Our verdict: The Huawei Ascend is a great overall value at Cricket Wireless. For a bargain Android cell phone, this handset certainly is worth its weight in gold.
The Huawei Ascend is Cricket’s newest Android smartphone. With a 3.5” HVGA touch-screen, wifi capability, 3G Real Web Browsing, the Ascend packs plenty of features into an affordable package. The Huawei Ascend includes great features like a 3.2MP camera/camcorder, MP3 player/microSD slot, virtual QWERTY keyboard, and more! The Ascend is a fully featured Android smartphone featuring the Android 2.1 Operating System. With Android Marketplace get access to tens of thousands of cool apps as well as great Google apps like YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Search and more.
The Sanyo Zio by Kyocera for Cricket Wireless also known as the M6000 is the most impressive handset we have seen for Cricket to date. Don’t get us wrong, it is by no means a “perfect” handset and by all measures it is still well behind the competition. However, what it shows is PROMISE. That the “little” provider that could, is in fact following through with its promises. With a leased nation-wide 3G network and plans for a 4G network in the future things are looking bright for CricketWireless! This handset is an amazing Android based handset that has almost every feature you could ask for from a modern day smart phone. (READ MORE…)
Video Review:
Summary:
Sanyo Zio for Cricket Wireless has almost everything you want from a modern day smart phone. However, it does lack some desired functions for an Android handset and it is fairly expensive ($300 with a one month pre-payment at the time of writing this) . I’ll start off by listing the short comings…. Outdated Operating System, no flash, significantly slower processor/ram than most new smartphones, lower resolution screen. Shortcomings aside this is by far the BEST handset that has ever stepped foot on Cricket Wireless territory. It is a very functional handset offering amazing call quality, full web functionality, Android Market place, 3.2mp camera/camcorder and stereo bluetooth. It works off MicroSD and can be expanded to have 32GB of memory. Using the Android Market the app opportunities are literally limitless. Although this phone won’t give an iPhone a run for its money, it will serve 98% of users needs very well. My main complaint was the responsiveness of the on-screen keyboard which can be fixed with a number of apps out there or perhaps in a Froyo (Android V2.0) over the air update.
Overall this phone was a relief from the otherwise entry-level line up that Cricket offered, that is except for the always exciting and new Blackberry Curve. It is a sign of hope that this carrier has some huge potential left in it. That potential will come from Android & Blackberry handsets and will become evident real soon. At $55/month for an unlimited everything nationwide smart phone plan, they are really onto something. The nearest competitor can’t even come close to this. (READ MORE…)
Pros:
Best SMART Phone ever offered by Cricket Wireless
Android Operating System
Fast & Full Web Browsing Capabilities
3.2Megapixel Camera/Camcorder & Stereo Bluetooth
Cons:
Old version of Android OS. (it’s possible that they will issue an over the air update for this)
On screen keyboard is horrible. However, you can download several apps to fix this.
Slower Processor/Ram than most new smart phones
Expensive
Rate Your Experience with the Sanyo Zio by Kyocera for Cricket Wireless:
Samsung Messager II for Cricket Wireless is an amazing cell phone. It is easily one of the best handsets Cricket has to offer. It nails the basic functions with consistently clear call quality, a full-keyboard for easy text messaging/e-mailing, and tremendous multimedia functionality. If you are looking for a candy-bar style phone that just plain works great than this is the mobile phone for you. It pairs excellent with Cricket’s unlimited calling / text plans with no contracts. One of the only negatives was the fact you have to purchase MicroSD card, USB Cable, and bluetooth handset separately. However, this is to be expected. The other issue was a candy-bar style handset needs to be locked/unlocked to prevent in pocket dialing. It also makes for an uncomfortable positioning in-between your shoulder/ear when going “makeshift handsfree”. The bottom line is the Samsung Messager 2 is an excellent and affordable handset that just plain works great. (READ MORE…)
Doesn’t come with MicroSD card or USB computer cable.
Candybar style phone (Must lock/unlock phone or risk pocket-dialing people, difficult to neck/shoulder handsfree talk)
Complete Review:
The Samsung Messager II is one of those cell phones that just plain works great. It really feels great in the hand, not too heavy and at the same time enough weight to make you feel comfortable. A simple elegant slide reveals the full size keyboard hiding underneath the main handset. The battery lasts forever, it has an expandable MicroSD slot, a quick access multimedia button and much more. It is simple to use for the “basic” user yet it has tons of features for those willing to explore. The phone utilizes cricket’s widget dashboard which gives you quick access to the mobile web, weather, sports, chat, news and more. However, if you want to access the traditional menu it can be done simply by pressing the default menu button on the top left corner.
Which brings about a good point. After purchasing this phone you will want to quickly access the settings from the default menu and disable the key button sound. It gets soooo annoying sooo fast! The way you learn more about this phone is just by playing around with it. In only a few minutes time you should easily be able to be sending out picture texts to all your friends. One great feature is when you slide out the keyboard the screen automatically flips from portrait to landscape mode. This makes typing out lengthy e-mails or texts a breeze. You’ll probably want to buy a 4GB MicroSD card and load it up with some MP3′s, videos, and other multimedia. For the demo we loaded the Samsung Messager II with tons of songs. This phone is somewhat special in the fact you can use MP3′s on the MicroSD card as your ringtone. Therefore you don’t have to waste money purchasing ringtones! If you don’t end up buying a MicroSD card that’s alright read our guide to downloading free cricket ringtones. Overall, you really can’t go wrong with this handset. The best way to put it, is it just works. It’s affordable and functional. This is easily one of Cricket Wireless & MetroPCS best phones. (Read More…)
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The Huawei Ascend is Cricket’s newest Android smartphone. With a 3.5” HVGA touch-screen, wifi capability, 3G Real Web Browsing, the Ascend packs plenty of features into an affordable package. The Huawei Ascend includes great features like a 3.2MP camera/camcorder, MP3 player/microSD slot, virtual QWERTY keyboard, and more! The Ascend is a fully featured Android smartphone featuring the Android 2.1 Operating System. With Android Marketplace get access to tens of thousands of cool apps as well as great Google apps like YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Search and more.
