As a media phone, the Highlight performed well. It comes with an earbud set that attaches by a proprietary connector. While the audio quality was surprisingly good, the lack of a standard 3.5mm headphone jack is always disappointing. Without the earbuds, the sound quality is acceptable but the volume is much too low. I tried streaming YouTube videos; though the video quality was fine, I could barely hear the sound.

Uploading songs or sound files is simply a matter of sending files via Bluetooth. Music mavens will probably need more management capabilities than the built-in MP3 player can provide, but for casual use it's not bad. I noticed that the video player seems to choke on higher-quality files, however. Oddly, the music video that's preloaded on the Highlight drops a few frames here and there.

Physically, the Highlight's design is rather unremarkable. The slender phone weighs about 3.7 ounces with the battery, and it has only a few physical buttons. An unlock button sits on the top of the handset, the volume rocker is located on the left, a shutter button for the (unremarkable) 3.0-megapixel camera is on the right, and three buttons on the face make a call, return to the desktop screen, and end a call. The rubberized, textured backing felt nice and stable in my hand, especially when compared with the , which felt slippery. Make sure to get a screen protector for the Highlight, though, because it'll scratch fairly easily in your pocket or bag.

The call quality was hit-and-miss. I experienced an inordinate amount of dropped calls in the first couple of days, but that was probably due to T-Mobile network problems rather than the phone itself, because it stabilized fairly quickly. I was pleasantly surprised by the battery life (Samsung estimates the battery life at 6.5 hours of talk time). I used the phone for everyday calls, texting, and plenty of Web browsing on the 3G network, and had to recharge it only every six days or so.

Ultimately, the Samsung Highlight is a decent touchscreen phone that can handle basic Web browsing and media functions just fine. At $130, however, it's just too expensive. Phone buyers who aren't wedded to T-Mobile could opt for the $99 iPhone 3G and save $30 (or even pay just $49 for a refurbished ), and T-Mobile loyalists could go for the G1 or its successor, the .