Above the flip key is a switch that allows you to lock the device, just as you would with the lock switch on an iPod. We liked this as it alllows you to place the phone in your pocket while playing back music without worries that you will hit keys by accident. In addition to these keys, the directional pad on the back of the device allows you to control your music when in the music player. We did not award points for these functions in this section as they are awarded in our multimedia section. We only awarded a single bonus point for keys that have are found on both the front and back of the device.
Display
Primary Screen Gross Resolution (4.0)
Because of the Upstage's interesting layout we decided to award points for the "primary" display to the larger of the two displays. This display has a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels. Although this has been a "standard" size for low end phones for awhile now, we would have preferred to see a higher resolution QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) display such as that found on the LG Chocolate. Points for resolution are awarded based on the total number of pixels on the screen.
Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (6.88)
Because of its low resolution screen the Sprint Upstage has a pixel density of only 137.5 pixels per inch. This is significantly less than the LG Chocolate's 200 pixels per inch, but slightly higher than the Razr V3m's 125 pixels per inch, due to the smaller physical screen size. 137.5 pixels per inch is sufficient for most tasks, but you will notice the low pixel density when viewing photos on the device.
Screen Physical Size (5.2)
According to our measurement the Sprint Upstage's primary screen measure 2.07" diagonal. This is only slightly smaller than the Razr V3m's 2.1" diagonal and slightlly larger than the LG Chocolate's 2" screen. Screens between 2 and 2.1 inches are fairly standard for phones. Our score for screen size is standardized based on how large the screen is.
Screen Brightness (2.2)
To measure screen brightness we set the screen to maximum brightness and then use a lux meter from 4 inches away to measure how many lumens of light the screen puts out. The Sprint Upstage measured 44 lumens in our test, slightly lower than the Razr V3m's 46 lumens and significantly lower than the Sanyo M1's 50 lumens.
Screen Bright Light Performance (7.0)
To test bright light performance of screen's we shine 3000 lux of light on the screen (equivalent to a sunny day) and judge how legible the screen is. We found the Sprint Upstage's screen to be as legible as that on the LG Chocolate and Razr V3m, allowing you to still read text on the screen and navigate through menus, albeit with some squinting.
Color Depth (8.0)
The Sprint Upstage's primary display is capable of displaying 262 thousand colors, the same as the LG Choclate. As with the chocolate we found colors on the screen displayed well, and significantly better than the Razr V3m's 65 thousand color display. Our score for color depth is standardized based on the number of colors the screen displays.
Secondary Screen (7.13)
The "secondary" screen on the Sprint Upstage is the one found on the front of the device. It is a small 176 x 65 pixel 1.3" diagonal display capable of displaying 65 thousand colors. This screen provides limited real estate for you to interact with the phone and is meant primarily to access the calling functions. Our score for secondary screens are standardized based on resolution, pixel density and size.
Ports & Storage
Power & Data Ports (2.0)
The Sprint Upstage has a proprietary port located on the right side of the device for both power and data. We would have much preferred to see a standard mini USB port on the device like the Razr V3m, however we were happy to see that the Upstage comes with a cable to connect your device to a PC.
Headphone & Jack Compatibility (6.0)
The Sprint Upstage uses the same proprietary port as it uses for power and data as a headset port. We were pleased to see that the handset ships with an adaptor and microphone that allows you to plug in your own 3.5mm headphones and make hands free calls with the phone. This is a step above the 2.5mm adaptor without a microphone that is included with the LG Chocolate. The Upstage also includes the A2DP and AVRCP profiles for bluetooth stereo headphones, allowing you to listen to music wirelessly.
Internatl Storage (1.0) Neither Sprint nor Samsung include information about how much memory is built into the Upstage, however in our tests we found that it is well below the 250 MB threshhold that we set for points above one.
Internal Storage (1.0)
Neither Sprint nor Samsung include information about how much memory is built into the Upstage, however in our tests we found that it is well below the 250 MB threshhold that we set for points above one.
Expansion Slot & Format (6.0)
The Sprint Upstage has an expansion slot for MicroSD/Transflash memory. This is becoming the standard for mobile devices, and currently allows you to add up to 2GB of memory to the device for music and other multimedia. The memory card slot on the Upstage is located on the left side of the device and is protected by a plastic cover that is attached to the device. We find MicroSD/Transflash cards to be rather fiddly to use due to their small size, however we like the access for hot swapping of your memory card from the Upstage. We also like that the slot is spring loaded so you don't have to shove the card in with all your strength as on the Razr V3m.
[page title="Other Features"]
Other FeaturesThe Sprint Upstage has no additional features that need to be covered in this section.
[page title="Value & Comparisons"]
Value (6.0)
As of this writing the Sprint Upstage is available from Sprint for $149.99 with a two year contract. Without a contract the phone goes for $299.99. This is a reasonable price for a mid level phone such as the Upstage. It is lower than the original price of the Sanyo M1, which provides similar functionality, albeit minus the 1GB of built in storage. We expect the Upstage will fall to around $100 with contract within a few months.
