PCD QuickFire
Phone Scoop Review
Dec 14, 2008 by Eric M. Zeman
AT&T's Quickfire messaging device combines touch-screen fun with a full, physical QWERTY to make typing easier. Here is a report on its pros and cons. With video tour. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
not a good phone
I have had many experiences with this phone as a cell phone professional that have made me see how bad this phone really is. There are no known isues with the device except with the charger being plugged in backwards causing overheating at one time. But this phone should have been recalled completely, instead the phone is being sold as refurbished and before the isue surfaced att sold 270000 of these phones and never took full responsibility of the problem,which was that it was made poorly and cheply, no original manufacturer could be proud to make this phone. It definitely has caused a headache in the cell phone industry and the main complaints rance from display totally unresponsive to the touch, not charging even with a new charger, overheating, bluetooth not connecting, screen not responsive on teh right side of the screen ( going to the opposite side of the screen instead of where touching at). If you have this phone I suggest that you get a different device and put this one in the back up phone drawer
BAD BAD PHONE
I give it an overall rating of one, because while it looks like a neat little phone, and I hear it works great (at first)...
I work for att atlantic, and this phone was recalled at least once, if not more...the batteries can explode, and the slider itself breaks quickly. I also hear that the phone tends to power on and off by itself.
This phone is dangerous and a bad choice. Do not buy it.
A very poor phone
I had sent the phone back after one week, I did not like the fact that the phone could not stayed charged, it stayed charged only a half a day! I also did not like how you could not lock the phone! The phone is two big, and the touch screen was very poor. Its the worst phone I had ever owned!
good texxting phone
Formerly known as the UTStarcom Knick, the QuickFire is a quadband GSM, triband UMTS slider with a 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen display; slide that up, and thereâs a full QWERTY keyboard.
AT&T Navigator is preloaded, and the QuickFire will work with the carrierâs streaming video services. We found the keyboard to be reasonable to type on, as the bulk of the shaved width over the Sidekick is lost from the end panels, not QWERTY space. However the lined-up keys make for the slower learning curve when you first pick up the QuickFire and start pecking.
The resistive touchscreen seems responsive, with large - if a little bland - icons; itâs larger than that of the Sidekick, by 0.2-inches, but lower resolution at 320 x 240 versus 400 x 240. Still, it was clear enough to keep IM conversations going, and the fact that you can touch it to navigate (rather than use a D-pad or trackball) keeps things moving quickly. Of course, the QuickFire lacks the Sidekickâs server-based support system (which stores emails, compresses data for the Sidekickâs browser, maintains IM login even when the phone itself is out of coverage, and generally keeps an ongoing backup) but the faster 3G speeds of the AT&T handset make things like on-the-fly browser reformatting less of an issue. The QuickFire uses the full-HTML Polaris Browser v.6, which supports finger dragging navigation and zoom control; itâs not as slick as some of the smartphone browsers weâve seen, but it does a reasonable job.
Sightings of the AT&T QuickFire have been few and far between; weâve had reports of one small-town retailer getting them in stock, while other AT&T stores are still waiting. Itâs not yet shown up on AT&Tâs site, either. Weâd recommend calling your local store before making the trip out; the official release date is November 10th, priced at $149.99 with a $50 mail-in rebate and new, two-year agreement.
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Ed. note: removed promo spam
Not what I expected
Well i have had this phone for about a week now and will have to say that I'm very disappointed with it. I got this phone for Christmas and when i was first using it it was good. But now that I've been using it every day it seems to get worse and worse. The touch screen freezes up on it constantly and i have to turn it off and back on to get it to work. The battery life on it is much to be desired... Does not last long at all.. has to be charged every night. I wouldn't get this phone.... looks cool but not reliable... Look into a different one.. I'm going to exchange this one for something better.
The Good Of The Quikfire Phone
Okay the Quikfire
is a pretty nice phone. i love the color green one.
its not bad at all, yet i think its completely
flawless. i have one and i simply love it.
the touch screen works perfectly great no pausing
no glitches no anything.
not anything wrong.
its like another perfect phone
that everybody wants
it is a good price for all of its fantastic
features.
i suggest kids shouldn't take it to
school,because kids do get very jealous you know.
i suggest leave it at home
in your bed, or where every you keep your cell phone.
the at&t quikfire is a sidekick killer
I say. its so much better and its a touch
i mean come on a touch sidekick
is better than a regular sidekick.
so please i recommend the AT&T QuikFire.
4 out of 5
This is a really good phone. Not bad for a first attempt at a dedicated messaging phone for AT&T.
Pros:
-it's fun to use
-screen is very vibrant (the resolution is pretty good; it's no BB Bold, but...)
