Pantech Breakout
Phone Scoop Review
Sep 30, 2011 by Eric M. Zeman
Pantech surprises with a highly capable LTE 4G Android smartphone for Verizon Wireless. Find out what works and what doesn't in Phone Scoop's full review. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
pantech breakout problem
Trying to talk to text and it keeps saying can't connect.. Does anyone knows and how i can fix this by chance
I have never wanted to crush anything more than this phone.
I purchased this Pantech Breakout phone in October 2011. Since the first month of having it, I have had to replace the SD card, SIM Card, and just recently the phone itself. I have lost photos of my Daughter games, Dinner dates out with friends, and so much more. I patiently dealt with this phone for a year. I had to replacing the SD card about every month. It would just turn off at random times, which ticked my husband off AT ME. It would freeze in the middle of recording a video so I would have half of a final cheer that my daughter did , this is something that they practiced for MONTHS to get right , and thank to this phone I missed it all together just trying to get it to come back on the get the end of the cheer. Thanks goodness one of the other parents had a video camera. And before you rag on me for not bringing a video camera in the first placeâ¦.. You would think if you purchase something that WORKED, it would have worked. Then when I call Verizon to make it better, The wouldnât give me any contact information for Pantech , the refuse to let me speak to a manager. And told me my options are replacing this phone with something else , but I still had to pay for the battery and the back of the phone â¦. I bought a phone intact â¦. Purchase an un godly amount of SD CARDâs. Replaced the SIMS cardâs , Lost pictures you canât get back. Never once did I complain. I sucked it up and went on â¦. So now I am stuck with about 20 SD Cardsâ¦. Another phone coming to me that was my only option and additional 50 Bucks out of my pocket ⦠Oh yeah right here at Christmas. You want to buy SD cards ?? I have never complained not one time, Never and I feel like, because I didnât curse and act a fool I was just pushed around. Very VERY disappointed.
A few pros, a few cons
There seem to be quite a few little issues that just add up to make this phone not so great.
After sending a text, I'll click back to go to the home screen, and it reloads the message screen after it actually sends! Or I'll hit the power button to turn off the screen after sending a text and it'll turn back on! It basically can't handle a quick series of commands.
Also when you get a text, your screen lights up. I've never seen a phone that actually turns the screen on when you get a text.
The lock screen also seems a little too easy to unlock by accident.
And as always with new phones, battery life is atrocious. By the time I'm ready for work, I'm already around 80%.
On the plus though, the camera is decent, although it has 2 second shutter lag.
All in all, I would skip this phone. There are plenty of better options out there. No wonder it's only $30.
Surprisingly the best phone out there!
I have four key things I want: 4G LTE for its super high speeds, tethering capability, 4" screen, and the ability to play my 720p h.264 movie/tv files. Since trying several models since the Sprint EVO, I have found that 4.3" is a bit too large, 4G LTE is the way to go, and AMOLED screens have much better color and clarity. I found most of what I wanted surprisingly in the Pantech Breakout. Here are the surprises:
1) The 4G LTE either to the phone or fed out as tethering is super fast. Sure, it was a tiny bit faster on the Bionic when I was trying it, but only by a relatively small margin.
2) The back of the Pantech Breakout is ruggedized. This means I don't need a case for it which is great for a few reasons. First, some cases get in the way of headphones being plugged in. Second, some docks don't work with ANY covers (notably the HD dock for the Bionic).
3) 4" on the Samsung Fascinate was fantastic but the Pantech's 4" is only longer than the iPhone but not wider. Wider would have increased the width on the keys when typing in portrait. The taller screen means easier/faster typing when in landscape, but it doesn't help much in portrait. 4.3" is too big to reach with a large hand's thumb so 4" is the perfect size.
4) Battery life is ok, but I have found that with the iPhone you just have to leave home with it fully charged and you're good for the day. I leave 4G on all day and it won't last the day. So I'm back to charging it when I'm at my desk and expected to be there for awhile. If that's the price of 4G, then I'm ok with it. I would guess that even the Droid RAZR rated at 12.5 hours talk time would still need to be charged throughout the day. A dock would be nice but none seem to be offered.
In a nutshell, it's thin, light, powerful, yet not bulky. The DVD-quality screen is fine for anything I'm watching on a 4" screen. I added a 32GB card which holds a ton, but the 500MB of internal memory may feel limiting if you're a power user.
Good little phone not without problems
This is my first touchscreen smart phone so I know nothing of other phones. I like the things this phones does and really like the Android apps that are available. I liked the way it automatically synced with my Gmail contacts without any effort from me. The touch screen works really well. Response is very fast with out any lag or lockups so far (21 days of usage). Screen is very sensitive and it is easy to hit wrong key on virtual keyboard when in portrait mode. Landscape is better. WiFi works well even with my slow home connection. The voice command button is easy to activate when putting phone in case and is somewhat of a bother. Volume controls work well as does the power button. Nice also to have dedicated camera button but do miss a flash on camera. Biggest problem I have is with reception and I have no clue if this is a phone problem or a Verizon problem. Sprint service was good with Blackberry 8330 but with this phone I am constantly going in and out of extended coverage and Verizon coverage as well as losing 3G often. I drop calls fairly often but Verizon tells me I live in a moderate signal area even though their map online shows good 3G coverage. The one time I used the phone in a 4G area it worked well but not a lot faster than 3G. I am also having issues with connecting with the bluetooth radio in my car. It will connect when making a call but either takes forever to dial or never dials and drops the connection to the radio and then will not hook up again.
Pros:
size, weight, screen, battery life
Cons:
Reception, Bluetooth
So-So:
Voice quality, speakerphone, too many pre-loaded and non-removable apps
Like it a lot
Got this when it was released on Sept. 22. I have a LG Revolution, but was totally not satisfied with it. I like the Breakout size and feel and it is quite responsive. I love the button on the side for voice dialing and other menu items. The battery life isn't great, but I find that when I put it in airplane mode, it saves quite a bit. It runs Android 2.3 which the Revolution may never get, and makes it smoother. Side on/off button may take some getting used to. External button for the camera is a plus. Will take more time to run it through it's paces. As I always say, it's what works for you, not what others say. I haven't read any reviews that didn't mention, ad nauseum, that it was cheap. This is not a factor for me, although I paid retail for it. Try it out and see if it's for you. Highly recommended for first time Android users. I've had several and tried out all the current Verizon 4g phones. This one feels like a keeper.
breakout!
I work at a verizon retailer and we just got a couple of these in. Excited to sell a 4G phone for cheap!
