Finially a great basic phone, but why not sold on verizon.com??? February 24, 2012

Reviewer:  Carolyn Falconer  (Upstate, NY) -

This is a great feature phone for those who won't give in to the data plan cost. It can access web if you chose, but doesn't require it. It's the perfect size, great for texting and battery life is great. For some reason it is not advertised or available through Verizon online or instore. Probably because they would be out of stock. It is the phone I have been waiting for, you won't be dissappointed in it if you are showing any interest in this type of phone. Ordered through Amazon mine came with a free car charger. Call sound if good, and no problems with dropped calls or attaining service. Keypad is small, but that should come without saying just by looking at the photos. Overall it is everything I expected and more.

a great phone, no data required February 18, 2012

Reviewer:  DANIEL ROURKE  (PARSIPPANY, NJ United States) -

this is a great messaging phone, good sound quality a good camera, lots of free apps, the big question is why Verizon isnt marketing it or selling it in their own stores or their own website? if you want a really good feature phone, buy this one!

Excellent Basic Phone April 28, 2012

Reviewer:  whm 

I've had this phone for over a week and I'm extremely pleased. I'm adding this review since I was not familiar with ZTE, the manufacturer, and there are few reviews.

First and most important, call quality is great and battery life has not been an issue. Another must have feature for me is its Overseas Roaming capability with the SIM card included.

For texting, at first the keys seem small & some upper case symbols (example ` and , ) are difficult to distinguish from one another, but after a few days you become familiar with the layout and you'll appreciate the full keyboard. The keys have a very nice perceptible touch. Many of the keys serve a dual purpose that is intuitive to understand and provide all the shortcuts you will ever need. Menus are logical and easy to navigate.

Overall build quality is excellent and the phone is the perfect size to fit in your pocket. It has the appearance and shape of a Blackberry Curve.

While you can browse the web, it does not have a touch screen, so navigation is difficult, but since this is a basic phone, I don't believe that is important.

The camera has a flash, but no zoom, and is fine for infrequent use. It also has a basic music player and I had no problem adding mp3 files from my PC to the phone's inserted memory card via a standard USB connection. One other review mentioned a problem with this, but all you need to do is have the phone format the card, attach the phone via USB to your PC, and copy files to the \synched folder. For music this is \synched\music; for photos, it's the \synched\pics etc.

Another nice touch is the phone's software can be upgraded if Verizon/ZTE put out a new version.I have not tried the phone's Bluetooth feature or GPS.

When you consider cost (free with a two year extension and no data plan required), quality, design, and features, this is the ideal basic phone for me.

Update 9 Sep 2012 - I've used this phone now for 4 months and I'm still very pleased with its performance and features. It was used in Europe and worked great with calls and text; however, costs for calls were high. I've not had any major problems. At times, I have experienced a missed key stroke or a double letter/symbol with the key pad and the battery indicator is not as accurate as it should be. I've learned to charge it every few days even if it shows fully charged.

Finally April 11, 2012

Reviewer:  ntwhite94 

2 years after my LG Voyager was discontinued, I finally found a phone that meets my needs in this category. I had to suffer with a Samsung Intensity II for one year, then I ordered the Samsung Brightside (which is a complete POS), and through complete luck I found this phone on Amazon Wireless. So far, I couldn't be happier! I was a little concerned about the off-brand, but after playing with it for a couple days I can tell that it is very good quality in both design and features. It functions like a Blackberry, and has amazing speaker quality. In fact, I am pleasantly surprised by the quality every time I answer a call. If you are in the market for a sophisticated feature phone, don't look any further and certainly don't waste your time with a Samsung Brightside! Your dream feature phone has finally arrived! Congrats Amazon and congrats ZTE - they found their niche!

