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Pantech Breakout review
That pool looks cool and refreshing, and all of the kids are having the time of their lives. Problem is, it's in an exclusive club, leaving you to stare at it longingly from the opposite side of a chainlink fence. We know the feeling, and it ain't fun -- yet, the state of LTE in the US over the last year has had just a pinch of elitism due to its high cost of entry and exclusion from most rural areas. Devices running on the near-miraculous speeds haven't exactly been cheap, with handsets like the Samsung Droid Charge and Motorola Droid Bionic at an asking price of $250 to $300 on contract. Needless to say, lots of customers have felt the underlying feeling of inadequacy because their wallets may come up a Benjamin or two short. The Pantech Breakout is the fifth phone in Verizon's LTE lineup, and the first clear departure from the piggy bank-busting prices that its predecessors command. With Big Red boasting a 4G lineup full of monotonous 4.3-inch behemoths, we've been anxiously awaiting something different. Something -- anything -- that could likely appease a different set of customers eager to take advantage of this speedy network. The 4-inch Breakout certainly is capable of appealing to a wider demographic, but with an uncharacteristically low $100 price tag with a two-year commitment, does it ooze cheapness or is it a fair bargain? Follow us after the break to find out. %Gallery-135265%
Mobile Miscellany: week of September 19, 2011
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of September 19, 2011: Opera Software, builder of the popular mobile browser, announced it was acquiring Handster, an app store platform that supports Android, WP7, BlackBerry, and Symbian. [TechCrunch] Samsung unveiled three new HSDPA feature phones destined for India: the Champ 3.5G (S3770), Primo (S5610) and Chat 527 (S5270). [UnwiredView and SammyHub] A leaked image indicates the HTC Hero S will be coming to US Cellular in the near future. The device appears to be the Kingdom, and is expected to feature a 1.2GHz single-core Qualcomm CPU, 768MB of RAM, a 4-inch qHD display and Gingerbread. [PocketNow] Speaking of US Cellular, the Motorola Electrify officially became available for purchase online this week (expected in stores on September 26th), and can be yours for $200 after a $100 mail-in rebate. [AndroidCentral] Wirefly accidentally outed press renders of the Samsung Stratosphere -- on the retailer's Pantech Breakout page. The images have since been removed. [OwenJohnston] A white version of the Samsung Galaxy S II is making the rounds in the UK, but we learned this week that Bell Canada will be launching it well before the holidays. Interestingly, the device in the image (seen above) has retained the international version's three-button layout. [MobileSyrup] Among the barrage of new phones Sprint's releasing on October 2nd is the BlackBerry Curve 9350, according to another leaked employee memo. The price will likely be $80 after a $50 mail-in rebate. [CrackBerry] T-Mobile MVNO Simple Mobile announced a new unlimited prepaid plan for BlackBerry devices for $60 / month, which includes access to T-Mo's HSPA+ network. [N4BB] Huawei appears to have outed press images of the Honor, which is said to have a 4-inch FWVGA LCD, Gingerbread, 1.4GHz CPU (no specifics known yet), and an 8MP rear camera accompanied by a front-facing cam (again, no details on the resolution here). [EuroDroid] A member of the iPhone Dev Team has released a new version of Redsn0w, its popular iOS jailbreaking software, known as 0.9.9b1. Check the link to get the full list of new features. [Technobolt]
Pantech Breakout now available to bring LTE to the light-walleted
An LTE handset on Verizon's network that doesn't feature a 4.3-inch display or a price tag that starts with a two or a three? Why, that would be the Pantech Breakout. The latest 4G phone on Big Red has finally been welcomed into the fold, available and ready to persuade more people to experience blazing-fast mobile broadband without frantically digging themselves out of debt. To recap, the Breakout features Android 2.3, a 1GHz single-core CPU and 512MB of RAM, 5 megapixel rear camera accompanied by a VGA front-facing cam and 720p HD video capture, a 4-inch WVGA (800 x 480) TFT LCD and a 1,500mAh juicepack. Worth a Benjamin? You make the call.
Pantech Breakout finally does just that, available from Verizon starting September 22nd
Adding to Verizon's ever-expanding selection of LTE phones, Pantech's Breakout will be its first sub-$100 LTE handset, sneaking into the mix at $99.99 on a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate. After an in-the-wild spot, the Breakout finally looks set to arrive on September 22nd -- a date that may sound pretty familiar. For the price, it still packs that LTE punch, and the ability to act as a mobile hotspot for up to ten devices. Compared to its pricier Verizon stablemates, the Thunderbolt and the Droid Bionic, the Breakout has a smaller 4-inch screen, but runs on a respectable 1GHz processor. There's also a 5 megapixel camera at the back capable of 720 HD video capture, and a VGA cam up front. LTE for less -- it's here.
Pantech Breakout shows its darling face in the wild
The Pantech Breakout, Verizon's least-hyped LTE phone this side of the Droid Bionic, has seen a fair amount of time splayed out on paper without getting its fair share of closeups. This has finally changed, however, now that Droid-Life was able to get its hands on true-blue images of the device. It appears to be a unit that's already arrived in a Verizon retail outlet, lending credence to the rumor that the 4-inch Android handset will be available for our purchase next week. Unfortunately, Verizon's still acting as if the phone doesn't exist, so we'll just have to strum our fingers on the desk for (hopefully) just a few more days to see if it'll get acknowledged.
