Customer Reviews

Casio G'zOne Boulder Phone, Orange (Verizon Wireless)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Verizon broke Casio's phone, but has finally fixed it. A free upgrade to software version 09 or later fixes both the terrible sound quality and the dismal battery life that made this phone infamous. This phone is now much more like its predecessor, the Gzone Type S, but with a better camera

To confirm you have the new software, go to the "Settings & Tools" menu, then "9. Phone Info", then "SW/HW Version", then "Software Version". The last 3 digits should be M09 (or later). You can also check the outside of the box to see if it already has this version--look at the last barcode on the Proof of Purchase sticker.

If you have a Boulder with obsolete software, you must go to a Verizon store (or a very good reseller) and have them perform the upgrade. The upgrade is too big to be distributed over the air. The Boulder I received in December 2008 arrived with the M09 firmware.

This is Verizon's third rugged Gzone phone. They're bigger than most cellphones, but you can actually take it with you in the rain, skiing, hiking, or rafting. Compared to the preceding "Type S" model, this phone is significantly lighter--it feels less sturdy, but in reality the plastic case is probably almost as strong as the Type S metal case. The Boulder also lacks the antenna loop on top that made it easy to attach to a backpack or belt loop.

Based on a week of use, the Boulder's plastic case is much easier to scratch than its predecessors--it's not nearly as fragile as an iPod, but not as indestructible as an all-terrain phone like this should be.

This is a great phone if you don't want to pay Verizon $15+/month to watch video or browse the web. I like the sturdy waterproof design that I can take with me, instead of having to give white-glove treatment to a typical fragile phone. (My last phone, from Motorola, died after getting four feet from a hot tub, even without any water touching it.)

My Boulder battery lasted for four days of moderate use, with EVDO turned off. (To learn how to do this, check out the Howard Forums.) With the software update, this is a good rugged phone for folks who don't want a fragile gadget.

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?

I quickly took advantage of Verizon's return policy and got another phone.

If you want a phone which you can't hear the person you are talking to than this phone is for you. After programming this phone, a Verizon representative called to varify that the program was successful. While speaking with her, I honestly could barely understand a word she was saying. I thought maybe it was a bad connection with Verizon. I made numerous calls afterword to people with different networks and same problem. Needles to say it took me about 20 minutes to pack up this phone, send it back, and re-program my old cell phone. Do not waste your money on the G zone Boulder cell phone.

When I bought my previous phone, the Boulder's predecessor (G'zOne Type S), it was natural choice given my history of destroying my phones in various ways. When I finally managed to destroy even the Type S, I purchased the Boulder as a logical upgrade. Note that my review refers to the newer version of this phone with the front exterior speaker, not the model pictured here.

==Aesthetics==

"It's ugly," my sister said upon seeing the jagged, orange-and-black exterior. Particularly with the extended battery, it's not a sleek phone; but it does stand out. The silver-and-black color scheme is certainly more conventional, but I found it unacceptably tame. When I wore my old Type S, I had strangers approach to ask me about it, who'd stare in amazement when I demonstrated its distinguishing characteristic by dropping it to the floor. The silver-and-black color scheme probably won't garner this reaction, but my model is likely to.

The other factor I considered was 'findability,' given the inevitability that I will, somehow, loose this phone in an open field at night and clumsily retrace my steps. The bright orange should be easier to spot.

==Keyboard==

Its keyboard is the standard 9-button layout, but the buttons are separated more than most phones (including the Type S) and I find it's easier to hit the intended key.

==External Display==

One thing I loved about the Type S and still love about the Boulder is that the clock is always displayed, even when the phone is inactive. Pushing a button activates the backlight, but it's not necessary unless you're in the dark. Since I use my phone instead as my watch, this is a great feature.

The other invaluable feature is the flashlight. We all use our phone as an occasional light source, but by toggling on the flash, the Boulder can project a light which is more directional and significantly brighter. Moreover, it doesn't dim with inactivity and remains on if you close the phone. It's easily bright enough to guide you through a dark hallway or during a nighttime stroll.

==Battery==

It comes with two: the standard battery lasts for a day of frequent internet and video usage, and the extended battery, for two or three such days. I've not had a day where I didn't use these energy-intensive features, so I can't comment on standby longevity.

==Compass==

This was actually a feature I looked forward to, because when driving in a GPS-less environment I often long for such basic information as knowing which direction is North. It works fairly well, but the phone looses points because the compass takes a few seconds to initialize AND it's the first feature you'll get to by holding down the exterior 'mode' button when the phone is closed. Taken in combination, this means a 10-second wait if you want to navigate to the stopwatch or countdown features without opening the phone, rendering them nigh-useless.

==Music/Speakers==

I'm still learning the ins and outs, but the sound quality is better than I expected -- which is to say about as good as a small, inexpensive radio, like your (cheap) bedroom alarm clock. At the highest volume level it's very loud but everything sounds terrible; I think a lot of the negative reviews stem from this aspect of the speakers, but if you default the volume at 'normal' then it's about as loud as a phone typically is, and maintains good quality.

In total, I think the sound quality is perfectly fine, and I could see using this phone as background music for playing cards with friends or the like. It's compatible with Bluetooth music players, and I've read that song quality when projected to external speakers or headphones is flawless, but haven't yet tested this myself. Its menu function is pretty good, and fully accessible and controllable while the phone is closed, and I suspect it will completely eclipse the need for me to bring my MP3-player anywhere. With an SD memory card, it'll hold up to 8gb of songs.

