Customer Reviews

CASIO G'zOne BOULDER BLACK/SILVER VERIZON CELL PHONE

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I ordered my orange Boulder G Z One from Verizon after extending my contract, paying 29.95 for the phone. I read a lot of reviews about the phone, most being negative. Being a skeptic of other peoples opinions, intelligance often sheep mentality, I decided to try it out myself. I have been using an original G Z One V type for over two years, so my review is basically in comparison to that phone. Durability- there is no question that the Type V is a more durable phone. It feels heavy, it is large,basically bombproof. The Boulder on the other hand feels similar to any standard cell phone. I assume they did testing on it's case, but I am not as likely to throw it against the wall like I have with my Type V. (Just to show it off). LOL.. The camera is a 1.3 mp, not a 2.0 mp, which is a downgrade from most phones, but not really that big of a deal. It does have a great video camera,- with the ability to record lenghty videos, I think based on how much expandable memory you have availible. I have a micro SD card with 512 mb, and I recently recorded over 12 minutes of video just to test it out. I actually turned it off cause I had to take a call. Who knows how much video this phone can take??? I do feel that the apeture to let light in on the Boulder is a bit small, pics seem to be a bit dark compared to the Type V. As far as the sound quality, I can tell you that the speaker phone is poor, especially compared to the Type V. It can still be used as a speaker, but expect to hold the phone close to your ear, as the speaker phone volume is just low, no matter what you do. This, in turn also makes the ringer have a low volume, which at times can be a drag. Fortunatly, it DOES have Bluetooth, which the Type V did not, hence the reason I bought it in the first place. Using the phone in standard mode, (holding to the ear) position, it is just as good as any other cell I have used. Perhaps there has been a recent software upgrade?? I have had no problem having people on the other end hearing me. I do like the drop in charger, which is easy to use. The battery life is not that great. I am looking into an extended life battery, which will be a wothwhile purchase if I can find it. I really like the mini SD card feature. That is certainly an upgrade over the Type V. It has a music player, but as previously mentioned, the speaker is poor so you are better off using earphones like a walkman feature. (OK Im dating myself) ok ok- IPOD- is that better? It does have a PTT feature, but with the outside speaker being poor, I cancelled that part of my service. I like txting better anyway. As far as waterproofing, I have gotten mine wet several times and had no probs so far. I have also dropped mine hard, again, no probs.
Here is a list of pros and cons- IMO

G Z One Boulder- PROS
smaller, smoother, lighter (bascially standard size for a cell) fits in pocket w/o protruding antenna, ect.
has expandable memory mini SD card
has music player
has Bluetooth
has decent on board memory
has a failry accurate electronic compass
Orange phone has a good looking black keyboard (silver phone has silver keys- not as cool)
drop in charger is great
Flashlight feature is awesome
You can record LONG videos!!!, I think it is unlimited single video lenght, based on memory avalible (vrs. 15 seconds with most phones!)

CONS-
Battery life is not that great
no ability to transfer data from old phone (no "Backup Assistant" from Verizon)
Speaker phone is poor sound quailty and volume
push to talk (PTT) is a poor choice with this phone, ref- speaker phone issues

Overall I like my new orange Boulder phone. I had 30 days to decide to keep it or not, and I am going to keep it. I miss the tough, cool look of my trusty Type V, but the Bluetooth and size of this new phone are deciding factors for me.

This phone was exactly what I was looking for, a rugged, waterproof no frills cell phone. I read some reviews that were very critical of the sound quality, but decided to buy it anyway, thinking that perhaps the reviewers were too picky. I liked the phone's design and interface. Very well thought out. It felt like the solid phone I was looking for.

All was great until I took my first call. The static and tinny sound made the caller difficult to understand. Unfortunately the critics were right, the sound quality is unacceptable. Thinking perhaps it was me, I handed the phone to my wife to make a call without saying a word. Within a few seconds she was asking the other party to repeat himself and when she handed back the phone she asked me if there was something wrong with it.