This is exactly what I needed October 10, 2012

Reviewer:  M. Hur 

My iPhone 4 contract was up for upgrade. I considered the new iPhone 5, but felt no real need to upgrade. At the same time, I didn't want to pay $30 per month for the mandatory data plan because I'm on Wi-Fi 95% of the time either at home or the office. I was paying $30 for the privilege of having access to Verizon's network, not the actual usage. Besides, at least $20 out of the $30 probably was going to pay off the phone subsidy Verizon paid Apple.

The solution: Cut off the data plan. Use the iPhone 4 as a glorified iPod. Add a Skype number. I now have the same service as before 95% of the time for under $6 a month. Upgrade (actually, downgrade) to a basic-phone like the Adamant for voice and texting outside the Wi-Fi zones.

The Adamant is such a smart product. It's truly adequate for daily use. It's smartly laid out. It looks and feels like a Blackberry with half the thickness. Typing is so much easier on it than a virtual keyboard. Why couldn't Samsung, LG or RIMM itself produce a good basic-phone like this? I'm sure they could, but they probably didn't so that the consumer would lament the lack of good basic-phones and buy a smartphone sold at a huge mark-up. Now all my children want to ditch their LG QWERTY-keyboard basic-phones and get this slick Blackberry look-alike. Way to go, ZTE!

Two add'l comments: First, many reviewers complained about button delay. I had a Blackberry 8703e for years. It had longer delays than the Adamant. In my opinion, the Adamant is slightly faster than Blackberry models from 5 to 6 years ago. That's pretty good for a basic-phone. Second, in order to downgrade from a smartphone, you need to download the VZ Contact Transfer app and back up the address book BEFORE you activate the new phone.

DO NOT BUY FROM WIREFLY! pros &cons August 13, 2012

Reviewer:  marlene 

I really do like this phone so much!
1. looks like a blackberry
2. doesn't require a data plan
3. personalized ringtones for contacts
4. instant reply on message
5. isn't a touch screen phone

What i really hated about it!
1. not durable/cheap only lasted me 2 months, fell once making a call and the screen went white (got it replaced)
2. camera button is slow
3. loading screens for contacts, messages, pictures, etc.
4. nothing special about the features
5. calls always get dropped

not quite what I expected March 13, 2012

Reviewer:  cmashley333 

This phone is ok as far as phones go. Keypad buttons are small and numbers/symbols are difficult for us older folks to see without difficulty. Display is nice and big though. It's got a slim design, making it easy to slip into a pocket. There is a bit of lag at times, especially when turning on the camera. I have to hit the camera button at least twice to get it into shoot mode. I also wanted to point out that Amazon describes this phone as having zoom on the camera. I'm somewhat tech savvy and I have yet to find that capability.

Best feature phone on Verizon October 1, 2012

Reviewer:  Ketter A. Tubbs "kat"  (hilo,hi) -

This phone use to be sold on Verizon but within a week they took it off the site. IMO I believe the reason is because this is actually a very reliable phone in comparison to the horrible basic phones that Verizon sells. They purposely sell you bad basic phones as a strategy to get you on a outrageous smartphone plan, which is just plain nasty. When i purchased this phone I was very pleased with its overall look and feel, it felt and looked like a Blackberry phone. People complaining about the inaccurate time usually happens when your on roaming or traveling from country to country etc. With that said, I personally never had a problem with the time nor the speed of the actual phone. I think as long as you stay within your coverage the time should be fine. The buttons work perfect! its not too small at all! the size is very reasonable and I haven't had a single texting error on this phone, but of course I'm a young college student with perfect 20/20 vision and is use to texting on small buttons...lol. In conclusion this is a very reliable phone and is literally IMO the best basic phone you can get instead of the laggy/buggy basic Samsung,LG,and Pantech phones that Verizon sells.

