Customer Reviews

Pantech C520 Breeze Phone, Black (AT&T)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The Pantech Breeze is a simple phone. It does not overload the user with options that are overly complex. But one must be able to plug in the charger into a small 3/8ths receptacle and do some minimal configuring to use it effectively.

I'm old enough to get a senior discount in many circumstances. I wear glasses and my hands are not as steady as they once were, but this phone is NOT difficult. The charger plugin is small, but like the USB plugins that we all are accustomed to, one must be steady and place it into its receptacle. If it doesn't go in one way, turn it over, and it will go in the other way.

When I received my phone, I turned off the simple Breeze mode, and put it in advanced mode. Then I went thru the menus and configured it to my liking. It gives just a few choices for wallpaper and I wasn't too happy with any of them.. I found that the big internal clock on the main screen suited me perfectly. I chose the blue digital on the dark background. That particular clock choice takes the place of the wallpaper.. Perfect for me. You can also configure a clock for the external part of your phone. When not active, clicking on the side button for two seconds lights it up so that we can easily see the time of day.

Shortcuts on the main screen is very helpful. Instead of digging thru the various menus to find alarms, the calendar or magnifying glass (that's right.. the phone even has a magnifying glass) our missed calls, the calculator, stopwatch, or any of the other options, shortcuts allows you to easily access those with just one click. So, we click on shortcuts on the main screen and there is an easy menu for us with all our most-used options. Doesn't take but two or three seconds to get where you want to go.

The camera included is satisfactory... I played with it for a minute.. It's there if you need it.. but the Breeze is not really catering to those of us who need highly sophisticated architecture or electronics. I have a camera already. In fact, I have two. And my wife has a camera also. There is no music player, per se. Nor is there much storage for many pictures or songs.. but you can store some pics and some sounds or songs for your own pleasure or you can associate them with different callers in your address book to provide an individualized ring or picture when you get incoming calls from those persons.

The bluetooth is handy. For those of you who don't really understand bluetooth, it is just a means for devices to wirelessly communicate at short range. So, if you have a file, a pic or a sound file that your wife might want on her device too, you can just connect them with Bluetooth and transfer the files back and forth. It's very easy. You just find the file on your phone in My Stuff, then use options to send it by bluetooth. First, before any transfers occur, devices must be "paired" so they recognize each other. Read the manual for instructions..

The Breeze is very attractive with rounded edges and is very light. It's a deep gray. The gray keyboard has a nice, modern, blue-lighted hue to it when you open it for use. Also, the keys are big, separated well... so we don't fumble too much. The internal screen is ample and bright for our needs. You can turn down the brightness to save battery life, but I keep mine on high. I only talk on average, once or twice a day, so I don't need to worry much about the battery running down too fast. You can quickly quiet an incoming call by simply pressing the long button (key) on the side. Placing it in "vibrate only" mode is done simply, by pressing the # key. Restoring it to ring mode is done in the same manner, just press the # key.

Voice quality is clear.. Sounds are generous, a little on the louder side.. You can turn them down if you wish. When receiving the phone, it will be configured to beep on every key touch. You can configure it for silence when pressing keys. (keytone type & keytone volume) I won't bother with all the configurations and tips... Otherwise, this review will turn into a book...

There is much to like about this phone. I'm very tech-capable, but for my needs, this phone more than fits the bill. For those who are really into gadgetry and configuring electronics till the cows come home, this might not be your phone.. But for those of us who use phones in a practical manner to communicate with friends and family, I rate this phone very high..

Edit: There is one valid criticism that I've seen in some of the reviews. AT&T does load up this particular phone with their own phone numbers(Check Bill, Customer Care, etc..). My wife uses a different model and her phone does not have all these "extra" phone numbers. These are hard-coded into the phones programming so these numbers cannot be deleted. Annoyingly, they sit right at the top of your phone list. So, upon opening your contacts, you will see all these da*n AT&T numbers and must scroll down to find your friends. There is however a WORKAROUND that will put these AT&T numbers under your more valued personal contacts. Just add a space to the very front of the name in your contacts list. So, if you have Joseph in your contact list, put a space right in front of his name.. This brings all addresses with a space to the top and they will be alphabetized. It's not much trouble to do it.. only took me about 3 or 4 minutes to do my 25-or-so contacts. And when you add a new contact, the same.. put the space in. And you're all set.

