In a way, you could say that the Flight suffers from multiple personality disorder. Though you'd think that its QWERTY keyboard positions it as a solid messaging phone, the touch screen adds an additional way to interface with the handset. Similarly, while the touch screen makes us think of a multimedia device, the display's small size limits its usability. So where does that leave the Flight? The truth is that we're not really sure. Though some users will happily engage with the keyboard, others may skip straight to the touch screen. Yes, it can be a bit confusing, but we also think that the crazy combination works. Plus, we're never against having too many choices.

The Flight is 4.17 inches by 2.2 inches by 0.5 inch, so it's a little bigger than most phones in its class. It's also a bit heavy at 4.8 ounces, but it remains relatively portable. The handset has a solid construction and the slider mechanism is sturdy; we liked how the Flight fits squarely in the hand. The Flight comes in red and gray; we reviewed the red version, but the features are the same on both handsets. The touch screen measures 2.8 inches.

 That would be much too small on a normal touch-screen phone, so Samsung appears to have kept this in mind. There's no virtual keyboard (you have physical keys instead), the browser is Opera Mini rather than full HTML, and the Flight lacks Samsung's TouchWiz interface. Without those options, you only use the touch-screen for selecting icons and list options and for plunking at a virtual numeric keypad. For either of those uses, the touch screen is adequate. The display supports 262,000 colors and 320x240 pixels. Though handsets with 16 million-color displays are increasing in number, the Flight's screen is vibrant with bright colors and sharp graphics. You can adjust the brightness, backlight time, and font type. The touch interface is quite responsive, both when you're selecting icons and scrolling through a long list. You can adjust the display calibration and the intensity of the vibrating feedback. Though the Flight doesn't have a TouchWiz shortcut bar, there are three touch icons that give access to the messaging folder, the favorite contacts list, and a user-programmable shortcut menu. Below them are touch controls for the main menu, the main contacts list, and the recent calls feature.

The latter is rather redundant given the presence of the physical Talk button. Below the display are a back key and the Talk and End/power buttons. The controls are flush but their large size makes them easy to use. On the left spine you'll find a volume rocker, a second onscreen shortcut menu, and the Micro-USB/charger port. Over on the right spine are a display lock switch and a camera shutter. The camera lens and small speaker sit on the rear side. Vanity shots are possible with the mirrored border that surrounds the lens. The microSD card is located behind the battery cover. We tested the dual-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) Samsung Flight world phone in San Francisco using AT&T service. Call quality was fine, but it had its moments. The signal was strong and the volume was loud, but callers sounded rather breathy. They didn't sound bad or distorted, but the voice pitch was different--it almost sounded as if our friends were whispering, even though the volume was sufficient. We also noticed that the phone picked up some wind noise. The Flight is compatible with M3 and T3 hearing aids.

 On their end, callers could tell we were using a cell phone. They said our voice sounded natural, so they didn't hear the breathy effect that we heard, but they also reported that the Flight picked up a fair amount of background noise. Indeed, they had trouble hearing us when we were in a noisy place. We had the same issue when we spoke to automated calling systems--it was best if we were in a quiet room. Speakerphone calls were decent. The sound was bit distorted at the highest volumes, but the external speaker gets quite loud. Callers said they could understand, but we had to speak pretty close to the phone. On the other hand, we didn't have to be next to the Flight to hear conversations. Bluetooth headset calls were fine, though your experience can vary be headset. Streaming video quality is actually decent--when it works. There's a bit of pixelation, but we were pleased that the frame size takes up the full display. The audio is also in sync with the video.

On the downside, while videos loaded quickly, some clips paused to buffer several times while playing. We're not sure of the problem is related to the 3G signal, as it was consistent otherwise. Music quality is satisfying given the external speaker's loud output. But like with most music phones, our tunes were rather tinny and lacking in warmth. A headset will offer the best experience. The Flight performs well on the whole, but it was occasionally sluggish when opening some features and cycling between menu screens. The lag time was 2 seconds at most, but it was noticeable. The Flight has a rated battery life of 3 hours talk time and 15 days standby time. Our tests showed a talk time of 3 hours and 21 minutes. According to FCC radiation tests, the Flight has a digital SAR of 0.5 watt per kilogram. .