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Samsung's UpStage Looks To Trump iPhone

Posted by kdawson on from the flip dept.

bj sends word of Samsung's recently unveiled cell phone, called UpStage. It will ship April 1 (no fooling) for $300, or $150 with a 2-year contract from Sprint Nextel. "...the UpStage is a candy-bar style handset that's less than half an inch thick and not much taller or wider than an iPod Nano. Other multimedia-friendly cell phones struggle to balance the sometimes-conflicting requirements of a conventional handset and a music or video player; the UpStage solves this quandary by simply putting phone functions on one side of the device and the multimedia functions on the other side."

2 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. it's all marketing hype anyway by nanosquid · · Score: 0, Troll

    It's not clear what is supposed to be new or innovative about the iPhone anyway. Touch-screen only phones have been around for a couple of years. A slim touch-screen-only phone that's even slimmer and sexier than the iPhone had won design prizes months before the iPhone was even announced.

    So, what's there to "upstage" anyway?

  2. Some contraditions by brunes69 · · Score: 1, Troll

    First of all, the uPhone is expandable via MicroSD cards. The iPhone is not from any specs I have seen. Seeing how you can get a 2 GB MicroSD card now for under $50 I would be highly surprised if Sprint was not packaging this phone with AT LEAST 2 GB of memory when it finally comes out. It may in fact have 4 GB. And even if it does not unlike the iPhone, you can expand it to your heart's content.

    Secondly, because there are actually TWO screens and ACTUAL BUTTONS FOR THE PHONE you don't need a large screen.

    Realistically I think the parent has a good point, and is pointing out why the iPhone is going to fail.

    The iPhone is not a good phone, because it doesn't have buttons - anyone who has a touch screen PDA phone now (me!) can tell you what a pain this is when making calls. No matter hoe well Apple makes the touch screen, it is not going to be tactile, so it's goig to be impossible to dial with your thumb while carrying groceries in one hand, and fumbling with your keys and phone in the other.

    Also the iPhone is not a good PDA, because it does not have push email capability from Outlook, and it has no WiFi.

    So what is it then? It is an overpriced iPod / Cell Phone love child, that no teenager can afford, and no adult will find useful.

    I think Apple made two big mistakes with the iPhone. First, they make it too expensive. Second, no WiFi. If it was a bit cheaper, or it had WiFi, at least your business customers might jump on the bandwagon.