Comparisons
LG Chocolate - The Chocolate is a music oriented phone like the Upstage, with a very similar feature set. What differentiates the two is the form factor, with the Upstage sporting the two sided flip design and the Chocolate a more traditional slider design. Both phones are stylish, albeit in slightly different ways, and both have significant drawbacks regarding their interface. Frankly we don't like the touch controls on either phone.
Motorola Razr V3m - The Razr V3m is an entry level handset that is somewhat comparable with the Upstage in that they both provide music functionality, expansion with a Micro SD and stylish good looks. We have to say though that we like the Upstage's looks slightly better than the Razr's, which has lost some of its appeal. We do like the flip form factor better than the two sided flip design of the Upstage however.
Sanyo M1 - The Sanyo M1 has a better feature set than the Upstage with its 2 megapixel camera, slightly better software functionality and 1GB of built in storage, however the Upstage is much more stylish. We do like that both handsets can synchronize your music with Windows Media Player as a mass storage device, but the M1 wins in terms of functional interaction with your music with exterior music controls. If you're willing to give up the good looks of the Upstage the Sanyo M1 is going to give you more out of the box, but we have to admit the Upstage is much cooler. [page title="Conclusion"]
Who's It For
Business User
The Sprint Upstage is probably not a good choice for business users who need a simple and functional handset. The two sided flip design makes for frustrating access to some features and the touch controls on the back of the phone can also be annoying. The lack of a built in email client makes it even less useful to business users.
Budget Callers
Budget callers should probably look elsewhere as the Upstage carries a hefty price tag, even with a 2-year contract. You can get a lot of the functionality of the Upstage out of a phone like the Razr V3m, for one third the price, and still look pretty good.
Chatty Teenager
The Sprint Upstage is a good choice for a chatty teenager who wants a device that will stand out. They better make sure to use the battery wallet however otherwise they won't be chatting for too long.
Media Maven
Media Maven't may be attracted to the Upstage as it is marketed as a music phone, however we found the music functionality to be only average. The sup par camera and the lack of support for your own video files should seal the deal. You would be better off with a phone like the T-Mobile Dash at a similar price point, which provides much more multimedia functionality.
Conclusion
The Sprint Upstage is a mid range phone with stylish good looks, a solid feature set and an innovative design. The phone does not bring too much new to the table under the hood, but the two sided flip design is certainly going to turn heads.
Unfortunately, this design has some serious drawbacks in use, as the Upstage constantly forces you to flip the device back and forth as you navigate through the interface, make phone calls and take photos. We also didn't like the touch controls on the back of the device, as they were difficult to use and prone to errors.
The battery life on the Upstage is either excellent or abhovery poor, depending on whether you want to use the included battery wallet. 25+ hours of music playback with the wallet is certainly impressive, but without the wallet we didn't reach 3 hours of talk time. We feel that the wallet seriously detracts from the Upstage's best point, its stylish good looks, and it also makes navigating the two sided interface much more difficult.
We applaud Samsung for their innovation with the Upstage in bringing a new form factor to the market, but overall we can't say we were impressed by much beyond the good looks. If you are looking for a small, stylish phone to impress people on an evening out, it might work. But if you're away from the charger for anything more than a day, you'll need the battery wallet, which ruins the good looks of the phone and makes it nearly as big and bulky as the rest. So, the Upshot is a rather cool, but ultimately disappointing phone.
[page title="Ratings & Specs"]
| Dimension | |
| Height | 4.07 |
| Carrier | Sprint |
| Type | Candy Bar |
| Low Price | 149.99 |
| Width | 1.73 |
| Depth | 0.37 |
| Weight (including battery) | 2.57 |
| Physical | |
| Number of Screens | 2 |
| Main Screen Dimensions | |
| Main Screen Resolution | 176 x 220 |
| Main Screen Colors | 0 |
| Main Screen Type | TFT Color |
| Secondary Screen Dimensions | |
| Secondary Screen Resolution | 176 x 65 |
| Secondary Screen Colors | 0 |
| Secondary Screen Type | TFT Color |
| Keys | |
| Number Keys Type | Physical Buttons |
| QWERTY |  |
| QWERTY Keyboard Type | |
| Other Control Keys | Music Keys |
| Internal Components | |
| Processor | |
| RAM Memory | 0 |
| Flash ROM Memory | 0 |
| Memory Card Slot | Micro SD |
| Jacks & Ports | |
| Microphone Jack |  |
| Headphone/Mic Jack | 2.5mm (Adaptor) |
| USB Port | |
| Dock Port | |
| Radios | |
| Bands | CDMA |
| Bluetooth 1.2 | |
| 802.11 b wifi | |
| GSM 850 | |
| GSM 900 | |
| GSM 1800 | |
| GSM 1900 | |
| CDMA 800 | |
| CDMA 1900 | |
| Bluetooth 1.1 | |
| Bluetooth 2.0 | |