Samsung UpStage

The least pocket-filling of all the phones we checked out, the 0.4-inch-thin UpStage uses a two-faced design: a keypad on one side, media player on the other. But some of the phone tasks (dialing, texting, entering contacts) must be handled on a minuscule 1.3-inch screen, and the constant flipping, just to go from playing a tune to dialing a call, gets tiresome.

WIRED: Tiny and light (2.6 ounces). Decent 1.3-megapixel camera. Included battery pack doubles as protective case. Access to Sprint TV and its Music Store; 99-cent song downloads on the go.

TIRED: Weak speaker. Must exit music player to access most other functions. Flipping back and forth grates, as does having to press a special button to switch between sides.

• Style: Multimedia
• Manufacturer: Samsung
• Price: $150 with two year contract