The Samsung Trance showed up on the doorstep today (thanks go to our friends at Samsung and my FedEx driver), and though it's a mid-range phone, it's certainly worth a look. The device is available in 'Piano Black' and 'Electric Red,' and launched today on Verizon Wireless for $49.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year agreement.
The first thing I noticed as I was taking it out of the box was the build quality. All around, it seems to be a well-built phone, with very little play in the slide hinge. It's quite sleek as well, with guitar-like looks (when closed) and a clean appearance, with no physical buttons on the face of the phone. The white keys in the picture above are all touch-sensitive and while in a call, they lock to prevent mis-dialing. The numeric keypad offers ridges to distinguish keys, making for a pleasurable typing experience. 
The Trance is 1X only, meaning no EVDO capability, however it still ships with V CAST Music with Rhapsody for music junkies. Data is noticeably slower if you're used to 3G speeds. In regards to music, the phone does support DRM-free audio playback, so users aren't required to subscribe to the V CAST service. The audio is phenomenal, thanks to the Bang &
Olufsen ICEpower technology built into the device. For headphone
purposes, a 3.5mm jack is provided. With the primary focus of the device centering around music, my guess
is that this device is replacing the somewhat antiquated Juke.
The full feature list is below:
Stay tuned for our full review of the device, and in the interim, give us a shout in the comments section if you've bought one!
