Pantech Breakout Pro Reviews

If you've just got to save money - but have LTE - this is the best phone to do it with. The Pantech Breakout is a mixed bag, but so long as you aren't trying to pit it against the best-in-class, and you can live with some almost ludicrous shortcomings, the phone's well-worth the asking price.

The Pantech Breakout will no doubt attract some attention for being a relatively cheap 4G device. Fortunately, that's not it's only merit as an entry level smartphone. It also has reasonably good design, good specs, nice screen, and comes with 8 GB of memory to get you started.

I'll be honest, the Pantech Breakout surprised me. I was not expecting it to perform so well. The hardware isn't quite as me-too in appearance as the current crop of competitors, and feels great in the hand. It is easily the most solid and functional piece of hardware to come from Pantech. The Breakout gets decent marks on all the key metrics, including screen quality, signal performance, and battery life. The one weakness was voice calling, which was inconsistent, but not terrible. The messaging features of the Breakout don't break any new ground, but cover the basics just the same. The media powers of the Breakout are just as good as the competition's. I wish the Breakout took better pictures and captured clearer video, but if imaging isn't high on your list of must-have features, this niggle can be overlooked. The browsing performance, in particular, was quite impressive under Verizon's LTE network and was decidedly more consistent that Verizon's earlier LTE efforts. Bottom line: the Pantech Breakout could be the breakout hit that Pantech really needs to get on the map with Verizon Wireless customers.

All said, Pantech's done a commendable job of cutting corners in all the right places. It still features a CPU with the same clockspeed as the Thunderbolt and Revolution, carries a competitive amount of RAM to accompany it, has an above-average display and exudes a design more elegant than its price tag would normally suggest. Don't get us wrong: it's no Droid Bionic, but it doesn't try to be. Even then, however, we were expecting much worse from a handset that undercuts its 4G counterparts by at least $150. Instead, we found a device that does well at keeping up with its older brothers (with the glaring exception of the Droid Bionic, of course). It's unfortunate news for the members of that exclusive club, because we have a feeling the pool's going to get a lot more crowded very soon.

If you're looking to tap into Verizon's blazing fast 4G LTE network on a budget, the Pantech Breakout is your best option, although it's strictly a midrange smartphone.

If you don't give a whit about the camera or video, the Pantech Breakout is a fast and straightforward Android handset for Verizon.

When it comes right down to it, the Pantech Breakout is clearly for someone who wants a Verizon 4G smartphone, but without spending a few hundred bucks on one. We like that it’s thin and lightweight, and feels comfortable in the hand, through the 4 function buttons on the front are a bit awkward to use. The 4” display is a bit smaller than its competition, but this also allows for the phone to be smaller too, which some people prefer. We were pleased by the interface that Pantech uses and that it comes with a nice selection of widgets, as well as the good call quality and signal reception. Though we were a bit disappointed by the lacking camera quality, limited room for storing apps, and less than average battery times. Since the Pantech Breakout is currently $99.99 after rebate with a 2-year contract, it is the most affordable 4G phone from Verizon

To sum things up in a very understandable and straight shooter way — this phone is nice and it has impressed me. It may not have a simple, thin, and elegant design like the Galaxy S II. Nor does it boast a dual-core processor, and the screen isn’t 4.5″ inches either. What we do have is a very very solid device that has great build quality, almost every feature we’ve come to want and expect from our smartphones, a decent sized screen that actually looks great for the price, all powered by 4G LTE and the latest Android Gingerbread. You add all that up and learn it only costs $99 (with a new contract of course) this really is hard to beat.