Great for people who really want no frills September 11, 2012

Reviewer:  nightwish224 

It's great for my grandma. Basic, and has a good feel to it. Bright display for her to see the clock and who's calling. What else could a grandma ask for? It also has the option to announce who's calling when it rings.

*I was disappointed that there's only one ringtone that's loud. However, the one ringtone we picked is VERY loud. Regardless, she likes it.

5/5

It's a tough little phone July 7, 2012

Reviewer:  MaidMarian807 

I got my 1st Gusto in Sept of 2010, and its just now getting replaced. It got dropped, and broke one of the keys so I can't text! Going through withdrawal symptoms!It has survived being dropped and even thrown several times. This time it fell on the end and I guess that is the one place it can't handle being dropped on. I am on a Verizon plan and can upgrade, but I want another phone I can count on which is what the Samsung Gusto is! BTW, my 1st Gusto I bought was on sale at WalMart for $7.88 at the time and had $10.00 airtime on it. I love Verizon!

Decent September 7, 2012

Reviewer:  V. To 

I bought this phone for my cousin to avoid contract or data plan from Verizon. After activated with Verizon 2 days ago, my cousin likes it. Clear speaker sound
strong vibration. We'll see if he's still happy after a year from now.

Not As Good As I Originally Thought October 19, 2012

Reviewer:  JVG  (Lady Lake, FL) -

I purchased this phone at a local Verizon store. Thanks to the extra effort of the Verizon staff I was able to transfer my
cell number from Straight Talk (TracFone) without a long delay. We added this phone as a second line for everyday use. Other network providers were not keen on transferring our number over from TracFone and wanted me to get a new phone number. Our other phone is an Apple iphone 4S. Since we have ready access to a home computer we did not need another Apple or Android phone. I had two choices of a flip phone and chose this phone because the keyboard was easy to read and he had the ICE key for emergency contacts. Although you can access the Internet with this phone it is too slow and the screen is too small for serious users. See my update below

Since writing the original review and using the phone I came across some serious problems. It was past the 14 day trial period so I could not return the phone to the local Verizon Store. Although it indicates that it has Bluetooth it will not
keep the setting on my 2012 Toyota Venza. This also is true of a friend of mine who bought this phone at the same time and it will not pair up in his 2013 BMW. BMW recommended a different model phone for my friend that he purchased on the Internet. The speaker phone distorts the sound. When talking on the phone I sometimes get an echo and get the feedback of my own voice. Since Verizon would not allow an exchange to another phone, I cancelled the service on this phone and will pay the high cancellation fee. This phone will go in the trash. Our Apple Iphone 4S is a good phone but since I plan to leave Verizon I will sell it over the Internet and switch to a different cell phone service with NO contract for that line too.

Amazing basic phone December 23, 2012

Reviewer:  Dahlia 

I needed a cheap phone after moving to Los Angeles and didn't want the hassle of a contract agreement with any of the major carriers.

Got this phone through Verizon Wireless for a flat fee of $50/mo. Unlimited calls, text and mobile web nationwide. This phone has far exceeded my expectations of what it could do. Sure, its functionality harkens back to the era when cellphones just got colored screens and my skills in texting back to T9 format were rusty, however, it's an incredible little phone. The calls are clear, never any dropped signal, and the Mobile Web blew me away. I scoffed the latter as I wasn't sure what "Mobile Web" meant compared to a data plan on current smartphones, but when I realized I could just simply tap my way to get emails, look for updates on Facebook and yes, even use Twitter, it just skyrocketed this phone from simply "cool" to "amazing". Sure it takes maybe thrice as long, especially typing out passwords and email, but it works remarkably well.

I've had it for 4 months and the battery life is incredible. Though I don't use it much, it lasts so long on standby that I always forget when was the last time I charged it (a week? 10 days?). Charging it up doesn't take long maybe 1.5hrs to full battery.

The great thing about this phone is that it won't bend or submit to the plights of current smartphones, where their OS changes every 6-12 months and your apps become incompatible with your phone over time. You won't have trouble with this phone, as it doesn't come with those issues (because it doesn't have any apps) and that's what makes basic phones have an edge over newer smartphones (along with battery life, by a long shot).

Whatever deal you can get with this phone from whichever carrier, get it. On a no-contract basis, even better. If ever needed an emergency phone, this phone would be it.

Durable, Long Battery Life + Clear Calls November 27, 2012

Reviewer:  R. Savini  (GA, United States) -

I have bounced around on prepaid for several years. I had another service with an android phone and when I moved cross country it barely worked. It dropped calls, lost signal, dead spots etc. I know that Verizon's coverage is unmatched, and decided to go back to them via prepaid. $50 unlimited really is great from Vz, considering I still remember back when I was on a Verizon contract with the same style device paying $120! Android was fun a first, however, I did not use the apps and the extras hardly at all. I mainly make calls and send texts. I went with this phone because it was ultra cheap (fifteen bucks at WM; considering it comes with ten bucks free, its a five dollar phone!) and this was a good way for me to try out the Verizon prepaid with little investment. This phone is basic, but its durable and dependable. It has a nice body style with a matte grey, brushed finish. It does not feel cheap and plasticy like other lower end prepaids. The buttons are very large, and there is a shortcut key to messages and voicemail. Texting is tedious with the keypad after using swipe/touch however it gets the job done. The menu icons are large and look older, and prepaid-ish. Where this phone shines is call quality, which is clear as a bell. Stellar signal, no dropped calls or dead spots etc. Also the battery life is amazing. It lasts ages, like a week at least. I think for the price and the Verizon service its a great deal, and overall for a basic flip phone I think its really nice. I think someone older who like large buttons, or someone who mainly wants voice/text would be very happy to own this phone.

Poor Sound Quality; Buggy too November 6, 2012

Reviewer:  Chick Newman 

I had a heck of a time understanding the other person on the Gusto. All high frequency sounds (words with "S") "crackled" and were difficult to make out. e.g. "She sell sea shells my the sea shore"...sound like a lot of "chcchchhccch at the beginning of each word...a nasty static-like sound coming from the ear piece. I was told that maybe I had a bad phone, but I tried another and had the same problem. Interestingly, the person on the other end said he could hear me clearly, so I am guessing the speaker in the ear piece on the gusto was the very lowest quality, and the microphone portion was good.

In addition, the alarm clock doesn't work if you set it for exactly on the hour. For example if I set the alarm for 8:00 am (or 7:00 am...or any other time with 00 minutes), it doesn't work. It has to be set for 7:59 am or 8:01 am. This problem was present on both of the phones I tried so it is definitely a bug. I didn't try all the other applications and features on the phone to see if they were buggy too. All in all, I threw away the phone (which I bought for $20 with no contract...not the $250 price Amazon claims is the price without a contract) and bought a decent LG phone which is orders of magnitude better in sound and features...and reliability.

Super little phone.. May 17, 2013

Reviewer:  P. A. Kettlewell "handyhen"  (Antigo, WI United States) -

Works flawlessly for someone not particularly gifted with phones & electronics. Appears to do exactly what it is touted to do. Battery holds up better than the last model...

keys always stuck April 13, 2013

Reviewer:  jenraqtay87 

this phone was horrible, I bought it new from Verizon had problems right away. the problems were with the texting the keys always stuck it was horrible. verizon replaced it and the new one did the same thing1

Too pricey March 30, 2013

Reviewer:  Tiggerbutterfly 

Who want's to spend $150 on a flip phone with all the touch screen and smart phones that are out. You buy a flip phone when you want something really cheap. Go to EBay. You can get this same phone for about $20 new.