ZTE Warp 4G (Boost Mobile)

It is generally true that pin off-contract smartphone requires a lot of concessions. Not so with the ZTE $199 Warp 4 G. Displaying a fast 4G LTE data binding, a large 4.5 inch screen and the robust build quality, this compact Android device currently is the shrewdest option on Boost Mobile network. He certainly has done a heck of a lot more sense than splitting over $ 350 for the privilege of owning a Boost-connected Samsung Galaxy S3. Now factor in the Warp 4 G satisfactory long battery life and relatively unmucked-autour-with software Android Jelly Bean and I'm sure you'll forgive from the phone but less-than-stellar processor.

Design
My mouth agape and eyes popped wide open when I first learned of the ZTE Warp 4G price low $199 without contract. This is because when I picked up the device and placed in my hands, it felt fine, I mean really good, an emotion rarely conveyed by handsets in plastic. Not only does the phone have a robust and solid construction that is not bend or flex the textured back is easy to grasp and repels grease and fingerprints. In fact, I prefer his slippery coverage of the Samsung Galaxy S3 support; Boost sells the S3 at a steeper price of $349.99.

ZTE Warp small chassis 4G is compact enough to operate with one hand.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

The chain 4G do not have accents of faux-Silver's most recent smartphones from Samsung, namely the S4 Galaxy and Galaxy Note 3. Despite this, I found the schema of any black color of the sophisticated if a little conservative. Highlights dark grey, almost metallic, ring the Warp 4 G body and add a touch of distinction.

Measures 5.2 inches in height 2.6 inches wide and 0.41 inch thick, the Warp 4 G is absolutely not thin. The Galaxy S3 (5.4x2.8x0.34 inches) is slightly larger, but the profile of the Warp is significantly thicker. Tipping the scales at 4.7 ounces, however, the 4G string has the same exact weight as superphone Samsung 2012.

The Warp 4 G is compact but not ultra-thin.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Above the curvature important 4.5 inch 4 G screen is a 1 megapixel front-facing camera and the notification light. Seat underneath the screen are three capacitive backlit buttons for basic control Android (back, Home and Menu), represented by easy to understand symbols.

The ZTE deform the back surface of the 4G has a nice point textured.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Along the left edge of the phone are two discrete buttons, adjusting the volume up and down. Here, also, is a Micro-USB port to charge the phone and physically connecting to the PC to transfer files. The right side of the device houses a dedicated camera key which commits the Warp 4 G of the imaging system. He awakes not the handset from its slumber, however, to launch the camera approx. up there is the power button in more a headset jack stereo 3.5 mm for connecting wired headsets.

Fans of the battery-swapping, will enjoy the Warp 2, 070mAh removable battery 4G hidden under the back cover of the phone. Separate slots for cards SIM and microSD memory cards are located here as well.

Under the back cover are the slots for cards SIM and microSD and a removable battery.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Screen
ZTE, the manufacturer of the 4G string, decided to go big in terms of size of the screen of the phone. The camera sports a large 4.5 HD LCD Panel in. 720 p (1, 280 x 720 pixels). Although this cannot measure up to the screen 4.8-inch OLED from Samsung Galaxy S3 in terms of color saturation, contrast and viewing angles, it has the same resolution of 720 p.

However, display of the Warp gets decently bright and his IPS LCD technology (in plane switching), does an admirable job to submit photos with very realistic colors and details nicely.

Software and interface
The chain 4G runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, not the latest iteration of Google OS, Android version 4.3. In defense of the Warp, however, none of the other Boost Mobile phones features Android 4.2, and even less 4.3. It is not much more of a difference, not more, in terms of features, between Android 4.1 and 4.2 Android. In addition, the handset software is mostly stock and so pure, with a funky skin or without hindrance of bloatware. It is always a positive trait in my book.

You have five screens home on the 4G string to customize, either by a drop widgets and application shortcuts on. There are a few apps carrier preloaded brand, such as the network of social media focused on youth Air G and the Boost area to access your account or view applications Boost-suggested wireless.

Since the Warp 4 G is a real Android phone, it connects to the vast ecosystem of Google software and services. It's all the usual suspects such as Gmail, Google Search, storefronts Google digital, Play music, video and books, as well as the mobile browser's Chrome. The chain is also linked to the Google game store to download applications from its wide selection of third-party software developers.

Camera
The ZTE Warp 4 G uses a decent but not stellar photo camera with a sensor of 8 megapixel camera and LED flash. Application the phone camera offers many settings, features and shooting modes to choose. Image varies from VGA resolution (640 x 480) all the way up to 8 megapixels (3, 200 x 2, 400). There are also manual settings for ISO, white balance, and exposure, contrast and saturation. The chain has 16 scene modes (not counting the Normal) such as Macro, HDR, rafale and Panorama, just to list a few.