Pantech Breakout to make its LTE debut September 22nd?
With a powerhouse like the Motorola Droid Bionic now lodged firmly on Verizon's 4G lineup, we're not expecting very many folks to be downright impressed by the Pantech Breakout. The latest offering on Big Red's LTE network appears to be ready for its emergence in a week. The folks over at Droid-Life not only got their hands on a full spec sheet of the device, they also have come across the user manual, available for download at the source link. It looks like the Breakout will offer a 4-inch WVGA display, Gingerbread, a 1GHz single-core CPU, 512MB of RAM, a 1,500mAh battery and a 5MP rear camera paired up with a VGA front-facing video chat cam. No pricing is mentioned, though Pantech has a track record of being a budget manufacturer, so we're thinking this is aimed directly at the lower end of the LTE price spectrum. If all goes this doc's way, we'll be seeing the new device on September 22nd. Who's in?
Verizon's Pantech Breakout rendered, is four inches of LTE goodness
Verizon's LTE lineup will soon be expanding like a balloon. With this week's launch of the Motorola Droid Bionic and eventual release of the Samsung Stratosphere and LG Revolution 2, 4G shoppers will soon have options aplenty to choose from; why not throw another one into the mix? The LTE-enabled Pantech Breakout -- which passed through the FCC as the Apache -- now has some higher-quality renders, courtesy of PocketNow. While most of the phone's specs are in line with the HTC Thunderbolt and Samsung Droid Charge, it differs by offering a smaller 4-inch WVGA display, Pantech's custom Android UI and a 10-device mobile hotspot. There's still no word on pricing or release date, though we were expecting to see the device come out last week; we can't think of many people completely devastated by the delay, but it will at least provide much-needed variety to Verizon's arguably stale 4G setup.
Mobile Miscellany: week of August 22, 2011
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of August 15, 2011: Phone Releases Fido launched the Samsung Galaxy Q, also known as the Gravity Smart in the US, on Thursday. [via MobileSyrup] The BlackBerry Curve 9360 can already be purchased on Telus for $50 with a three-year contract, and the Torch 9860 will be available on August 30th. [via IntoMobile and CrackBerry] SouthernLINC Wireless announced the immediate availability of the Motorola Titanium, offered for $150 with a two-year commitment. T-Mobile released the Samsung Gravity TXT, a basic messaging phone that's on sale for $10. [via UnwiredView] Cricket has begun offering a new messaging phone called the Samsung Comment, which offers a full QWERTY keyboard, stereo bluetooth, a microSD slot and 1.3MP camera. It can be had for $90 with no commitment required. [via PhoneScoop] Other news The government of South Korea, in reaction to Google's planned acquisition of Motorola, now intends to form a consortium of local companies that will work together in building a brand new mobile operating system. [via IntoMobile] Randall Milch, Chief Counsel for Verizon, is so frustrated with the patent wars going on that this week he filed an appeal to President Obama, asking for him to provide assistance in the matter. [via PhoneScoop] The Motorola PRO is expected to debut in the UK in mid-September, though pre-orders are already taking place at select authorized resellers. [via UnwiredView] Leaked posters indicate the BlackBerry Torch 9850 will be offered by Verizon and screenshots show the same phone going to US Cellular, though we're still unsure of the release date or pricing. [via CrackBerry(1) and (2)] Last week we reported on the rumored Sony Ericsson Nozumi, a smartphone that will likely feature a 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm S2 CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, and 4.3-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution. At the time, it was assumed to be only selling in Japan; however, there's a good possibility the Nozumi will end up available globally instead. [via XperiaBlog] Pantech's LTE phone on Verizon may actually end up being called the Breakout (rather than the "Apache"), according to a leaked screenshot. When released, it'll feature a 1GHz CPU with 512MB of RAM, dual cameras, and will be preloaded with Gingerbread. Not much to write home about at this stage in the game, considering these are incredibly similar to the specs of the LG Revolution. However, it would be the first 4G phone on Big Red that has a 4-inch display. [via AndroidCentral] T-Mobile may be planning to throw a data pay-per-use feature onto any smartphone that currently has its internet access blocked. If this happens, it will affect current customers as well as new ones. [via TmoNews] Dish has petitioned the FCC for permission to use 40MHz of allocated spectrum to begin building out an LTE-Advanced network. [via PhoneScoop]
Pantech Apache hits the FCC with Verizon LTE
Long-Term Evolution is a party and everyone is invited, but we weren't expecting Pantech to show up so early. Yet the Pantech ADR8995, bearing the name "Apache" as its FCC ID, just made its way through the halls of the Federal Communications Commission -- with LTE band 13 and CDMA in tow. This particular combination of bands, of course, is currently in use by Verizon, which gives us free reign to put two and two together here. The Apache's already received WiFi and Bluetooth certification, the latter identifying it as an Android with North American availability. We can't say with a surety that it will actually be the next 4G device to show up on Big Red (after the Droid Bionic, of course), nor that it will even earn a spot in the hallowed lineup, but things are positively looking up. Whether it shows up or not, it's about time more guests come around and suck down a few cocktails. %Gallery-130538%