Yeah, the sound just plain stinks. What good is a cell phone if you can't hear the other party? Did anybody at Casio even try this thing out before it was released?

Others who have reviewed this phone have said that the reception is terrible. That was not my experience at all. The sound from the earpiece is not perfect, but it is not garbled like others made it out to be. Like others have said, this phone is waterproof, so the sound you hear has to go through a waterproof membrane before it reaches your ear... I have heard a slight echo while using the phone; this echo does not persist all the time (I have only heard it during one phone call). Battery life has been average for me so far. I rated this phone as a 5 star because I think it will survive me for the 2-year Verizon contract.
If you want a slightly less rugged but better featured phone, go with the Motorola Adventure V750. If you're looking for a phone that can take a real beating and don't want to go with Nextel, get the G'zone Boulder from verizon.

I got this phone when it first came out, and I have had nothing but problems ever since. First of all, the applications on this phone (i.e. e-mail, t.v., navigation) will freeze constantly and stop working. I am on the road alot so the main reasons I got this phone was for its t.v. and navigation capabilities: I couldn't have been more disappointed. As I stated before, the video stream to the t.v. application is so bad that if you watch a 30 minute show you may watch 7-10 minutes of that show where the audio matches the video, the screen is not frozen or skipping: I am not exaggerating. The turn by turn navigation on this phone was supposed to emlimante my spending over an hour lost, as I constantly in the city. (I live in the Pacific NW and am constantly in Seattle, WA or Portland, OR) The navigation either will freeze within a few short minutes or it will show my location as much as 10 blocks away!! I dont even use it as a turn by turn program anymore. When I use it, I will keep restarting the navigation application until it gets my correct position and then will just write down the directions. As far as using the internet on this phone: it is either so slow you cant possibly use it to look at anything or it will freeze as well. I should state that when all these problems are happening, I have full service: my bars are COMPLETELY full!! Other annoying drawbacks of this phone are the fact that I am constantly "accidently" calling people. When I have the phone in my pocket or purse any minor bump to the screen and it will either open an application or call someone depending where I last left the screen. I have upset so many of my friends from accidently calling them either real late or early. Also, it doesn't matter if I am getting full service or not, the people I call say, that only when they talk to me, they will hear themselves echoing. I notice that I cant hear them clear and crisp like on my boyfriends pay-as-you-go cheap phone. I would rather talk on his phone: especially if it is a important call. But the most frustrating thing is that I have the phone insurance and have went through 3 PHONES all with the same exact problems. I recently got my 4th and final phone(my insurance only allows up to 3 replacements) and I am still having the same problems. Sprint acts like it is my problem that I have these problems with my phone but I have two close friends that got theirs around the same time I did and they have already bought a new/different phone; which of course they had to pay full price for because you only get the discount when you first start-up your plan. I am now saving to do the same thing, until I do, I am stuck with this crappy phone!

This phone was bought as an emergency since I had thrown my old phone against the wall and it broke(LG 9100).
I did not know about this phone until I walked into my local Verizon store.
It had everything I needed and a little extra. The camera works great, the pics are pretty good for a cell phone. Yes there are others out there that are better, but that's why I have a camera.

It's a good looking and well functioning phone. I don't have the problems the other reviewers had. The sound is great. The only problem with sound is some ringtones and messages, it plays too loud and sounds distorted.

The video will record up to 15 minutes in one mode, I haven't tried the other mode yet, so I'm not sure of how long or short the recording could be.
The only problems I have with this phone is the alarm settings. Some days the snooze function will not work. This may not be important to some, but or me it helps on certain mornings when I want to catch 5 minutes extra laying in bed.
Once in a while the outside clock will be stuck on whatever time you last had the phone open.
Haven't had a need for the compass or other functions, so no comments there.