Enjoy!

I just bought it for a senior citizen. I was able to program the 123 keys easily. The screen is large and very clear with large font options. The ringer is loud. The keys are large and easy to press and everything is clearly labeled. I like the magnifying glass feature lol.

I would not say, however, the phone is extremely easy to use or intuitive for "senior citizens". The menus take some work to maneuver. I also think it is wrong of AT&T to load up their own numbers with no way to delete them. And the charging plug is hard to manuever to, especially for a person with arthritis-not a smart move there. Overall, it was a good upgrade from the old phone and a good idea if you have an elderly person who needs a cell phone but doesn't quite get how to use them.

This phone was purchased by me for my 67 year old mother.
she had the same phone in bone color and loved it right up to the minute she forgot and washed it.
the A,T&T store wanted $480.00 for a replacement and said it would take a week to get?
I purchased it from you on-line for much less and had it shipped overnight and it was still $200.00
cheaper than what they wanted. she would not go for any other phone. she likes the size of the buttons and the simple one touch features this phone offers.
Me i'll keep my samsung eternity because of all the pictures i take with this phone and the memory it has. but for someone that wants a no frills phone that is easy to use this is it.
JUST DO NOT PUT IN THE WASHING MACHINE BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT TAKE THE ABUSE. (BUT WHAT PHONE WILL??)

i bought this phone for my grandmother, who does not know how to work a cell phone very well. out of everything i have bought her this is the simplest one out there for her. there have not been any problems at all with any of the keys. she has never gotten how to use speed dial, but with the 3 quick keys at the top its easy for her to get. it has a dedicated camera key that way she does not have to go thru any of the menus to get to it. it has large numbers and buttons for her. she always had a problem of hitting more than one key on other phones but not on this one. it is easy to set the phone to breeze mode witch does not give many options in case she does go thru the menu which can be good for someone that does not know how to do much with a cell, or advanced mode for anyone that does know how to work it. really this is the best phone she has had and she does not want a different one other than this. if your looking for a more complex phone this one is not for you, but if you are looking for one for an elderly person this one is great.

I don't have the words to say enough bad things about this phone.
I needed phones for my Mom and Dad, both in their 80s. My Mom has arthritis. My Dad has demintia. They need to be able to use a cell phone in case of emergency: One that works every time and is easy to use. I saw a Samsung Knack and was very impressed with this phone for Seniors, but AT&T doesn't offer it. So I went looking to find out what they offer for Seniors and this is it. There are no Pros, so here are the Cons:

1) The proprietary charger plug-in is impossible for someone with arthritis. You really don't look at this when you're buying a phone. I will look next time.
2) The Address Book, Contact List, or whatever you call it is filled with contacts that start with "AT&T". It is the first thing you see. Can't be deleted or edited. My Dad can't deal with it. He expects to see something familiar. He thinks he has pressed the wrong key and doesn't know what to do next.
3) You can't call this phone when it's being charged. Not much good if you are trying to make an emergency contact.
3) If you have a 'missed call' message (a small line at the bottom of the screen), none of the emergency buttons will work. You can't make a call. This phone, which was suppose to be easy, is utterly useless and frustrating.
4) The reception isn't good. Mom's motorola RAZR never dropped a call. On the Pantech, we can never complete a call. All calls are dropped at some time.

I could go on and on. I have contacted AT&T four times regarding this phone and their operating system. They are 'sorry' that I am unhappy. We paid $79 for each of these phones. Sorry doesn't help.

