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Screen

The Light's 4-inch screen is a smidge bigger than the outgoing Exhibit's 3.8-inch screen, but it has the same 800 x 480 resolution. It's a decent screen, but it doesn't set my heart aflutter. My eyes have been spoiled by full HD screens, which leaves the Light's display looking hazy and cramped to me. There's no question that on-screen elements lack sharpness and fine detail. Colors look good, though, and it is certainly bright enough for use indoors and out. Keep in mind that you need to clean the glass, especially when headed out.

Signal

The Light supports T-Mobile's LTE network, but it wasn't that great at connecting to it. The Light didn't have any trouble with T-Mobile's HSPA network; it consistently connected and pushed through most calls on the first dial in even the worst coverage conditions. Data speeds over HSPA were pretty good. Despite being tested in an area with solid LTE coverage, the Light bounced back and forth between LTE and HSPA when other T-Mobile devices remained attached to the LTE network in the same spot. Further, the Light is very susceptible to signal attenuation when gripped tightly around the middle. In other words, I found the phone had more trouble connecting calls when my hand was wrapped all the way around it. If you hold the sides with just your fingertips, it seems to work better. You can see the signal drop when you hold the phone. (This issue is common to many phones, but the Light seems to suffer more than average.)

Sound

Calls sounded very good through the Light's earpiece. Voices came through loud and clear. I was easily able to hold conversations in noisy stores while holiday shopping. Only the loudest shrieking from nearby kids was able to overcome the earpiece. Those with whom I spoke through the Light said I sounded very good, too. The speakerphone also works quite well. I would have preferred a bit more volume, but the clarity and tone of calls was worth the lower volume. It performed best when placed on a flat, hard surface. The ringers and alert tones were loud enough for most environments, but the vibrate alert is pretty weak. I missed a few calls because I couldn't feel the Light vibrate in my pocket when out and about.

The Light supports T-Mobile's Wi-Fi calling, which lets you conduct voice calls over your home wireless network. As far as I am concerned, there was no difference in the quality of calls when comparing those made over the cellular network and those made via Wi-Fi. They were equally good.

Battery

The Light packs an 1,800mAh battery that gives it enough power to get through most days. If I unplugged the device at 7AM, it generally lasted until about 10PM with moderate use. Heavy use had an obvious impact, as I was able to drain the battery by 7PM on several occasions. Most people should be able to get through a full day with the Light, but it wouldn't hurt to have a spare charger available at the office or in your car.

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