Sprint and Samsung today announced the upcoming availability of UpStage by Samsung, the first U.S. wireless phone designed with a revolutionary form factor that optimizes music capabilities with the look of a phone on one side and an MP3 player on the other.

UpStage by Samsung is the first Sprint phone to offer the following features designed to make mobile music more entertaining than ever:

• Sprint Music Manager, powered by Smith Micro, gives users the power to quickly and simply transfer, or "sideload," unprotected songs from a PC to the handset via a USB cable. Provided on an enclosed CD-ROM, Music Manager also allows songs to be managed on the PC through an intuitive interface.
• Advanced Stereo Bluetooth 2.0 with Bluetooth caller ID enables the user to identify callers with a spoken voice while they listen to music.
• UpStage by Samsung gives users the power to multitask with the ability to play music in background mode while also using the phone for text messaging, playing games or surfing the Internet.

The screen on the phone side of the UpStage by Samsung is dedicated to making calls, text messaging and contacts management. With a simple push of the "flip" button, the focus is shifted to the music side. The music side features a large, bright-color LCD screen that is ideal for navigating the music library and allows easy access to Power Vision products and services, including Sprint Music Store and Sprint TV.

Touch-sensitive navigation keys on the music side provide easy synchronization of your phone with your PC-based music collection, quick access to your phone's music library and easy purchasing of music over the air through Sprint Music Store. A built-in tutorial guides users through navigating with the intuitive touch-sensitive controls. Five sensitivity settings are available for user customization.

UpStage by Samsung comes packaged with essential tools to get started right out of the box including a stylish extended battery wallet that increases talk time up to 6.3 hours or 16 hours of music listening. Dual battery gauges show remaining battery life in the extended battery wallet and the internal battery. The box also contains a 64MB MicroSD memory card, USB cable, 3.5mm adapter with microphone for standard music headphones and accessories, the Sprint Music Manager application on CD-ROM and a Quick Tips guide.

UpStage by Samsung measures 4.07" x 1.73" x 0.37" and weighs just 2.57 ounces. Additional features include a 1.3 megapixel camera and camcorder, MicroSD card slot for up to 2GB of external memory, an easy-to-access keyguard switch to prevent accidental dialing, and Wireless Backup to quickly restore contact information if your phone is lost or stolen.

UpStage by Samsung will be available in early April. Customers can register to be among the first to purchase UpStage by Samsung at www.sprint.com/upstage .

UpStage by Samsung will be priced at $149 with a two-year service agreement. Two $25 service credits are available with new activations on Free Incoming or Power Pack Plans and a two-year agreement when the phone is purchased at Sprint.com using a special customer code.

Phone picture from engadget

More Samsung UpStage Hands on available at

here, and here