AT&T have released their new bargain smartphone, the Pantech Discover, this month and it has changed the market because of it low price tag. Smartphones are becoming more and more inexpensive, and as a result the market is expanding as more and more people are able to afford them. Phones like the Pantech Discover cater to this expanding market in an effort to grab some of this untapped populace, and it seems AT&T made the right decision with this phone as many experts are surprised by its capabilities.
The Discover is 3G and 4G compatible and can be connected to AT&T’s LTE network. It has Bluetooth capabilities and a wifi receiver. This all means that the discover can connect to the Internet almost anywhere that a competitors phone can, minus the cities that AT&T does not have LTE coverage in, and competitors do. This is an issue that AT&T is addressing and more network spectrum should be available to AT&T customers very soon.
The display of the Pantech Discover is 4.8 inches, making it just under the designated 5 inch mark for phablets. This makes it a smartphone, and we have yet to see a bargain phablet hit the market, but that may be just around the corner. The TFT capacitive touchscreen allows for multitouch functions as well. It has a resolution of 720x 1280 pixels.
The design of the Discover is typical amount smartphones, as it is thin, long and lightweight. It is 134.2x 68.6x 9.1 mm and 135 grams. This makes it an easy addition to a persons pocket or handbag, and the large screen ensures easy use. The discover also includes a mp3 and mp4 player as well as an organizer and image editor. It also has a voice activated dialer and memo pad.
The Pantech Discover has 16 GB of internal memory and 1 GB of RAM. This is pretty standard for smartphones these days, and some phones are even pushing the 1 GB RAM standard. The Discover does have an input that supports micro SD cards up to 32 GB, for a total of 48 possible GB of memory. This is plenty for a smartphone today, as more and more people are using network storage for their data. This network storage, such as apples iCloud, allows smartphone and tablet users to store all of their personal data without filling up space on their device.
The camera on the Pantech Discover is also quite good. It has a 12.6 MP camera with geo tagging and autofocus, as well as other features, and supports live video shooting. The secondary camera has 2MP and also shoots video. The 12.6 MP camera is very good for this price, as customers could buy a 10 MP camera for around the same price as the Discover is selling for.
The OS for AT&T’s new phone is an older version of Android, v4.0.4, also called ice cream sandwich. This system is slightly outdated, but will allow users to do most everything on the web. However, Google is no longer supported by ice cream sandwich. Perhaps AT&T will get an upgrade to jelly bean for the Discover in the coming months.
The CPU in the Pantech Discover is a dual-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor and the GPU is an Adreno 225. These pieces of hardware are comparable to other smartphones on the market, and it is amazing that AT&T was able to produce such a competitive phone at such a competitive price.
The battery of the Discover does leave something to be wanted, as it has a life span of just under seven hours. This is when under constant use, and less active users may find the phone stays charged for them throughout the day.
The price of the Pantech Discover is $50.00. That is not a typo, it is fifty dollars available online through AT&T with a two year contract. If you want one of these bargain phones, act now.