Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been using this phone for a few days now and here are the pros and cons. PROS: - Inexpensive - Awesome flexible plans with no contract, you can switch between plans to fit your needs on monthly basis. - Attractive design & compact size - Good speed, not the slowest nor the fastest, somewhere in between (as May 2011) - No blowware installed, good job Boost Mobile - Clear sound for phone calls & decent music player - Durable, I've dropped it a couple of times from waist height in parking lot and it barely shows any dents. Cons - Fixed focus low res cam (2MP) no LED. It takes OK pics in a good lighting environment, video quality is unusable. My biggest issue is that it CAN'T read standard bar code, due to it's fixed focal lens. But it reads QR code without any problem. - CDMA network covers less area than GSM network in the US. Most of countries in the world is using GSM network, so it won't work outside of US. - SIM card embedded, that means it can only be used on Boost Mobile network, maybe Sprint...BTW, Boost Mobile is using Sprint's network. You can't transfer contacts from your SIM card phone easily. - Screen resolution. It's not really a con, but it might be if you're used to hi end smart phones. It's the same resolution as 2gen ipod touch. - Battery, this is an issue with all smart phones. - Tiny Internal Memory, it is a big negative. Especially when navigation app downloads maps to its internal memory. Sometimes I have to delete some apps to make room for maps.(see my 1 year update at the bottom) Overall, I highly recommend it for causal users. Check out its coverage in your area before hand though. Things you would need to buy, if you plan to use this phone. - Micro SDHC, 2/3 of its internal RAM is occupied by OS and others. 2GB Micro SDHC that came with the phone is not going to be enough for most people. Make sure you get the Class 6 or above version of Micro SDHC. It makes noticeable difference in speed. - Car charger, they're not all the same. The main difference is how much power the charger provides. If you get one that provides minimum power, then your phone won't be charging much while the phone is using GPS & 3G for navigation. Motorola Vehicle Power Adapter micro-USB Rapid Rate Charger This seems to be a good one. - extra battery, if you're always on the phone. Tips for new Android phone users, especially entry level phone like this one. - Read app's permission carefully. When installing an app, it will tell you what data on your phone it is accessing. Many "free" apps are collecting info in the background, often they collect info that has nothing to do with its function. This is not just a privacy issue, it also slows down the phone and drain its battery. If you're experiencing slow response and really bad battery issue, then it's probably because there are too many apps running in the background. These kind of apps send collected info periodically via wifi/3G, which is a major battery drainer. Get a Task Killer app, it lets you kill apps that run in the background. A general rule, stay away from apps that is accessing data has nothing to do with its function. For example, a workout app that wants to access phone's contact list and reads phone account info. You know it's data mining your phone for marketing purpose. Update: there is a work around for scanning bar code at book store. Google has an app called Shopper or Google Shopper. It can scan a book or CD/DVD cover from phone's camera and do a price search, an amazing app. Amazon App store gives away a pay app for free everyday, sweet! 6/28/2011: Apparently Boost Mobile's 10 cent/minute Pay as You Go plan is not available to this phone yet. But $50/month unlimited everything is still the best deal by far. Most of 4G data & phone plans from major carriers costs around $80 + tax & fees = $90/month, plus you lock in for two years. Sure, you get the latest smartphone with 4G speed for "free", but it's not free at all. Here's the math, you pay $40 more per month with other carriers' plan. So $40 x 24 months = $960, this does not include the Shrinkage discount. You have to ask yourself if 4G speed & latest smartphone is worth of $1000 more. Lastly, government charges tax & fee when you setup automatic payment to pay Boost Mobile account (it makes no sense whatsoever, but government wants more money). To avoid that, you have to put money in your account via reboost card each month manually. Luckily, you can buy electronic reboost card from major online store. They will email you the reboost code, then you just copy and paste it to your boost mobile account via website. 9/13/2011: I've been using this phone for a few months now, and had no major issue until a couple days ago when I installed Pandora app. All hell broke loose after that, the phone froze up every couple hours. The phone works fine after uninstalled Pandora. Other than that, the I'm pretty happy with it. Remember to keep it lean, the more apps you add to it, the slower it gets. 6/16/2012, the final update: I've been using this phone over a year now. Beside Making phone call, I don't do a lot with this phone other than navigation, texting and emailig (rarely). Overall, I'm happy with this phone & service. But I'm downgrading the phone from 4 to 3.5, based on price and hardware specs. The two biggest shortcomings are: 1. Low MP camera, low resolution with a fixed focal length makes it almost useless. 2. Internal Memory, even though I don't download and use many apps; I still need to delete some apps to make room for navigation map. As today, there are other Android phones with better hardware specs in the price range of 120-150. In the same price range, you can get mid range Windows Phone 7 device due to lack of its popularity. I just switched from Android to Windows Phone 7 today, because I rely heavily on MS Outlook and Onenote on my PC. Plus I really don't like how Google scans every Gmail,Gtask,GCalendar..etc for marketing purpose. Not to mention GPS tracking on your Android, it's getting out of control in my opinion. Anyways, Boots Mobile doesn't support Windows Phone 7 devices yet and I want to stay with a prepaid service. Luckily Straight Talk wireless(a branch of Tracfone)offers BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) prepaid plan at $45.00/month. BYOD works with most of GSM phones, and the phone doesn't need to be unlocked. So your current ATT & TMobile phone would work on StraightTalk BYOD plan. Things you need to know about StraightTalk: 1. No roaming, that means you HAVE TO change your phone number if you move to an area outside of registered area for more than a few weeks. 2. No streaming and tethering via 3G/4G. Even thought they call it Unlimited Data plan, there is a cap, most people thinks it's 2GB/month. You'll get a warning for going over it, your service will be terminated if you keep going over the limit. You will LOOSE your phone number. Read their TOA carefully. 3. In order to make all of your smart phone's functions works on BYOD plan, you need to input some phone settings. It's pretty straight forward, but might be a bit challenge for some. Boost Mobile Shrinkage offers the best deal for casual users in the the long run. They now have a good selection of Android phones. If you're in the market for a prepaid Windows phone, StraightTalk BYOD is the only solution for now. Sorry if I don't reply your questions, I share what I know on this subject and don't check the comments often. It has been a pleasant experience with Boost Mobile and Android, cheers.