Low-cost candy bar cell phone packs impressive feature set
Following the release of the Pantech C610 for AT&T, which received a rating of 4.0 out of 5.0 stars from About.com, AT&T has now made available a similiar feature-rich handset that sells for less: the Pantech C630.
Price
While AT&T advertises the Pantech C630 at the low cost of $39.99, be careful about two factors in order to get that price. First, you have to agree to a two-year service contract, which is standard.
Without doing so, your price goes up by $50. Also, the $39.99 price is assuming you’ve sent in a $40 mail-in rebate or paid for the handset online with a $40 online-only discount.
Without the rebate or discount and with no-commitment pricing, the Pantech C630 is no longer a budget cell phone at the total cost of $129.99.
Feature List
* Mobile Web and 3G for high-speed Internet access
* Quad-band world phone
* GPS and AT&T Navigator for turn-by-turn directions
* Bluetooth for short-range wireless (i.e. for a wireless headset)
* MicroSD for up to 16 gigabytes of expandable storage space
* 1.3-megapixel camera with 4X zoom and live video capture and playback
* Text messaging, instant messaging and video share (share live streaming video)
* Mobile email
* Music player with ability to create music playlists
* MusicID to identify songs you’re listening to
* eMusic Mobile and Napster Mobile subscription music services
* Calendar, alarm clock and personal organizer
* USB connectivity to transfer data (i.e. music) through a USB cable
* Hands-free speakerphone
* Voice dialing and voice commands
* TTY and TTD compatible for the hearing impaired
* Ringtones, mobile banking, games, graphics and wallpapers
Battery
The C630 has up to 5 hours of rated talk time and up to 16 days of rated standby time (i.e. if you didn’t use your cell phone at all for 16 days).
The lower-priced Pantech C630 has one-upped the higher-priced Pantech C610 in the battery department. The Pantech C610 only has a rated talk time of 3 hours.
Size, Weight
The C630 is 4.1 inches by 1.7 of an inch by 0.46 of an inch. By comparison, the Pantech C610 isn’t as tall and measures in at 3.67 inches by 1.81 of an inch by 0.72 of an inch.
The Pantech C630, though, weighs less. The C630 rings up just 2.77 ounces on the scale while the Pantech C610 weighs 3.25 ounces.
Cell Phone Service Carrier
The Pantech C630 is sold exclusively by AT&T.
Differentiation in the Marketplace
The Pantech C630’s prime differentiation is its ability to be a relatively feature-rich cell phone at a very low price. At the $39.99 price level, the handset also differentiates itself by packing 3G data speeds with GPS navigation and a 5-hour battery.
Pantech C610 review : Want to read our full review of the Pantech C610 instead?
Read here for Pantech C610 review.