A really great entry into Android January 15, 2013

Reviewer:  J. Haggard  (Nashville, TN) -

I am an android fan, I had an Apple iPhone 3G, then moved to Android on the Galaxy S2 and then to the Galaxy Nexus. All of these are considered "premium" phones and all cost over $200. I say that because the Pantech Flex cost me $0.99 on contract with ATT.

My mother in law is on my family plan and she for the past few years has had an old nokia stick phone. She's loved it but it was in need of replacement. We looked at flip phones, they were at best $20 so when I saw this for less then $1 I questioned it. But while at the store she played with it and I pulled out my nexus and started to search for reviews and everyone seemed to like it! Sure it's not some super powered phone with the latest and greatest specs, but for an entry level device it is really great. The speed of the phone is quick. No noticeable lag when moving between home screens, starting apps, etc. The Pantech skin isn't my favorite, but they have an "easy mode" which is cool which makes the entry into smart phones that much easier so it's great. If you don't want easy mode, turn it off and you are face with still some heavy customization.

Being a geek the first thing I did when we got the phone was went in and did a factory reset to make sure it was as stock as Pantech allows. I was surprised at how many of the customization were gone after the reset, it was more android like.

My mother in law has become a pretty good user at android after the first 24 hours. She can move screens, is downloading apps, playing games. She's mastered the facebook app it appears and really seems to be enjoying it.

This phone may not be for the super fan, those wanting the latest and greatest. But for non-geeks this phone actually is pretty impressive and easy to use. I would recommend it over spending $50-$300 for a phone for someone that just needs the basic smart phone with good specs. If you were doing heavy duty gaming then you probably want a higher end phone, but for the average user this is actually perfect. I'm impressed.

3.5 Stars - A Very Good Phone With a Flawed Camera January 17, 2013

Reviewer:  S M "firepepper red"  (California, USA) -

Pantech Flex

The Pantech Flex is a very good budget Android phone that competes with the higher priced phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the HTC one X. The processor is the latest dual core snapdragon running at 1.5ghz with 1 GB Ram. This may sound like technical jargon but what this means is that the phone will allow you to load even the most demanding apps and the play the latest games without a problem. The screen is very large and vibrant (though not as large and bright as a Galaxy S3) and is readable in most conditions. The only feature that is a disappointment on the phone is the camera which has a slow response time leading to blurry photos in most conditions which is a shame because the video recording is actually very good. Overall the Flex provides a great low priced alternative to the higher end Samsung and HTC phones as long as you can live with its imperfect camera.

*** Positive Points Include: ***

- Fast processor
- Large Screen that is bright and very readable with great touchscreen response
- Front and rear cameras that allow for face to face Skype calls
- Excellent 4g LTE speeds (at least on ATT)
- Very good HD video recording using the back camera
- Very bright flash on the camera that doubles as a flashlight
- Bluetooth 3.0
- Good construction with plastic and metal construction that feels more solid than the all plastic HTC and Samsung phones
- Has an easy mode which is great for older users or those who are not fully tech literate

*** Negative Points Include: ***

- Camera has a slow shutter which makes it difficult to take clear pictures
- No upgrade to Android 4.2 (at least not yet)
- Speaker is monaural and is on the back of the phone so the sound is muffled if you put the phone flat on a table
- 8gb memory is a bit on the low side (though there is a micro sd port)
- No USB or HDMI out like you get on the Samsung Galaxy

Excellent budget phone February 19, 2013

Reviewer:  W. Rios-Maldonado  (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) -

I bought this phone for one of my daughters and activated with Straight Talk (AT&T). The phone itself is very responsive and quite fast. It comes with Android ICS which is fine for my daughter. She was using my old Galaxy S Vibrant, so it is a big leap for her. The screen resolution is decent, the camera takes very nice pictures. It runs on AT&T LTE network and in my area AT&T's network is the fastest and compared with my T-mobile Galaxy S III, download speed for the Pantech is amazing. This is a great economic alternative either with or without a contract.