Gave this phone "Pantech Breeze C520" (AT&T)to my 85 y/o mother for Christmas. I set it up for her use and am giving my comments on the setup and hoping that my mother will love it as well as I do.
First, the setting up of the phone was a breeze. I like that she'll easily be able to see the battery life remaining (by numbers). The font can be changed to very large (I set it at large). Loved the 1,2,3 where I could put my brothers cell and my cell#'s for easy access. Believe me, my mother is very "OLD SCHOOL" and not very willing to learn new things.
Second, it was a breeze seeing the contacts from the sim chip right there (not like some other phones I've had where you have to copy them). There is a choice between leaving the phone in the Breeze mode (text) or Advance mode (icons). Since my mother is old and has a hard time understanding icons, I left it in the Breeze mode where she can easily read what she wants/needs to do.
Third, IT IS A SPEAKER PHONE TOO!!!! Thank God for this as my mother is a little hard of hearing too. Loved this part, just gotta get her to understand to press the speakerphone button right there in the front with easy access.
Believe me everyone, if you have an elder parent who's not that into new technology, this is the phone for them. It has a loud ring to it for the hard of hearing, the font can be change to "very large" if needed for the hard at seeing. If they have a limited number of minutes, this phone will tell them how many minutes they have used and remaining, the battery life remaining before they need to recharge the phone and the user can even pay their phone bill with the press of a button. Whatever the need it is easy for them to see. I can't describe how I feel about this phone except E-L-A-T-I-O-N. It is the phone for people who don't like all the oooooh's and ahhhhh's but has it, but need a GREAT phone to use. This phone does have a camera and video but an elder person won't even think of using them (welllll, at least my mother won't). I'm sure this is the perfect phone for her. She hasn't tried it yet, but I'll try to remember to write a comment on what she had/has to say about this phone. She is hard to please but I'm pretty sure she's gonna love this phone and how easy it is to use.
All in all....I would highly recommend this phone for your elderly parents or for older people who are not into tec-kee gadgets. It is one of the very few (and I do mean very few) phones made for the elderly. I read comments about the Jitterbug J and didn't really like what I was reading. I can honestly say this phone is MUCH BETTER than the Jitterbug J, so don't waste your money on that plan or phone. The Pantech Breeze C520 is the phone to get and by all means it is cheaper thru Amazon.com. At least for me when I ordered it it was much cheaper. I don't think AT&T even offers this phone anymore on their site, so you might have to order it thru Amazon.com but you will be glad you did. At Amazon.com I was able to order just the phone as that was all I was looking for. Thank you Amazon.com. Hope this comment helped you decide what to get for older people who are not into fancy Gadgets or not into using bells and whistles. Remember this phone has a "speakerphone" on it, not the walkie-talkie type of speaker phone but like a normal landline speakerphone. Now alls I gotta find is a case for her phone. (smile)
CON(s) - The charging piece may be kind of hard to open on the side but if the person has the littlest of a nail, they should have no problem.
Look forward to a review of what my mother had to say about the phone...

This phone will not hold a call. Don't call India because they don't know enough english to begin to help.
Been a poor quality phone since purchase. All they want to do is replace a battery which is not the problems.
Drop call, poor ring and volume, its the pantech, all other phones work fine in the house

Better yet stay away from At&T

I bought the Pantech Breeze II as a replacement. Boy do I miss my other phone. This phone does not have the ease of use as my Nokia. If you want to download a new ringtone you have to load it on a Micro SD card. Then you have to take your battery and your sim card out and put the SD card in the phone to load the new ringtone.

My Nokia I could just download the ringtone to the computer and then transfer it using the Data cable. No so with this phone.

There is too many more things about this phone that I don't like.

I bought this phone because it was easy & simple to use. It is, but good luck buying one now. They were discontinued some time ago. AT&T has come out with a "BreezeII" at a higher cost ( of course) You can still find Breeze I on E-BAY, but many are use, so beware. I am 66 & this phone is really great to use. Battery charger plug in "port" is too small but love everything else.

I bought one of these to replace my 2-year old Pantech Breeze I when the speaker went bad in it, but it is not the same phone. Most of the displays are in a much smaller font and the dialing buttons are much smaller and don't light up. The original was a good choice for someone who can't read small print without reading glasses, but the "new and improved" version isn't.