Customer Reviews

T-Mobile Comet Prepaid Android Phone (T-Mobile)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

EDITED ON 2/15/2012

Since my original review I have received a couple of comments informing me that T-Mobile has dropped their web daypass option. Furthermore over the past year there has been an explosion of cheap android phones released to be used on cheap pre-paid plans. Given these two changes to the market since my original review, I no longer feel that the T-Mobile Comet represents the best value in this segment and have lowered my rating to a merely "average" 3 stars.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

Between home and the office, I spend a lot of time within reach of a land line and a computer with internet access. So as much as I may have wanted a smart phone previously, I just haven't been able to justify spending upwards of $80 a month for one. I've been waiting a long time for a carrier to offer a smart phone with a pay-as-you-go pricing model - and after about two weeks of use I can say that I am very happy with the T-Mobile Comet.

I've been using T-Mobile's 10 cents per minute pre-paid plan for several years - previously with a cheap, extremely basic Samsung t209 phone. While I wouldn't really call T-Mobile's call quality or coverage "great", I would definitely say that it has been "good enough" for me while living around Boston and San Francisco, and the price has certainly been reasonable. Historically I have spent about $10 to $12 per month on average on my cell phone bill. I also have family members on the same plan who spend even less.

A lot of reviews that compare the Comet to iPhones or other Android phones that can be purchased for $100 to $200 dollars (or even for free) along with an expensive post-paid plan and a two year commitment really seem to miss the point. A $100 phone on an $80 dollar per month plan is going to end up costing more than $2,000 over the lifetime of the two-year commitment. On the other hand, a person who purchases a $200 Comet and spends about $20 a month on average in prepaid minutes and web access is going to spend about $700 over that same period. Is there *any* smart phone out there that's good enough to justify the 3x price difference? For my needs, definitely not.

The real utility of this phone and T-Mobile's pricing structure is the ability to purchase a "Web Day Pass", which gets you 24 hours of data access at the cost of $1.49 on the days you need it. As I mentioned before, I don't need internet access on my phone most days - but there are times when it can be a real life saver. For example - when you're out on the road in an unfamiliar city, use it to look up restaurant reviews and save yourself an unpleasant experience. Or use it to get directions if you're lost. Check prices and reviews on Amazon when you're shopping, or retrieve some important piece of information from your inbox or the web that you forgot to write down before leaving the house. Having access to the web in any one of these situations is well worth the $1.49 cost.

I should note that if you're a bigger talker than me (i.e. you have friends) and worry that paying 10 cents per minute would add up pretty quickly, then you might also want to look at T-Mobile's pre-paid $30-per-month plan which includes 1,500 minutes and 20 MB of data access. 20 MB isn't a lot, but you could probably stretch it a long way if you were to lay off the youtube and use it sparingly. If you do happen to use up your 20 MB before the month is over, then you can resort to buying Web Day Passes to get you through the rest of the month.

I should also note that for a few dollars less you can buy a Nokia Nuron, which probably offers a roughly equivalent set of features, but without the advantages of running Android or having a capacitive touch screen (I've read that browsing the web and using the touch screen in general on the Nuron can be quite painful). Or, for a few dollars more you can buy an LG Optimus T which according to CNET is considerably nicer than the Comet. Both of these phones should work on the T-Mobile prepaid plans, and therefore offer excellent value.

A couple of other features that I have found useful are the ability to make Skype phone calls over Wi-Fi, the Google Voice Search feature (it's surprisingly accurate), and the ability to store and play mp3s (it comes with 2 GB of storage, and is expandable to 32 GB. Sound quality over headphones is not as good as an iPod though). One negative that you should be well aware of is that the camera is a piece of junk. This is something that I read about in almost all of the reviews - but even then I was surprised at just how bad it is. Think late 1990's web cam, and you should have an idea of just how bad this thing is.

Overall, though, I think that this phone and especially T-Mobile's pay-as-you-go plan is a fantastic value, and would highly recommend it to anyone who is a) not a millionaire, and b) doesn't have their monthly cell phone bill paid for them by their employer or parents.

The Comet is probably what a lot of people are looking for.

Most "smart phones" I have previously tried had annoyed me by being either a little too cheesy or way too expensive. There are a lot of impressive touchscreen phones which always made me think, "that thing could be WAY cheaper if only they toned down the features somewhat." There are also some super-cheap touchscreen phones which made me think, "this phone could be a lot better with only some minor improvements".