Exterior details were not too strong, but the colors were bright.

(Credit: Brian Bennett/CNET)

View the original article here

Kyocera Hydro Edge (Boost Mobile)

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Unless you find you and your phone often drenched in water, consider skipping over the Kyocera Hydro Edge.

True, as the successor to the Hydro, the Edge can still survive a good dunking. But while this new iteration includes some welcomed improvements like a bigger 4-inch screen and a 5-megapixel camera (the original featured only a 3.2-megapixel shooter), the device still runs on 3G and has a a rather slow 1GHz processor.

If having an affordable smartphone that is able to survive multiple spills and dips is important (either from the water you encounter at the beach or simply the kitchen sink), the Edge is a good handset to consider. It's available on Sprint for $19.99 after users sign a two-year agreement, or off-contract under the carrier's prepaid arm, Boost Mobile, for $149.99.

But if that factor isn't a deal breaker for you and you can spare the extra cash, look into your carrier's other devices that sport better specs.

Design
The Kyocera Hydro Edge has a simple, matte-gray plastic construction that feels sturdy, but doesn't look at all chic. Like the XTRM, neither of the device's ports are covered. In fact, the only way one could even assume the handset is waterproof is by the toggle lock located in the rear, which keeps the battery door secured.

The phone measures 4.9 inches tall, 2.5 inches wide, and 0.39 inch thick. It weighs 4.5 ounces, and while the top half of the Edge is a bit heftier than its bottom half, it's still comfortable to hold in the hand.

To keep it watertight, the Edge sports a small toggle lock in the back for its battery door.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

On the left is a volume rocker, and up top are a 3.5mm headphone jack and sleep/power button. The right edge houses a shortcut key for the camera, and the Micro-USB port is located on the bottom.

The device has a 4-inch IPS touch-screen display, with a 800x480-pixel resolution and 233ppi. Though HD movies won't appear as crisp as you might expect on it, text and icons still displayed clearly and smoothly for me. Furthermore, the screen has a rather narrow viewing angle outdoors. However, when you crank maximum brightness all the way up and you hold up the handset directly at eye level, you can make out the display very well.

Beneath the display are three hot keys that light up white when in use for back, home, and menu. Long-press the home key to access recent apps. You'll notice that above the screen, there is no in-ear speaker. Like a handful of other Kyocera smartphones, the Edge features Smart Sonic Receiver technology, which uses an embedded ceramic transducer to transmit audio via the hard tissue inside your ear.

The back features a dimpled rubber texture, and the top half of the handset's body is contoured to be thicker than the rest of its body. I felt that both these characteristics helped with my grip as I held it.

On the back you'll find the camera, with its LED flash right below it. To the left is a small slit for the audio speaker. To remove the battery door, you'll need to switch the toggle lock at the bottom and pry the plate off. There you can access the 1,600mAh battery and the microSD card slot (which can accommodate cards with capacities of up to 32GB) underneath it.

Software features
The device ships with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and comes with a number of Google's services, like Chrome, Gmail, Plus, Local, Maps with Navigation, Messenger, Search, Talk, and YouTube. The Google Play stores for Books, Magazines, and Music are included as well.

Under the Settings menu, there's also a software feature called MaxiMZR. This lets you limit the data connection of apps running in the background to conserve battery life. There is also a MagniFont Mode option for those who want to improve text readability by increasing the font size one level larger than the "Extra Large" or "Huge" setting that is common on Android handsets.

Sprint loaded some of its own apps, one of which is Sprint Zone, where you can check your account information and balance. There's also a ringtone portal called Sprint Music Plus, as well as Sprint TV and Movies, and Sprint ID.

The Edge runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and feature's Kyocera's Smart Sonic Receiver technology.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

ID enables you to customize your phone with preselected apps, widgets, and other items depending on which ID profile you choose. For example, if you select the E! package, you'll get apps and widgets pertaining to the celebrity news channel. Note that deleting an ID package won't uninstall the apps that you downloaded -- you'll have to remove those apps manually. So far, there are 40 packs available, and once you start up the handset, the Sprint Default ID pack annoyingly starts downloading automatically.

Other goodies include the Reddit browser, BaconReader; ICE, which stores emergency contact info; Eco Mode, a battery- and energy-conserving app; a panorama app that works with the camera, a video editor; Lookout Security, which backs up and secures your data; Qualcomm Enhanced Location app that zeroes in on your location and saves battery power; and the navigational app, Scout.

