The flip phone is only 3.5 by 2 inches, and a half-inch thick when closed, which gives the phone a smooth, simple feel. The 2.2-inch screen is on the top shell, while the bottom shell has a concave touchpad, two context-sensitive tabs, the standard green Confirm and red Power/Cancel buttons, a camera tab, a backspace tab, and the keypad. The Equinox is light, about 3.5 ounces, and comes with a USB cord, a wall plug, headphones, and a decent-size, but manageable instruction booklet.

The Equinox's outer shell is particularly slick. Close the phone and a digital display gives the time, battery power, and range. Get a text or a phone call and the semi-translucent back will start to pulse, flashing the contact's name/number and playing your selected sound. It's a cute effect.

The Equinox keeps a clear, uncluttered screen. Pressing the touchpad will open up six self-explanatory menu options: Call History, People, Messaging, Media, Settings, and Organizer. Smartly compartmentalized, the Equinox menus are easy to navigate and manage.

Using the GSM/EDGE networks, the Equinox excels at making and receiving calls. The concave numbers respond well to even the lightest touch, and reception was solid. Unlike with other recent phones, dialing the numbers will automatically put you into phone mode.

The fancy shell and phone calling aside, the Equinox is a pretty mediocre phone when it comes to texting, photos, or anything multimedia-related.