Cricket Wireless and Samsung teamed up on the Samsung Suede, a music phone with Cricket's Muve Music OS.
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Muve Music is more than a new music service for Cricket Wireless. It's also a musically inclined operating system that's deeply integrated with the phone's other calling and texting functionality. As a result, only compatible phones like the Samsung Suede (pictured) can take advantage of Cricket's $55 all-inclusive monthly plan.
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Music button
An image of a music note in the center of the Suede's navigation array launches the Muve Music menu. You can also use it to access other features, like the home screen, which uses Samsung's TouchWiz 2.0 interface to personalize the phone with widgets. This is also the portal to the phone's tools, apps, address book, and dialer.
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Touch screen
It's too bad there aren't hardware controls on a phone so dedicated to music, but the onscreen controls on this touch-screen cell phone worked well in our demo.
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All-you-can-eat music
In addition to downloading full tracks and albums, you get recommendations, ringtones, and ringback tones. There's a song ID tool (Shazam) and streaming stations you can listen to by genre.
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Taper
The Suede is wedge-shaped, thicker at the top than at the tapered bottom. Our first impression: it seems a little top-heavy.
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Camera
The 3-megapixel camera lens is on the back. A microSD card slot is beneath the back cover, never our favorite location; 4GB comes with the Suede and can hold around 3,000 songs. Unlike MP3s, however, the Muve Music services uses a Dolby Plus format that plays only on your mobile phone. You can't transfer songs to your computer.