Of course, there are basic apps too, such as native browser and e-mail clients, a calculator, a calendar, a clock with alarm functions, an address book, a weather app, a voice dialer, and a audio recorder.

For the most part, the Boost Mobile model has all the same apps, give or take a few exceptions. However, instead of having apps like Sprint ID and Sprint Zone, the names have been modified to Mobile ID and Boost Zone. And as previously mentioned, the Boost model does not support hot-spot capabilities.

Camera and video
The 5-megapixel camera has six photo sizes (ranging from 640x480 to 2,560x1,920 pixels), digital zoom, a flash, six picture modes including HDR and continuous shooting, 14 photo effects, three focuses, six scene modes, geotagging, three image qualities, blink detection, three auto-exposures, five ISO levels, five white balances, and grid lines.

Video settings include five video sizes (ranging from a 30-second MMS to 720p), digital zoom, continuous flash, time lapse, two file format options, and the same white balance, image effects, geotagging, grid lines, and auto-exposure options.

Photo quality was adequate, though it wasn't very impressive. For the most part, main objects came out clear and were easy to make out, but colors looked muted, and images weren't as sharp as I would have liked them to be, especially along the outer edges. In addition, the camera is quite slow. It takes a few seconds for it to focus, and you'll need to wait a few more seconds after pressing the shutter for the camera to ready itself for another photo.

In this indoor photo, there's a slight vignetting effect around the edges, and the flowers don't look so sharp.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET) In this sunny outdoor photo, the chairs and the middle column of bricks are well-defined.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET) In addition to objects being out of focus, you can see the vignetting effect more clearly in our standard studio shot.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

View the original article here

Kyocera Hydro Edge (Boost Mobile)

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Unless you find you and your phone often drenched in water, consider skipping over the Kyocera Hydro Edge.

True, as the successor to the Hydro, the Edge can still survive a good dunking. But while this new iteration includes some welcomed improvements like a bigger 4-inch screen and a 5-megapixel camera (the original featured only a 3.2-megapixel shooter), the device still runs on 3G and has a a rather slow 1GHz processor.

If having an affordable smartphone that is able to survive multiple spills and dips is important (either from the water you encounter at the beach or simply the kitchen sink), the Edge is a good handset to consider. It's available on Sprint for $19.99 after users sign a two-year agreement, or off-contract under the carrier's prepaid arm, Boost Mobile, for $149.99.

But if that factor isn't a deal breaker for you and you can spare the extra cash, look into your carrier's other devices that sport better specs.

Design
The Kyocera Hydro Edge has a simple, matte-gray plastic construction that feels sturdy, but doesn't look at all chic. Like the XTRM, neither of the device's ports are covered. In fact, the only way one could even assume the handset is waterproof is by the toggle lock located in the rear, which keeps the battery door secured.

The phone measures 4.9 inches tall, 2.5 inches wide, and 0.39 inch thick. It weighs 4.5 ounces, and while the top half of the Edge is a bit heftier than its bottom half, it's still comfortable to hold in the hand.

To keep it watertight, the Edge sports a small toggle lock in the back for its battery door.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

On the left is a volume rocker, and up top are a 3.5mm headphone jack and sleep/power button. The right edge houses a shortcut key for the camera, and the Micro-USB port is located on the bottom.

The device has a 4-inch IPS touch-screen display, with a 800x480-pixel resolution and 233ppi. Though HD movies won't appear as crisp as you might expect on it, text and icons still displayed clearly and smoothly for me. Furthermore, the screen has a rather narrow viewing angle outdoors. However, when you crank maximum brightness all the way up and you hold up the handset directly at eye level, you can make out the display very well.

Beneath the display are three hot keys that light up white when in use for back, home, and menu. Long-press the home key to access recent apps. You'll notice that above the screen, there is no in-ear speaker. Like a handful of other Kyocera smartphones, the Edge features Smart Sonic Receiver technology, which uses an embedded ceramic transducer to transmit audio via the hard tissue inside your ear.

The back features a dimpled rubber texture, and the top half of the handset's body is contoured to be thicker than the rest of its body. I felt that both these characteristics helped with my grip as I held it.

On the back you'll find the camera, with its LED flash right below it. To the left is a small slit for the audio speaker. To remove the battery door, you'll need to switch the toggle lock at the bottom and pry the plate off. There you can access the 1,600mAh battery and the microSD card slot (which can accommodate cards with capacities of up to 32GB) underneath it.

