I've read over a lot of reviews, and spent about three days trying to decide if I wanted to purchase this phone or not. Eventually, I did, and it's a pretty good little phone. I've noticed a lot of negative reviews are from those that ordered this that live outside of the country (CDMA doesn't work there), those that don't understand that this phone doesn't come with a slot for an SD card, or don't understand that this is a VERIZON phone and that the company doesn't use a "sim" card.
Also, anytime you purchase anything from a seller on Amazon, you really need to check out the reviews for that business. My rule of thumb for electronics is that I rarely, if ever, buy anything used, and the seller that I choose has to have a 97%-100% positive rating. 95/96% is pushing it, but sometimes if there are no other options, such as with this item, I'll select one with these ratings. Also, never ever EVER buy a cell phone or other electronic device refurbished or used from these business on amazon; it's too much of a risk.
I ordered this phone "new" from a company that had a 96% rating, with over 17,000 reviews. It sounds like some people have either bought used or refurbished phones, phones that aren't from a company with a 95-100 satisfaction rating, or a combination of both.
I've had this phone for about a month now with no issues. I had a Droid Incredible that was knocked out of my hand, cracking the screen and causing it to "act up" some. Not wanting to risk being phoneless, I ordered this one to hold me off until my contract is up next year. So far, it's a good phone. Takes a little getting used to, but it's good.
1- it DOES have internet; once you activate it, it should update itself within an hour or two. Or at least mine did
2- the fact that it's CDMA and a VERIZON phone is clearly stated in the description, shouldn't give something a bad rating for your mistake
3. "New" may actually mean "New, but someone has usedit before very, very briefly". Someone who lived in South America (go figure!) must have ordered this one and returned it, as one contact and a "verizon welcome" was still in the inbox when I first turned it on. Either way, the phone looks VERY new with no scratches.
4. If you're coming from 2010-2012 smart phones, this will take some getting used to. However, I swear you'll fall in love with the qwerty keyboard. I forgot how much I loved having it.
5- the smallness of the phone will also take some getting used to.
6- it's not the sellers responsibility to tell you that you need a data plan for this, it's Verizon's. If you are switching from a basic phone to this smartphone, you HAVE to have or add a data package. period. If you already have a smart phone, than you won't have to add anything; this phone is still allowed on smartphone plans.
7- If you're a clutz like me, buy a case. They're cheap now because this phone has been out for so long
Bottom Line:
This is a VERY good phone for how much it costs. Shell out the extra money to pay full price for it (45-50 dollars) versus the cheap way out and paying for a used or refurbished one. In my experience used/refurbished means "Will only work well for up to an hour or two weeks". I expect this to last me till next year as long as I don't do anything to physically to harm it, but I will update this if something does end up going awry with the phone that's not my fault. If it's a year from now and you're reading this, and I haven't added a negative comment, than know that this phone still works. Because I'm QUICK to hop on Amazon and update a review if a product doesn't do what it's supposed to.
cheers
*update* 3-23-12
It's not been two months since I've had the phone. It still works great, however, I want to caution those who want to buy it about getting different backgrounds for this device. In experimenting with the phone, Ive found that downloaded different backgrounds causes this phone to slow down SIGNIFICANTLY. Therefore, I don't use them anymore.
Another little thing I've noticed about this phone is that it's help to limit my previous excessive internet use. With my android, I was constantly on Facebook, surfing the web, and uploading picture to various social networks. Now that it's a bit more tedious to search for things on the blackberry browser, I find myself paying more attention in my classes and completing my work on time. I have a laptop, but it's a bulky mac. Not gonna bring that to class everyday!
So in conclusion, phone still works great, be leery of backgrounds.