gadget: May 2007 Archives

It was time to upgrade the old cell phone. I'm still as surprised as I was then that they haven't been forced to close the terrorist loophole and still allow you to maintain anonymous use of a cell phone. Wonders never cease.

The payment plan is still the same too. Pay as you go, and only $20 every 90 days. Since they use the Sprint network the coverage is decent.

I wandered into Best Buy and by chance this phone was on sale so I only paid $20 for it. It's not the highest quality phone -- it has that "plastic-y" feel to it -- but what do you expect for $20? It seems sturdy enough that it won't fall apart, and the buttons have a good tactile feel. The display is pretty impressive for its size too.

I had read some reviews critical of the battery life, but as far as I can tell, it uses the same battery as the Kyocera K9 and while not impressive, it is tolerable. I end up charging it about every three days -- and that's with turning the phone off every night.

It's a pretty solid phone, and a sweet service deal. I don't see how you can beat it, if you are the type of person that only uses their phone occasionally.

[Update: April 2008] The LCD on this phone is now growing a cancer of bright orange pixels that keep spreading right in the middle of the display. If this continues, the display will eventually be completely orange, and the phone will be useless. I guess it's good I only paid twenty bucks for it.