The Charge runs counter to most current phone styles by using separate physical buttons across the bottom of the phone, rather than capacitive touch buttons. They aren't backlit, which is inconvenient. (On the other hand, the backlighting on most capacitive buttons is nothing to write home about, so it's not much of a loss.)

The power switch is on the right side of the phone, which I find easier to reach than switches along the top, where many phones now put it. The volume rocker is on the left edge; the headphone jack is at the top. There's no dedicated button for the camera or calendar.

One differentiator is the user interface laid over the Android 2.2 OS. I don't much care for Samsung's TouchWiz UI; I find it cluttered compared to HTC's Sense UI and Motorola's MotoBlur, both of which integrate phone functions, social networking, and dialing favorites in a more elegant manner. It's not that you can't do all those things in TouchWiz; it's that it's easier in the other UIs.

As a phone, the Charge works pretty well. One cool touch: If you have the contacts database alphabetize people by last name, the phone highlights the last names and dims the first names as you scroll, restoring the first names when you stop. It's a nice idea, well executed.