Good Pfonh September 25, 2012

Reviewer:  Swan 

`I like this phone because it does have similar properties to the Blackberry, which I had prior to this phone.
`The keyboard is easy to use, my fingers slip sometimes and hit the wrong keys, but still works well.
`It is very lighty weight, and small. I mean for the size that it is, it is a nice compact size.
`The main complaint I have with the phone is the lag time. When you are typing, or navigating away from a screen it will slow down, and freeze for a second. It is not too bad if you are willing to wait for a few seconds to continue what you are doing.
`It also is a basic phone, so the features of the calander are not amazing. It is very basic and you can enter things in, but if they are ina sequence and you want to remove one of the occurances, you end up deleting all of the events.
`The background is customizable, except on the lock screen.
`The speed dials are numbers only, unlike the blackebrry where you could designate each letter to a person
`The volumn on the phone is good.

Overall I like this phone, the lag is the worst part, but I am never in that big of a hurry to do anything. I have only had the phone for 3 days. And I love the fact that it is a basic phone that still has a decent appearance.

Button Delay July 11, 2012

Reviewer:  Keith Fong  (Sacramento, CA USA) -

I've had this product for more than a month, and I must say that it is quite cumbersome to use. Every time I press a key, I am forced to wait until the phone responds. For example, it takes more than two seconds after clicking the 'Messages' key for the phone to respond. This forces me to wait 3x longer than normal in order to send a text message. Dialing is also delayed. It's almost as if the phone doesn't have enough RAM to run its own operating system.

In the end, unless you don't mind running a phone that functions like Windows 95 from the 1990s, purchase a different phone.

Just what I was looking for... A stylish basic phone. December 20, 2012

Reviewer:  LivMort29 

I've had this phone for almost 6 months now and I love it. The keys look small but I have absolutely no trouble at all typing on it, and it's a lot easier to use than any touchscreen keypad I've ever tried. I have unlimited talk and text but would rather not pay for a data plan so I wanted a stylish phone with a full keyboard and this was it. I love the look of a blackberry with the keyboard in front... most people actually think this phone is a blackberry. With my upgrade it cost me $0.01 including free shipping, I activated it myself, and I couldn't be happier. One review of this phone included a complaint about the lack of a lock button but the phone in fact does have one. If you look at the space bar of the phone's keyboard you'll see a tiny padlock symbol that, when held down for about 3 seconds, will lock the phone's keypad. Not too hard to figure out really, and I haven't butt-dialed anyone so far. The sound quality on the phone is also very very good. I suggest this phone to anyone who doesn't want to bother with an unnecessary and pricey data plan but who still wants a good-looking, easy-to-use, and text-friendly cellphone.

Pretty amazing August 27, 2012

Reviewer:  VZW Adamant 

I bought this phone about three months ago, I like it a lot, call quality is great and the battery life as well. The keyboards my favorite part personally. Sometimes my "C" key doesn't work as planned whih is why I gave it four stars. I went from a Samsung Glyde to this phone and I gotta say, this phone is a million times better than that piece of junk.

A Great Little Phone!!! May 11, 2012

Reviewer:  Gregory P. Skibo "BigBrownBear"  (Bearland, USA) -

It really is a great little phone. Total Chinese ripoff of a BlackBerry, but it's well made, and very functional. Super easy to set up, inasmuch as it doesn't give you a whole lot of options to choose from. Still, I can talk, text, send and receive emails, and receive Twitter feed. Very good sound quality, both receiving and sending. People have already told me how clear and distinct my voice is on this phone. Had a little trouble setting up my Plantronics M20 earpiece, as the instructions weren't helpful in the least, but after a little fiddling and a bunch of Jameson's I got them to auto pair. Naturally, if you want a phone for use other than its original intended purpose, such as for playing video games or watching full feature length movies, then it ain't for you.

simple, sleek, and available at Verizon Gainesville, Fl May 1, 2012

Reviewer:  Vera 

just got this at the Verizon store.
so far, seems simple enough.
I traded in a four year old Verizon LG.
this is a blackberry wanna be and that's just my speed.

Absolutely terrible... July 14, 2012

Reviewer:  Joslin  (Nome, Alaska) -

The only reason I have given this phone two stars is that it has the look and feel of a Blackberry without the added costs of a data plan, etc. Also, the charger port is the same as a Blackberry so charging accessories can be interchanged. That is about as far as the positive goes.