==Camera==

The photo camera is much nicer than the Type S. Photo quality is just at that point where it becomes difficult to distinguish its pictures from those taken by an actual camera upon casual inspection (or when uploaded to Facebook). It performs admirable in low-light, but motion is a deal-breaker.

Video quality is pretty poor. It's difficult to recognize what's being filmed if there's much motion, and videos appear dim. But it can record for longer than 15 seconds (recording length is limited only by storage space, i.e., 8gb-worth or many many hours) making it superior to the Type S. A viewer can still discern the cuteness of my baby niece or the wackiness of my cat, which, thusfar, is the extent of my empirical analysis.

==Internet==

I've never had an internet-capable phone before, because I remember the horrors of the old (1g?) mobile internet: it was painfully, painfully slow, and you could only access the "internet," which consisted of five or six sites which told you the weather, movie showtimes, and stock quotes.

This phone uses the 3g network, and now I can appreciate what that means. It's friggin fast: in the time it takes to walk from one room to another in my house, I can pull up my Gmail account. Most major websites are accessible, and I don't feel handicapped using the navigation pad and keyboard.

Moreover, Verizon's V-cast is far better than I expected, featuring a wide array of television programming. The videos are pixely, but certainly watchable, and the sound is fine.

==Conclusion==

I love this phone; it feels like it was designed for me. Not everyone will feel the same, and probably most people won't. But if you're looking for the 'swiss army knife' of phones -- rugged, utilitarian, feature-packed -- then look no further. Well, look a little further because the newer version has that front speaker thing.

I've had this phone about a week and it's what I expected it to be: rugged, waterproof, and full of features an outdoors lover will appreciate. There is a decline in sound quality over many other models, but with a waterproof layer of silicon (or whatever it is) over the mic and the speakers, what do you expect in "ruggedized" electronics? This problem can easily be solved with non-waterproof bluetooth technology. Or by simply turning down the volume. And also, the poor sound quality only occurs on about half of the calls I make. (probably depends on what phone the other person is using)

Pros:
Clearer & brighter than expected main screen.
Rugged (of course)
Compass and timer (didn't know was on the phone until I got it. :)
It's bright orange (go vols!)
push to talk is handy

Cons:
Shorter than expected battery life.
Poor sound quality on some calls.

If you're hard on phones, this one is very highly recommended.

Update:
I've had the phone for several months now, and learned that the speaker issues are at their worst in loud environments (when you increase the speaker volume) and at their least in quiet environments. Keep the volume low and you won't have any problems. In the last few hundred calls I've taken on this phone, I've had no problems hearing.
Additionally, the battery must be "broken in" now. The first month I recharged daily, but now I'm down to charging every two or three days.

This phone is close to being the best phone ever made. If only I could hear people talking to me. Sometimes it is bearable and the rest of the time, I can't understand 80% of the words the person on the other end is saying. They can hear fine. I tested it in extremely varying enviroments (Mountain, ocean, city, rural, etc) as well as two different states, always with identical results. If you read all the reviews out there you will find that is the only real complaint.

There are a couple tips out there for those having this problem:
1. VOICE PRIVACY comes "ON" in original settings - turn it off.
2. Casio claims they will soon (early September?) have an on air upgrade that may help this problem. It is in the works but has not been approved by Verizon at the time of this writing. When available you can go to "SETTINGS AND TOOLS" then "PHONE INFO" and then "SOFTWARE UPDATE". It is that easy. You don't have to go into a store to do it.

Hope it helps. I am returning my phone as I just can't understand the callers = sounds like they are talking through a tin can. Hoping they fix the problem or even better, come out with a pink one with this problem solved. Girls play too.

I just got this phone its my 12th phone and its amazing. It's been under water 3 times already and still going strong. the speaker is good, someone told me it was not that good but it works fine. the speaker for playing music is the best i have heard on any of my phones. This is a good phone and I highly recommend it.

Great phone.. good sound quality now that they updated the software!

Battery life is okay.. not the best.. but not the worst! FAST internet speeds... great features!

If you want a phone for its progressive looks, then this might be your phone. If you work outdoors, you will be sorely dissapointed.
I work outdoor construction. Frail, dainty flip phones designed for 14 year old jr. High girls who want a phone to text message every waking hour won't cut it for me. The Boulder, by comparison to other phones, such as the Kyocera KX444 (now discontinued) are huge. The Casio has a tinny sounding ear speaker. The rear mounted "Loud Speaker" is even worse. Forget trying to listen to either with any level of surrounding noise is present. Then there's the poorly designed power cord port. This is by far the worst engineering joke. Unlike the Kyocera, that has a quick connect "jack style" port. the Casio's resembles a tiny USB port. Plan on its failure early on in your ownership experience.
Unfortunately, Verizon does not offer a good quality construction grade phone. My suggestion to you would be to try to find a Kyocera KX444 on ebay, or...... go to Sprint

I just read through the bad things about this phone and they're ALL right. HORRIBLE sound and CRAPPY design. Casio should maybe stick to wearing watches,but after my experience with this phonee that I can barely hear most people on and the input jack is a pain in the A** to plug in, AND NOW ITS BROKE COMPLETELY!!!!!!!!!! AND I HAVE NO WARRANTY!!!, I don't even think I'd buy a watch from these jackasses. Sorry, I'm pissed, DO NOT BUY THIS PIECE OF JUNK!! I can't tell youwhat you SHOULD buy, just not this. If you don't believe me,and you goahead and buy it any way... I wish you the best of luck and...I told ya so.

ps. Oh yeah LOL, the compass??? forget about it. You might as well use a pine needle inside a canteen cap with water as a natural compass, this hting is HORRIBLE.

mnewland1@student.cscc.edu