Review: Pantech Breakout for Verizon Wireless
The Pantech Breakout uses Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread with a slight skin treatment from Pantech. Perhaps the best feature is the unlock screen. As other Android handset makers are doing of late, the Pantech Breakout lets you access select phone features directly from the lock screen.
The basic unlock screen has a large circle in the middle with two small buttons, one on each side. Slide the one on the left into the circle to unlock the Breakout, or slide the one on the right to go straight to the speakerphone. There are three other shortcuts at the bottom of the screen to take you directly to the phone application, the SMS/MMS application, or the email application. These types of lock screen shortcuts are great. Just drag and go.
Another aspect of the Pantech Breakout that sets it apart from the Android masses is that it offers four different modes. Each mode can be configured to include different wallpapers, widgets, ringers, and other settings making each mode unique. For example, if you want one profile to use during business hours, you can set it to include the Gmail widget, fast access to your top business contacts, etc. Same goes for a profile that you might use on the weekends, which has fitness apps, your to-do list, and so on.
Beyond these, the menus of the Pantech Breakout behave like most other Android devices. There are seven home screen panels that can be customized, plenty of widgets on board for interacting with applications, and the main app menu can be edited to suit your own needs.