The battery that comes with it is a 800mAh and I thought I would need the extended battery which I believe is 1600mAh. All the advertising said it came with a 1000mAh, but nobody could explain why it was different.

I only need to charge it maybe twice a week. It charges very fast and lasts a long time compared to my older phones. I was worried that the battery would not be sufficient, but so far it is. I do about 2000 minutes a month and 1000 text messages.

Overall, the phone has been great except for the few things I mentioned.

I gave it a four due to the few minor features that don't work as they should.

I did a lot of research before I bought this phone. The reviews are so bad and I don't think they do justice for this phone. After talking to people who have this phone or know someone who does, I dicided to try it.

It's a great phone. If you are looking for a great media phone keep looking. If you are looking for a really good phone then buy the G'zOne Boulder.

I had reception two floors down in a underground parking garage and the signal was still good. The phone is straghtforward. It's a phone and it performs well as a phone.

The other night I went to dinner with some friends. I put the phone on vibrate and dropped in my glass of water. Everyone was shocked. I had someone call it. The glass vibrated and the light on the phone lit up.

I pulled it out, dripping wet, and answered my phone. They were so impressed. I dropped it the other day, not on purtpose. Not a problem!!!

I am happy with my purchase and really happy with Verizon wireless.

Greg in Hawaii

I'm at a loss at how any company can put out a cellphone with such horrible sound quality. Prior to puchasing, I never thought to read reviews of this cellphone because I assumed basic features of any cellphone are of at least acceptable standards.

I'm assuming the quality of sound is unacceptably low because of the waterproofing feature. The physical design is sleak, and the shock-water proof features are neat, but dustproof is an irrelevant function thrown in for marketing purposes. I've never had an issue with dust affecting the performance of my cellphones.

In short, this cellphone is as practical as a Hummer; with a couple of great periphery features, but not very practical for its basic intended use. Oh, and my compass would point to the wrong direction, and the pictures are of low quality as well. A big thank you to Verizon for letting me return the product after the 30 day grace period.

I got this phone about a week ago, and i'm going to return it today. The phone has very nice look and feel, reception is good but the sound quality is horrible. I have to ask the caller to repeat a couple of times. My 10 year daughter also complained that she could not hear clearly on this phone but was able to hear clearly on my wife's LG phone.
This convinced me that it was not me or the service but the phone that was the problem. I love this phone but unfortunately I'll have to return it.

New model is slimmer, shorter, and has an internal antenna. Reception for me is not quite as good as the previous model.

New features such as compass and ability for bluetooth are nice, but many basic options are lacking. I'm not given the option to answer the call only when hitting send (it answers automatically when you flip it open, and won't let you change this). It doesn't give separate volume control for ringer and speaker. So, if you turn it up to hear someone while in a noisey environment and forget to turn it back down, your next call will be at the high volume.

Higher volume ringers lack clarity from the speaker and sound horrible.

Speaker does not provide clear audio quality on most calls. Calls sound muffled, and it's not the connection.

Recharding is a royal PITA if you choose to have the sleek silicon protective cover on the phone.

I have had the Boulder for over a month now and I have been very happy with it. My original intent was to purchase a phone that was "ruggedized", after going though 2 Blackberry's at work because floor + Blackberry = many pieces. I was surprised that my SD card from my BB fit the Boulder, I guess I didn't read the description! The media player is great and I love the music/V CAST feature from Verizon. I was a bit nervous about some of the reviews that addressed a speaker/volume issue, but I am happy to report that my phone doesn't have that problem. Either it was addressed, or I was lucky! The exterior speaker could be louder, but in the phone/earpiece mode I have had no issues. I do miss the full keyboard of my Blackberry but not enough to go back to it. I also surprised to find out that the port on the bottom of the phone is the same size as the LG Chocolate, so finding a USB cable and chager for the car became much cheaper! It takes decent pictures, and the video isn't bad for the size, but I was more concerned about the durability of the phone, and less about the "bonus" features that I didn't care about (but are still cool).