-OS is very easy to pick up and use
-1.3 megapixel camera does better than expected
-3G makes the MediaNET run pretty fast
-Call quality is pretty impressive; clear and consistent
-Multitasking, big plus. The menu key allows you to open and use multiple applications without having to close another. This works extremely well when you're checking text messages and browsing the web at the same time
-Phone feels very solid despite it's look
-slide is quick and solid
-NO DATA PACKAGE REQUIRED: I saved like $45 on my account with this phone!!!
Cons:
-text messaging isn't threaded. I don't see why any developer would make text messaging clients that are not threaded anymore (threaded messaging is like AOL IM messaging; you see what you and your recipient have typed in the same window)
-the keys on the keyboard are somewhat hard to press
-ringers are not very loud at all, and there doesn't seem to be an option to have your phone ring and vibrate
As for the size of the phone, I didn't mention it because it's really not an issue. If you have ever used a Sidekick (any model) then using the Quickfire isn't going to be too much of a stretch for you. I just got the phone two days ago and I like it. Owned an iPhone previously, and was disappointed AT&T wouldn't provide insurance for it, but they did with this one, so I was pretty hype about that.
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All in all, pretty great phone for what you pay for it.
Ed. note: removed pricing info
DO NOT BUY!
I work for AT&T as a sales rep and I originally thought this phone was going to be great, until I played with one.
The touch screen is a joke! It is EXTREMELY unresponsive. It you will have to hit the screen several times before it will actually go to what you want it to go to.
Also you can not bluetooth ringtones or pictures, that in itself would be enough of a reason to avoid it.
I have all but refused to sell this phone to customers and even if customers decide to buy it against my suggestion, it only takes a couple of days before they bring it back telling me how horrible it is.
Not at all what I expected...
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear AT&T has come out with a 3G touchscreen phone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard? Probably not utter disappointment like what I feel. It was an impulse buy based purely on the fact that I finally thought I could have a high tech phone.
But this phone is exactly the opposite.
Lets start with the cons:
- No haptic feedback. I cant believe they left this one out. Haptic feedback is when the touchscreen vibrates when you touch it to simulate actually pressing a button.
- Keyboard is surprisingly cramped for such a large phone.
- Buttons feel/sound/look SO CHEAP. Especially the Send/End keys.
- Very, very, very limited selection of ringtones and message tones. Especially message tones. Only 2 to choose from and they are both elaborate and glitzy. Sorry, but if you're going to make a phone for messaging, at least let people choose to receive their messages subtly or in a non-bejeweled fashion. On top of that, ring style options are also very limited.
- Messaging is actually a pain in the butt. It's an time consuming process to send even the shortest of messages, further hindered by the fact that you can't just use one way to send a message. You always have to use both the touch screen and the keyboard. No keyboard on the screen, and no way to send without using the screen.
- Touchscreen is junk. Sometimes I'll have to touch 3, 4, even 5 times to get something to register. On top of that, menu options are just small, making them difficult to touch accurately. Then you have to hit the back button, which takes more than 1 try 99% of the time. Very frustrating to use.
- Call quality is worthless. Echoes, dropped calls, fading in and out...every problem in the book I've experienced at least once, and it's only been 72 hours.
I've run out of room to write about the pros. Havent really found any yet anyways. Don't get this phone. Wait for something better or save your pennies for the Fuze.
Bulky but nice UI
My info:
- 32 old IT guy (technophile w/ $$).
- I didn't buy this phone. My observations are 2 hours in store + research.
- looking for a decent txt phone + some internet.
- My previous phone was a Motorola Ming, blackberry + HTC Tilt.
Physical:
Disappointing size and feel. Imagine two blackberrys world editions stacked. Feels solidly build (unlike the Pantec Matrix) but made flimsy plastic material that does not feel like it can take much punishment. The specs on the bat. life seems good but I couldn't test myself.
The sliding screen was nice and zippy. It locked into place well and was pleasent to switch open and close.
Screen:
Vibrant and was viewable in direct sunlight. Also nice screen resolution of 240 x 320. The touchscreen was not so great through (see Usability)
Usability:
User interface was intuitive and clean.
txt was a pain because of the small nubby buttons. For all of its size and space it was about as difficult as the Pantec Matrix's smaller keyboard.
Internet browsing was also difficult because of a combination problems: touchscreen not very responsive on its edges (problem on all quickfires) where all navigational buttons reside + no easy way to navigate with a scroll wheel or something. There is the d buttons on the keyboard but is awkward.
Connection:
If UI issues don't bother you the internet speed on the 3G network was nice.
Call quality was very good. I could hear my wife over the crowds of people and blaring TV.
After comparing the two in the store and online for a couple of hours, I decided on the Vu though it wasn't an easy decision.
Pros:
- Excellent vibrant screen
- Decent screen resolution 240 x 320
- Decent battery specs
- Nice user interface, very clean and intuitive
Cons:
- No headphone jack
- Really bulky but
- Made from what feels like flimsy material.
- Touchscreen is inconsistently responsive: decent at the center then downright infuriating on the edges
- Confoundingly difficult keyboard