I have had this phone for two months after a VZW associate conned me into believing that it was a good phone. "I have personally used this phone and have absolutely no problems," were her exact words.

THIS PHONE IS A PIECE OF TRASH!

The clock is CONSTANTLY off, and not by a standard hour or a couple of minutes, but something obscure. Yesterday, when it was actually 7:15 pm here the phone magically decided it was 10:57pm and would not change back even after I turned it off and back on. That is probably the most frustrating thing of all. I am a college student and I rely on an accurate clock on my phone to use the alarm clock and calendar features. I would rather it not even have those features if it is just going to be wrong all the time!

Also, the system takes FOREVER to do a basic function, like opening the contacts list or deleting text messages. I have timed the phone on deleting text messages and at one point it took 2.5 hours to delete roughly 60 messages that I had and I was unable to use the phone until it was finished. That brings me to another point, you cannot receive a call or text while you are trying to send one and vice versa. If someone is trying to send you a message, your message or call will not be made. It is most frustrating when this phone is supposed to be comparable to something like the Pantec Jest. NOT EVEN CLOSE.

I am about to break down and just have my old Pantec Jest reactivated because this, my friends, isn't even good for a paper weight.

**Edited** IMMEDIATELY after writing this review, the time changed from the correct 10:49 pm to 11:17 am. Also, I forgot to mention that this phone's camera is crap and does NOT have zoom like the product details says.

It's okay at first... April 10, 2012

Reviewer:  Katie 

I have had this phone since winter break in january. Honestly , I would like a different phone . at the beginning, the phone was great ! it had a nice battery life, good keyboard, big screen. Now, I have a dust build-up in my screen, it's frozen about 3 times, and the clear button on the keyboard itself stopped working . Now, this could just be my phone malfunctioning, but I'm not too sure. I love the phone, no doubt about it. But I got this phone to get away from the freezing and the buttons not working on my env3.. not to continue the same problems.

As I said, it just might be the one phone itself. I would get the same phone as a replacement again, but if the same problems kept occuring, I would just get a different phone.

If you wanna try the phone out, go ahead . I don't guarantee that it will end up having the same problems as mine, but it could possibly happen.

Overall, long battery life, big screen, the buttons are easy to use, it's very slim and fits into pockets easily, and it looks like a blackberry! how much better can one phone get?

I personally love this phone, although I have some minor issues to deal with.

not dependable July 10, 2012

Reviewer:  B. Egan "bread maker"  (Sisters, Oregon) -

I have had this phone for three months and have finally stopped using it. I got very tired of phone calls being dropped for no reason, and having the sound quality change without warning. I liked the phone except for one major flaw: would not maintain a connection. Very frustrating to have to call back people after my phone has dropped the connection.

basic...very basic March 30, 2013

Reviewer:  JG 

As someone else mentioned, VERY low memory. It can only hold a few text messages at a time before asking you to delete them. The TEXT itself on the screen is very large, but the actual buttons are TINY. The "alarm only" feature does not actually turn off the vibrations of text messages or phone calls. If there is an incoming text, you will not be able to send your own text at the same time. Sometimes messages arrive about 20 minutes later. I wouldn't recommend this unless you really don't want a data plan, in which case this is fine.

Complete garbage March 28, 2013

Reviewer:  HoorayBeer 

Absolutely awful phone. I feel like a took a major step back in terms of phone technology. The crappy thing can only hold like 45 messages (What is this 1996?), it's constantly turning off and me, it can't read the memory card I have, and half the time I set the alarm it doesn't even go off! Avoid this phone at all costs. I feel more taken advantage of than a drunk girl on prom night. Verizon BLOWS!

ZTE Adamant March 27, 2013

Reviewer:  Joe 

I received this phone for my birthday, and the reception on the phone is wonderful. The texting is great. The best part is that there is a feature where one can look at the previous texts one composes and one receives. You will not be disappointed if you purchase this cell phone. 5 stars (*****)!