Pantech Breakout Review
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Even though the Pantech Breakout isn’t the highest price 4G smartphone, it is nice to see that it still comes with Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread out of the box. Swiping between the 7 home screens is quick and easy with no delay. When you press on the small circles at the top of the screen, it shows you a carrousel preview of all the homescreens that you can move around in a circular fashion. At the bottom of the homescreens are four static icons for accessing the phone, contacts, messaging, and apps. When going into the app drawer, you swipe though it side-to-side, instead of scrolling up-and-down, but all the apps are listed alphabetically and you can even change the background between 18 pre-loaded images.
One thing that we were surprised by is that the Breakout has four different desktop modes, similar to the “scenes” on HTC Sense UI phones, though not as advanced. It allows you to save your current mode, or select from default, communication, media, and empty. We were also pleased by the good selection of desktop widgets, including a task manager, memo pad, event notification, weather, music, social net, clock, contacts, calendar, bookmarks, email, and web. When you press on one of them (such as the weather), it will show the different sizes that it can be when placed on the home screen.
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The Pantech Breakout comes with Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread out of the box | |||
Phonebook, Messaging and Organizer:
Accessing your contacts is pretty straight forward, but by default it only displays contacts that are stored in the phone or ones from your Google account. You will have to manually install the Facebook app and have it sync all contacts, so that they will show up in your main contacts list. One nice addition that Pantech includes is the Social Net app, which comes with its own desktop widget. You can have it sync to your Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace accounts, where it will automatically show your friend’s current posts in the widget, or you can enter in a message to be posted to your wall.
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The Contacts app | |||
For messaging, there is the standard app for sending and receiving text and picture messages, an email app for your POP and IMAP accounts, and a Mobile IM app for connecting to your AIM, Windows Live and Yahoo! buddy lists. There is also the GMail app for accessing that account separately.
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Gmail | Virtual keyboard |
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Organizer apps | |||
Internet and Connectivity:
Naturally, one of the main features of the Pantech Breakout is that it can use Verizon’s 4G LTE data network. First off, for standard web browsing we were able to fully load the PhoneArena.com web site (including all Flash content) in about 40 seconds, compared to only 25 seconds on the Motorola DROID BIONIC and HTC ThunderBolt, 27 seconds with the LG Revolution, and 30 seconds with the Samsung Droid Charge.
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Web surfing with the Pantech Breakout | |||
Next, we used the SpeedTest.net app and were able to get downloads of 7Mbps and uploads of almost 6Mbps on the Breakout. This is about average to what the HTC ThunderBolt and Samsung Droid Charge would also get, though the Motorola DROID BIONIC got downloads of 9Mbps and uploads of 6Mbps.
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The SpeedTest.net app |
Considering its lower price, the Breakout does OK for use with Verizon’s 4G LTE network, though its web page rendering times are a bit lagging. Naturally, you can also connect the Breakout to 3G EVDO and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n as well.
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10 Comments
1. BreakOUT (unregistered) posted on 06 Oct 2011, 13:25 0 0
This is a phenominal phone for the price. It may not have some of the super high end features of the Bionic or Thunderbolt, but it is still a very solid phone. For this price, you cannot go wrong. As for battery life, from my experience, it has above average battery life for a LTE device...
4. Joshing4fun posted on 08 Oct 2011, 13:42 0 0
This phone is just as good as the other single-core LTE phones. Not sure how, or why it's hundreds of dollars cheaper. They all offer practically identical specs.
10. kutiepie45 posted on 15 Nov 2011, 14:50 0 0
how's the service... great, average, poor, or inbetween some of these.
im still looking for my first cell phone... i want to make a good one or ill go back to the old fashioned snail mail. LoL
6. drjoe360 (unregistered) posted on 10 Oct 2011, 20:34 0 0
Is there anybody out there who has purchased a hands free, voice activated car kit for the Breakout? Verizon sold me a Motorola droid roadster. After many hours spent at the East Lansing, MI Verizon store, Motorola and Pantech tech support ( actually for both it would be non tech, non support. No help what so ever.), a trip to Best Buy concluded that voice commands, voice dialing could not be done with the Roadster. The Best Buy tech then tried the Roadster with his Motorola smart phone. Bingo! Everything worked fine; voice commands and dialing were great.
Motorola couldn't/wouldn't make a recommendation. Pantech couldn't say if there was a car kit that was completely compatible with the Breakout ( "liability issue" ). What? You have to be kidding me!
So, has anyone bought a hands free, voice activated device that fits on the car visor that really works.
7. jabo (unregistered) posted on 11 Oct 2011, 14:41 0 0
To drjoe,
Why not just simply get a universal car mount for the breakout and use the breakouts external speakers. You can download the car dashboard app (or some name like that) and whenever you get a call it goes straight to the speakerphone on the phone. That's what I do...in the car anyway. Much simpler and free vs using an additional bluetooth kit. Also for your voice command purposes all you have to do is hold in the magnifying glass for a couple seconds and wait for voice program to initiate.
8. drjoe360 posted on 11 Oct 2011, 18:36 0 0
To jabo,
What you say makes very good sense but I still prefer to have a separate hands free, voice activated device. I don't want to have anything to do with the Breakout cell phone while driving. So I ask again: Has anyone found a hands free, voice activation car kit that truly does everything? The more time I spend on this, the more I feel there is NO solution. I also feel there will be a major hassle with Verizon to return both devices and start over by opening boxes of smart phones and car kits until a combination of devices is found that truly does everything as advertized.
Is there a solution that doesn't require taking the phone back?
9. k321 (unregistered) posted on 15 Oct 2011, 13:02 0 0
To drjoe
try the plantronics bluetooth speakerphone car kit
11. client9 posted on 27 Nov 2011, 16:54 0 0
I just purchased this phone, and when texting in Swype mode, I cannot type the letter \"d\" without closing the text box and being unable to text any more words. wtf! I just purchased this phone. I have rebooted, cleared cookies and ended all apps. Please help.
12. me222 posted on 05 Feb 2012, 11:41 0 0
this phone is junk if you do get one dont plan on buying ringtones music or for that matter take any pic that u want to keep there is a problem with the sd card it just removes all ur stuff the phone rebootesits self at least 10 times a day seem to have good bat life and thats about it
13. Droidiot posted on 04 Sep 2012, 00:22 0 0
Stay away from this phone. Its cheap for a reason. Nothing but problems with it after the forced update upon activation. I am on my second one and second SIM card in 4 months. Verizon admits that there is a known problem with this phone after the forced update.
consistant problems:
1) Drops connectivity anytime anywhere. Majority of time I have to pull the battery to reboot it and the connection comes back. When it does find 4g it downshifts to 3g the moment I start on the internet
2) Instead of pulling the battery I justtap in on a counter and it reboots by itself. And I mean justtap it.
3) Stock music player locks up almost everytime its opened.
4) Buttons are located in the spots you hold it. Drives me nuts when you hand the phone to someone and they hit them on accident. Everytime.
5) It eats stock batterys
6) Work picked this phone for me, not my choice. My Previuos Droid Global 2 was great!
Good points:
1) maildroid app works great
2)screen brightness is good
3) Takes very good pictures
4) extended life battery is ok
Hoping to dump it soon. But I would never buy a Pantech style phone again. Pay the extra money and get a more stabiler platform and better quality phone.
Sorry but I am very unhappy with it.
Dajimber
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