Software features
The device ships with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and comes with a number of Google's services, like Chrome, Gmail, Plus, Local, Maps with Navigation, Messenger, Search, Talk, and YouTube. The Google Play stores for Books, Magazines, and Music are included as well.

Under the Settings menu, there's also a software feature called MaxiMZR. This lets you limit the data connection of apps running in the background to conserve battery life. There is also a MagniFont Mode option for those who want to improve text readability by increasing the font size one level larger than the "Extra Large" or "Huge" setting that is common on Android handsets.

Sprint loaded some of its own apps, one of which is Sprint Zone, where you can check your account information and balance. There's also a ringtone portal called Sprint Music Plus, as well as Sprint TV and Movies, and Sprint ID.

The Edge runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and feature's Kyocera's Smart Sonic Receiver technology.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

ID enables you to customize your phone with preselected apps, widgets, and other items depending on which ID profile you choose. For example, if you select the E! package, you'll get apps and widgets pertaining to the celebrity news channel. Note that deleting an ID package won't uninstall the apps that you downloaded -- you'll have to remove those apps manually. So far, there are 40 packs available, and once you start up the handset, the Sprint Default ID pack annoyingly starts downloading automatically.

Other goodies include the Reddit browser, BaconReader; ICE, which stores emergency contact info; Eco Mode, a battery- and energy-conserving app; a panorama app that works with the camera, a video editor; Lookout Security, which backs up and secures your data; Qualcomm Enhanced Location app that zeroes in on your location and saves battery power; and the navigational app, Scout.

Of course, there are basic apps too, such as native browser and e-mail clients, a calculator, a calendar, a clock with alarm functions, an address book, a weather app, a voice dialer, and a audio recorder.

For the most part, the Boost Mobile model has all the same apps, give or take a few exceptions. However, instead of having apps like Sprint ID and Sprint Zone, the names have been modified to Mobile ID and Boost Zone. And as previously mentioned, the Boost model does not support hot-spot capabilities.

Camera and video
The 5-megapixel camera has six photo sizes (ranging from 640x480 to 2,560x1,920 pixels), digital zoom, a flash, six picture modes including HDR and continuous shooting, 14 photo effects, three focuses, six scene modes, geotagging, three image qualities, blink detection, three auto-exposures, five ISO levels, five white balances, and grid lines.

Video settings include five video sizes (ranging from a 30-second MMS to 720p), digital zoom, continuous flash, time lapse, two file format options, and the same white balance, image effects, geotagging, grid lines, and auto-exposure options.

Photo quality was adequate, though it wasn't very impressive. For the most part, main objects came out clear and were easy to make out, but colors looked muted, and images weren't as sharp as I would have liked them to be, especially along the outer edges. In addition, the camera is quite slow. It takes a few seconds for it to focus, and you'll need to wait a few more seconds after pressing the shutter for the camera to ready itself for another photo.

In this indoor photo, there's a slight vignetting effect around the edges, and the flowers don't look so sharp.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET) In this sunny outdoor photo, the chairs and the middle column of bricks are well-defined.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET) In addition to objects being out of focus, you can see the vignetting effect more clearly in our standard studio shot.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

View the original article here

Kyocera Hydro Edge (Boost Mobile)

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Error in deserializing body of reply message for operation 'Translate'. The maximum string content length quota (8192) has been exceeded while reading XML data. This quota may be increased by changing the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader. Line 1, position 9147.

Unless you find you and your phone often drenched in water, consider skipping over the Kyocera Hydro Edge.

True, as the successor to the Hydro, the Edge can still survive a good dunking. But while this new iteration includes some welcomed improvements like a bigger 4-inch screen and a 5-megapixel camera (the original featured only a 3.2-megapixel shooter), the device still runs on 3G and has a a rather slow 1GHz processor.

If having an affordable smartphone that is able to survive multiple spills and dips is important (either from the water you encounter at the beach or simply the kitchen sink), the Edge is a good handset to consider. It's available on Sprint for $19.99 after users sign a two-year agreement, or off-contract under the carrier's prepaid arm, Boost Mobile, for $149.99.

But if that factor isn't a deal breaker for you and you can spare the extra cash, look into your carrier's other devices that sport better specs.

Design
The Kyocera Hydro Edge has a simple, matte-gray plastic construction that feels sturdy, but doesn't look at all chic. Like the XTRM, neither of the device's ports are covered. In fact, the only way one could even assume the handset is waterproof is by the toggle lock located in the rear, which keeps the battery door secured.

The phone measures 4.9 inches tall, 2.5 inches wide, and 0.39 inch thick. It weighs 4.5 ounces, and while the top half of the Edge is a bit heftier than its bottom half, it's still comfortable to hold in the hand.

