Pantech Breeze II review – Entry level phone
Sum and Substance:
Thumbs Up:
Slim design, stereo Bluetooth, music player, 3G, 1.3 megapixel camera.
Thumbs Down:
Keypad could have been more comfortable
Inside the Trunk:
Technology: GSM / 3G
Band: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / 3G 850/1900 (Dual Band)
Phone design: Clamshell
Caller ID: Yes
Other features: Bluetooth, Conference calling, Call forwarding
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
Pantech Breeze II is two inches wide, 0.7 inches deep, four inches high, 3.5 oz in weight. Additional features include Conference calling, Voice dialing, EDGE, Speakerphone, microSD card slot, GPRS support, Intelligent typing (T9). The 1.3 megapixel camera has four options for resolution – 320×240, 640×480, 1024×768, 1280×1024 pixels. The video mode has three options for resolution – 320×240, 176×144, 176×144 (MMS-mode)
The phone has built in 80 MB of memory and the external card slot can take up to 32 GB of cards. The external display is 1.38 inches big with 128×128 pixels resolution and 260k colors. The internal display is 2.2 inches big with 260k colors and 240×320 pixels resolution.
Razzle Dazzle:
Pantech Breeze II has a slim profile and we like that since it is much better than carrying bulk in your pocket. The handset is four inches long, two inches wide and about 0.7 inch thick. The gadget is rectangular and is quite slender. It feels good in hands owing to the subtle curves. On the back, there is dimpled surface for good grip. The weight of this phone is 3.4 ounces which is not at all heavy.
Inside Dope:
Not every one out there is crazy about high end smartphones. Some just need a basic handset to make calls and send occasional text messages. Pantech mostly focuses on such handsets but it has spawned occasional high end phones like Matrix Pro and Matrix. Pantech Breeze II is a successor to Pantech Breeze which we saw a few years ago. This is a basic flip phone for people who are looking for low end handset. This phone is yours for $19.99 and you have to enter a two year service agreement with the service provider, AT&T.
Being the clamshell phone, the Pantech Breeze II has two displays. The external screen is 1.38 inches big and has resolution of 128×128 pixels along with 65k color support. It only gives basics like date, time and caller ID. There are three LED light beneath the external display for calls, new messages and low battery alert. All this can be checked without opening the flap.
On the inside, the Pantech Breeze II has a 2.2 inch display with support for 260k colors or 240×320 pixel resolution. Text and images look very much sharp even though the screen is small. There is a new ‘Breeze mode’ but if you don’t want this, you can switch to the traditional grid or what is called the ‘Advanced mode’ here. The ‘Breeze mode’ is pretty much the same as the other one sans the customization options. So this is like some kind of easy mode. The greeting text and clock type is adjustable on the screen and along with that, you can play around with color themes, brightness, font size and style and backlight timer.
Below the display, there are three quick call buttons. Each of these keys can be associated with a number in your phone book. We thank the manufacturer for giving these keys but they are a bit hard to press because the of their flatness. Their location, directly above the hinge, also adds to the ergonomic woes. Underneath the display, there are two soft buttons, round toggle with OK key in the middle, discrete voice command button, camera shutter button, clear key, call key, and Power-End key. The direction button on the toggle gives you shortcut to five features: instant messaging, new text message, AT&T’s online address book, Web browser and mobile e-mail.
Underneath this array, you have the number keypad. All the buttons here are well spaced away from each other but they feel a bit recessed. Typing is still comfortable because of their segregation. On the left side, there is the volume rocker while the right side has the charger and headset jack. The card slot is accessed by removing the battery cover and the battery too.
Pantech Breeze II’s feature set is pretty much similar to Pantech Link. It has a 1000 entry limit phone book and a single entry takes multiple numbers, multiple e-mail addresses, 5 IM handles, display name, Web address, postal address, note, anniversary date and birth day. Callers can be organized in to groups and you can pin one of seven ringtones to your contacts. For messages, there are eight alert tones. Photo caller ID is also supported.
Pantech Breeze II’s features include alarm clock, vibrate mode, speakerphone, notepad, calendar, calculator, world clock, stop watch, tip calculator, unit converter, voice memo recorder, and timer. Some advanced features include multimedia and text messaging, stereo Bluetooth and instant messaging (Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo and AIM are preinstalled). Mobile e-mail feature is also present but you have will have to pay an access for $5 a month for this. Finally, there is AT&T GPS along with turn by turn directions.
The Pantech Breeze II comes with 1.3 megapixel camera which takes photos in four resolutions, the highest being 1,280×1,024 pixels. The camera can also record video but the quality of both stills and clips are pretty poor.
Nitty Gritty:
This is an entry level phone but there are some extras which will definitely surprise you.