The Comet seems to be in the lonely area right in the middle, where the the quality is just barely good enough to handle the most work likely to be thrown at it by most people. And for that, the price is well below all of those "Cadillac-of-phones" phones.

The Comet's acceptable features:

Display:
It's not a very high resolution (240x320), but the pixel size is larger than average. So it isn't as large and sharp as better phones, but you still get a good deal more physical space than "normal" phones.

Touchscreen interface:
It uses the "capacitative" type, which means it is a completely solid surface which (somehow) knows when fingers are physically touching it. It does not use the cheaper "resistive" type, which have a flexible surface which must be pressed down to work. It isn't quite as perfectly sensitive as an iPhone, but much more reliable than resistive screens which have different levels of resistance in different locations.

Keypad/text entry:
The medium screen size might be a little annoying for tapping, but this phone uses "Swype" typing. Plunk your finger on the first letter, then drag your finger all over the keyboard to each letter you want, and the magic Swype system figures out which word you want to spell. It works way better than you think it will. Other than the brilliant invention itself, the cool thing about Swype is that it is completely compatible with simple letter tapping if you don't want to use it. Either type one letter at a time, or "Swype" the whole word. You don't need to "change modes".

Sound quality:
Not bad, and not great. Kind of right in the middle, which is fine.

Physical build:
It's not slim like the latest Apple or HTC products. At exactly 0.5 inches, it is right about the same thickness as most normal phones. However, it feels very solid and has no creaks or squeaks (yes, even the battery cover holds still). The various body panels also fit together fairly close with no excessive gaps.

Camera:
Well, the camera kind of sucks. Sorry. At least it captures pictures fast.

Processing and stability:
Most of the time, it operates just fine with no annoying delays. If too much stuff is going on, like multiple browser tabs loading or too many background applications, it starts to drag a bit. But it never quite freezes or crashes like the Nokia Nuron, which is probably the next closest option for a cheapish touchscreen on T-Mobile.

The Comet is manufactured by Huawei, the same Chinese manufacturer of T-Mobile's older Tap model. The Tap was actually not bad for its price range, but the Comet has a sleeker design, stronger processing, better touchscreen technology, and of course the more competent Android operating system.

Recommended add-ons, free from the Android market (icon on the home screen):
1. Opera Mini or Opera Mobile. Similar (Mobile is the "better" one) alternative web browsers to the standard Android browser, although Android's is pretty good too. If you try one of these and like it, Android is smart enough to let you set one of them as the "default" browser.
2. Any application killer/manager. These things are just little programs that let you view a list of applications running in the background, and close them. For some reason, almost all "smartphones" are idiots when it comes to managing currently-running applications. A bunch of different managers are available as free versions.

I've been a T-Mobile customer for several years now. They have the best prepaid (pay as you go) plan in my opinion. The minutes do not expire for a year, and T-Mobile notifies you via text message a few days before expiring, so you can add time and roll over your prepaid minutes. Take that AT&T! I typically use about a 1000 minutes per year ($100.00).

I previously had a RAZR phone (which I loved), but wanted a device with more features. My favorite thing about the RAZR was that it's size and weight were very comfortable in my pocket (a guy thing). This phone is just a tiny bit larger and heavier than a RAZR, but it's not noticable. I can walk around with this phone in my pocket all day and not even notice it. I just removed the SIM card from my RAZR, and inserted it into this phone. Your phone number, prepaid minutes, and account don't change.

Now to the phone. I've had this phone for about 6 weeks and I'm very happy with it. Like I said, I keep it in my pocket, but this phone has a glass screen so your keys etc won't scratch it. No screen protector is needed. Also, the fit/finish on the phone is very good. The battery door shuts tight (no rattles), the buttons seem firm, and the connectors (micro usb and headphones) are tight and connect well. My only complaint would be the placement of the volume buttons. When I first got the phone, I tended to press them whenever I held the phone, but this is something I'm getting used to.

The call quality is great, and the speakerphone is easy to use. The phone also supports an in call dialer so you can enter PINs etc during a call.

