HTC Freestyle Pro Reviews

I approached this device with high hopes and HTC did not disappoint. All the way from the physical design of the phone right down to the notifications and customization features and everything in between, HTC gave this phone their all and it really shows. The Freestyle is beautiful, well-equipped, useful, and sets a new standard for featurephones. If you don't want a smartphone but you don't want to settle for an "okay" phone, then the Freestyle is for you. Even if you don't want to buy a monthly data plan, the phone still functions very well. Some features will not be usable, but even without those, I can see this phone as being very useful and money well-spent.

Would I recommend this phone? Well, to those who want a phone that looks and (mostly) acts like a smartphone, but doesn't require a smartphone data plan, then the Freestyle has some appeal. Adding in services such as the email application and navigation will quickly inflate your monthly bill, however, so that appeal is limited.

For the right user, the HTC Freestyle offers a beginner smartphone experience without the high price.

Overall, we like the HTC Freestyle except for two points…the poorly designed battery door, and the continual “hiss” heard while on calls. The second of these we consider the more serious, and a deal-breaker for some, as it becomes annoying for any calls lasting more than a few minutes. However, the remainder of the device is pretty nice for a feature-phone, as the Sense UI is visually appealing and is implemented over the BREW MP quite well, with six home screens, plenty of widgets, and different scenes to fit your mood. But as we mentioned earlier, we can’t see the $99 price point here, as you could get a real smartphone for the same price (or less), though it would be subject to higher smartphone data fees. If the Freestyle were $49 or less, then we’d consider it a bargain, despite the background noise while in calls.