I purchased the TCL Flip Pro and have been using it for a while. There are problems that make it annoying to use. Note that I had an LG Exalt LTE before and it was definitely better (but it finally broke). Too bad they stopped making it. Also, I have used the Kazuna eTalk (ok, but non-functional calendar) and Orbic Journey (terrible on many points).
First the good:
- Battery life. With mobile data and Wifi disabled, I can go 3+ days on standby. Quite impressive compared to other basic phones.
- Feel - it feels nice in my hand. Not perfect mind you, but the mechanics are solid. Button presses are tactile without being too heavy.
- Outside screen - this is nice and actually is useful sometimes since it shows whether you have any messages. It also shows the date in addition to the time.
Now the bad:
- It feels like no one at TCL actually used this phone as their daily driver. It is mostly functional, but gets in your way when you try to get in a rhythm.
- It makes a high-pitched ("cute") squeak sound EVERY time you send a txt message. NO way to disable or change volume. Embarrasing, so I always have my phone in vibrate mode.
- Not sure I always get a buzz for each text message. I work in a pretty quiet environment and can hear the buzz even, but many times I pull the phone out of my pocket to check and I've got some txt messages I don't remember feeling the buzz for. I have good reception also, so that's not the issue.
- Sometimes missed calls without any ringing - again, I've pulled it out of my pocket minutes after a "missed call" is shown, but I never felt or heard anything. Common issue with Orbic Journey (except it was worse).
- Calendar notification sound - no option for repeat until you acknowledge. I mean, if I put a calendar appt, I want to make sure I don't miss it. Why only give the option for a single ding sound and that's it? The ability to select a ringtone instead of a notification sound would also be a welcome option. Or even the ability for a custom Notification sound (you can do custom ringtone, but not custom Notification sound).
- SLOW to open contacts. I have maybe 80 contacts. It takes 5-6 seconds to open the contacts app. Yes, it opens quicker than that, but it doesn't let me type anything until 6 seconds.
- Slow to open messages app - I mean, this is probably the most used app. Why does it take seconds, every time. And even when it is "open" it still takes a second or two before it updates and shows the most recent message.
- Can't type digits on the home screen to get to a contact. My LG Exalt LTE was great at this. Type '27' (corresponds to 'BR' on the num keypad) and 'Brandon' is one of the matches. Scroll down and choose txt or call. Easy. Don't even have to open the Contacts app. Not so with TCL Flip Pro...
- Internet browser is laggy - can't really scroll that fast. LG Exalt LTE was better (and it wasn't that fun to browse the web with either, but at least you could page up/down with the num keypad).
- There are other things that I don't remember at the moment, but if you look at this list, note that they are things that I run into every day, multiple times a day.
Verizon, why don't you pressure your basic phone providers to do a better job? I just don't need/want a smartphone., but I appreciate a good device that helps me with basic communication and information management (txt/call/calendar/alarms/notepad/calculator/timer/stopwatch).
