Pantech Renue

“People who want to text and make calls and do little else besides should keep the Pantech Renue in the ring when picking out a new feature phone. The price is fair for a handset of this type that isn't being subsidized to abnormally deflated levels, and the compact shape and size let it offer different dimensions than what we typically find on store displays. Its flat keyboard may slow you down at time and being a slave to the charger is always a drag, but my overall impression is of a likable phone that gets other things right, like predictive texting and large screen icons. I really do wish the camera were better at rendering images, even for the megapixel size, but if you're not buying a phone to double as a camera, the shooter still beats that of a flip phone for capturing the moment when no other cameras are around. Because of its shape and interface, the Renue seems geared toward teens or to the young at heart, and its eco certification through AT&T's new program gives it a few bonus points for reduced packaging and recycled materials.”

“The Pantech Renue is an interesting little phone. It doesn't offer all that I expected from a quick messaging device. Notable absences include instant messaging (though perhaps Facebook messaging and Twitter DMs makes up for that) and free email. These seem like table stakes to me. The hardware itself is good. It's a perfectly usable little device that is easy to carry about. The Android-esque user interface will be pleasing to some, no doubt, but once you get past the flashy home screen panels, the feature phone core of the Renue is painfully obvious. Basic performance is mixed, and this concerns me. Though most phone calls sounded good, it was difficult to make them thanks to iffy signal performance. The slow data speeds were another downer, but battery life was awesome. In the end, if you don't care much about extra features and simply want a solid little SMS/MMS device, the Renue gets the job done. Ask it to do much more than that, and it balks.”