Verizon Wireless Blitz Review

Introduction:

The Verizon Wireless Blitz, manufactured by UTStarcom/Pantec, is a peculiar looking device targeted to kids and pre-teens as a combination phone and messaging unit.  Its primary competition comes from the Samsung Alias and the more expensive LG enV2,   as both offer a QWERTY keypad.

The retail package includes

• Blitz phone
• 920mAh battery with cover
• proprietary USB cable
• wall charger
• user manual

Design:



You can compare the Verizon Wireless Blitz with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The external of the device is dark pearl-blue in color, and is constructed out of plastic, which is flimsy to the touch, giving it an overall “toy” appearance.  Located on the font is the large 2.2” diagonal 220x176 pixel TFT display.  It has a poor viewing angle, unless viewed at 90 degrees, and is almost dark while in sunlight.  The enV2 does not suffer from these issues as much.  Directly below it is the d-pad, which is smaller than most, but we were still able to navigate the menus without problem.  On either side of the phone are the volume rocker, 2.5mm headset jack, dedicated music and camera button, charging port, and microSD card with support up to 4GB.


Being that this is a messaging device, the hidden QWERTY keypad slides out from underneath the main display, containing four rows of keys, which are slightly curved on the ends.  They are black plastic, with white letters and blue numbers and symbols.  The backlight is not bright as we would like, but still easy to see in dark conditions.  Since the Blitz is not a PDA, your are limited to sending and receiving standard Text and Picture Messages or Mobile IM out of the box.  While composing a text message, we found the buttons to be tiny and cramped together, similar to the Alias, thus causing several typing errors to be made.  It would be less troublesome for a kid with smaller fingers to use, as this is whom the device is designed for.  Regardless, the keyboard on the Blitz and Alias leave a lot to be desired, as they are not as large and spread-out as the one found on the enV2.

Verizon Wireless Blitz Video Review:

Software:

Little has changed regarding the Main Menu, with categories for media center, messaging, contacts, recent calls, and settings & tools.  Two themes are included (Urban and Charming) and you can change the menu layout between tab, list, and grid view.  Between this, and being able to change the wallpaper and clock style, it gives kids the feeling of some personalization.


The Phonebook allows up to 1000 entries to be stored, each with their Name, Mobile 1, Home, Work, E-Mail 1, Group, Picture, Ringtone, Mobile 2, Fax, and E-Mail 2.  After a contact is saved, there are only 21 speed dial locations you can choose to assign them to.



Even though the Blitz is a budget messaging phone, it still comes with an integrated 1.3MP camera.  However, as you can imagine, picture quality is lacking.  Images taken outside have a purple hue to them, with poor detail and soft edges.  Interior images look even worse, with a lot of fuzziness and grain being shown.  Because of these issues, we can’t see anyone other than kids using the camera to take quick pictures.  Once again, the enV2 does a better job in this category and price range.



The Blitz is not designed as a music phone, yet it is capable of playing MP3 and WMA files.  It uses the same out-dated music player that has been on Verizon Wireless phones over the past few years, so nothing new there.  Audio quality through the tiny mono-speaker was OK as long as the volume was not turned up to high.  In doing so, it would cause some distortion to be heard.  You can also use the 2.5mm headset jack or Stereo Bluetooth to achieve better quality playback.  It should also be pointed out that you cannot download full audio tracks (only ringtones), as it does not offer a connection to the OTA VCast music store.  You must either use a microSD card for MP3 playback, or the VCast with Rhapsody software for PC downloads. 


Mobile Web 2.0, VZNavigator, and Game download are possible, but unfortunately the Blitz does not support EVDO, which limits its data to the slower 1x network.  Because of this, the Mobile Web home page takes 15 seconds to load, instead of 6 seconds on the enV2.  Also, VZNavigator operates slower, since it takes longer to download maps and directions.


There is a total of 28MB of internal memory included, but 10MB is used out of the box, leaving only 18MB available to the user.  This is less than most other phones, but since there is not a lot of downloads available, you don’t need 62MB like on the enV2.

Performance:

The reception on the Blitz was lackluster at best, with only 2 bars of 1x showing in a strong coverage area, where most other phones show 3-4 bars.  However, the real test is using the phone in several places.  We were able to place calls around South FL area without problem, but once we started going into more fringe areas, the audio would begin to drop out and the calls would eventually disconnect.  Call quality through the earpiece speaker was also a disappointment, as it sounded like people were talking through a kazoo, causing their voice to sound “metallic”.  People that we called on a landline said that our voice sounded hollow and they could easily tell we were using a cell phone.  The speakerphone faired even worse with a lot of distortion being heard if the volume were turned up past the lowest setting.  Yet again, the enV2 does better in these categories, with excellent reception and call quality.

The included 920mAh battery is rated to give 4.6 hours of talk time, or 11.6 days of standby time on a full charge.  Our testing revealed a more accurate 4 hours of talk time, which is less than the enV2’s 6 hours of talk time, but slightly better than the Alias’ 3 hours of talk time.

Conclusion:

One look at the Blitz and most people will immediately think “kids phone”, due to the color and overall toy-like styling.  Even though it has some features going for it, such as the large display and QWERTY keypad, both are poorly designed.  The reception and call quality are also two main areas of concern, and neither faired well during our tests.  Overall, the Blitz could be a good starter-phone, as would the Alias, for pre-teens under the age of 12, but in every respect the enV2 is a more capable and higher quality device.