To keep it watertight, the Edge sports a small toggle lock in the back for its battery door.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

On the left is a volume rocker, and up top are a 3.5mm headphone jack and sleep/power button. The right edge houses a shortcut key for the camera, and the Micro-USB port is located on the bottom.

The device has a 4-inch IPS touch-screen display, with a 800x480-pixel resolution and 233ppi. Though HD movies won't appear as crisp as you might expect on it, text and icons still displayed clearly and smoothly for me. Furthermore, the screen has a rather narrow viewing angle outdoors. However, when you crank maximum brightness all the way up and you hold up the handset directly at eye level, you can make out the display very well.

Beneath the display are three hot keys that light up white when in use for back, home, and menu. Long-press the home key to access recent apps. You'll notice that above the screen, there is no in-ear speaker. Like a handful of other Kyocera smartphones, the Edge features Smart Sonic Receiver technology, which uses an embedded ceramic transducer to transmit audio via the hard tissue inside your ear.

The back features a dimpled rubber texture, and the top half of the handset's body is contoured to be thicker than the rest of its body. I felt that both these characteristics helped with my grip as I held it.

On the back you'll find the camera, with its LED flash right below it. To the left is a small slit for the audio speaker. To remove the battery door, you'll need to switch the toggle lock at the bottom and pry the plate off. There you can access the 1,600mAh battery and the microSD card slot (which can accommodate cards with capacities of up to 32GB) underneath it.

Software features
The device ships with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and comes with a number of Google's services, like Chrome, Gmail, Plus, Local, Maps with Navigation, Messenger, Search, Talk, and YouTube. The Google Play stores for Books, Magazines, and Music are included as well.

Under the Settings menu, there's also a software feature called MaxiMZR. This lets you limit the data connection of apps running in the background to conserve battery life. There is also a MagniFont Mode option for those who want to improve text readability by increasing the font size one level larger than the "Extra Large" or "Huge" setting that is common on Android handsets.

Sprint loaded some of its own apps, one of which is Sprint Zone, where you can check your account information and balance. There's also a ringtone portal called Sprint Music Plus, as well as Sprint TV and Movies, and Sprint ID.

The Edge runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and feature's Kyocera's Smart Sonic Receiver technology.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

ID enables you to customize your phone with preselected apps, widgets, and other items depending on which ID profile you choose. For example, if you select the E! package, you'll get apps and widgets pertaining to the celebrity news channel. Note that deleting an ID package won't uninstall the apps that you downloaded -- you'll have to remove those apps manually. So far, there are 40 packs available, and once you start up the handset, the Sprint Default ID pack annoyingly starts downloading automatically.

Other goodies include the Reddit browser, BaconReader; ICE, which stores emergency contact info; Eco Mode, a battery- and energy-conserving app; a panorama app that works with the camera, a video editor; Lookout Security, which backs up and secures your data; Qualcomm Enhanced Location app that zeroes in on your location and saves battery power; and the navigational app, Scout.

Of course, there are basic apps too, such as native browser and e-mail clients, a calculator, a calendar, a clock with alarm functions, an address book, a weather app, a voice dialer, and a audio recorder.

For the most part, the Boost Mobile model has all the same apps, give or take a few exceptions. However, instead of having apps like Sprint ID and Sprint Zone, the names have been modified to Mobile ID and Boost Zone. And as previously mentioned, the Boost model does not support hot-spot capabilities.

Camera and video
The 5-megapixel camera has six photo sizes (ranging from 640x480 to 2,560x1,920 pixels), digital zoom, a flash, six picture modes including HDR and continuous shooting, 14 photo effects, three focuses, six scene modes, geotagging, three image qualities, blink detection, three auto-exposures, five ISO levels, five white balances, and grid lines.

Video settings include five video sizes (ranging from a 30-second MMS to 720p), digital zoom, continuous flash, time lapse, two file format options, and the same white balance, image effects, geotagging, grid lines, and auto-exposure options.

Photo quality was adequate, though it wasn't very impressive. For the most part, main objects came out clear and were easy to make out, but colors looked muted, and images weren't as sharp as I would have liked them to be, especially along the outer edges. In addition, the camera is quite slow. It takes a few seconds for it to focus, and you'll need to wait a few more seconds after pressing the shutter for the camera to ready itself for another photo.

In this indoor photo, there's a slight vignetting effect around the edges, and the flowers don't look so sharp.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET) In this sunny outdoor photo, the chairs and the middle column of bricks are well-defined.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET) In addition to objects being out of focus, you can see the vignetting effect more clearly in our standard studio shot.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

View the original article here