The main reason I got this phone was to replace my MP3 player. The phone OS (Android) has a built in music player and FM radio. Both work very well. The device is easy to sync up with your PC music libraries, you just connect the phone to your PC with the provided USB cable, the phone prompts you to turn on USB sharing, and the SD card shows up as a removable device on your PC (like a USB drive). You can use windows explorer to copy, delete, and move files on the phones SD card. If you wish you can also use Media Player or a similar software package to automatically sync your music libraries. One thing to note: the phone comes with a 2GB micro SD card. This will probably only hold about 40 albums or so. I upgraded the card to a 16GB one.

I also have set up the device to acess my WiFi router at home. I was able to set up my email accounts (hotmail was almost automatic, att.net a little harder). I don't use the phone for email on a regular basis, but once the accounts are set up, you can access email whenever you connect via WiFi, or buy a one day data plan. I suggest you also get a gmail account, with this you can backup your contact list to your gmail account. If you ever lose the phone, or it breaks, you won't lose all that valuble contact information.

Web browsing is reasonable, but expect to scroll around quite a bit, the screen is small. Text entry is a little challanging (again small screen), but if you flip the phone to landscape it is much better, even with my fat fingers. And certainly, it's much easier than the RAZR which used the old numeric pad entry system.

Android runs pretty smoothly, I haven't noticed any lag on the phone, and the WiFi connection is fast and stable. I can use it anywhere in my house.

As far as battery life, smartphones can drain batteries quickly if you don't configure them correctly. I suggest turning off Bluetooth, WiFi, and background sync (a real killer), and only enable them when needed. This is very easy to do (system app, settings). Also, don't use live wallpapers. They are cool to look at, but drain your battery. When I'm only using my phone, I don't have to charge it for several days. If you use WiFi or Bluetooth, be prepared to charge the phone daily. Also, when I use the music player at work, I charge the phone daily. All smartphones are like this. You just have to be aware.

Overall I recommend this phone noting the limitations I discussed above. The phone is a great phone :), the music player and WiFi connectivity are a big plus, and the size is just right if you don't want a brick in your pocket.

I wrote a similar review over at T-Mobile, so thought I'd post it here too.

This little guy is perfect for someone who uses a prepaid phone (not a smart phone) and has been using an iPod Touch to supplement their smartphone need. It runs Android 2.2 (Froyo) and it does an amazing job. Here's what contract smartphone users wouldn't like:

The screen is small. Smaller than an iPod Touch 4G, but not too unlike the iPod Touch 3G. If you're coming from an iPhone 4, this screen will not feel as responsive, sharp, bright, etc. But that isn't to say its even a bad screen. Its just not a $400 screen.

Out of the box, its fairly responsive; but like most (non-Apple) tech toys, you've gotta customize it a bit to get it running smoothly. I would recommend going into the Android Market and downloading LauncherPro. Think of this as a program to "re-theme" your home screen. Though that's not exactly what LauncherPro is. It will allow you to tweak a lot of the settings, and has a noticeably faster response than the default launcher.

The battery on this puppy sucks. No other way around it. ** UPDATE: ** on average the charge lasts about 48 hours. ** If you are out in the woods all day, and are not near a car or power outlet, this won't do the job for you. The cable that comes with it is a mini-usb cable, and it includes a usb-wall adapter. If you are near power, you can use the included mini-usb cable and charge from a usb port on your computer or a wall outlet; or you can buy a usb car adapater if you don't have one already. I like mini-usb because its widely compatible with car chargers, computers, etc, but you have to make that call for yourself because the juice will run out each day.

So what can you do about the battery? The same thing that I did on my iPod Touch: turn off all the extras. Turn off the GPS, turn off the 3G, turn off the bluetooth, and the auto-dim screen brightness. You can even go in and turn off vibrate for very specific things like: vibrate if on silent, don't vibrate with text, don't vibrate with new e-mail, etc. I don't think the battery thing is hopeless.

Another question everyone wants to know: do I need the data plan? NO! This is a pre-paid phone, and that includes data. A daily web pass is just $1.49. If you plan on buying the web pass every day, you should upgrade to a nicer phone on a contract. If you are rarely going to use data because you are always in a wifi hotspot (like me), this is much more economical. I was an existing T-Mobile prepaid user. Before I turned on this phone, I put my sim card in it. It boots up, registers the device, and you are in business. The nice thing is, there isn't any way to accidentally start using the 3G. If there is wifi, this will slurp that up first. If there is no wifi, and you turn on the 3G, when you try to browse the web it will tell you that you need to buy the day pass for $1.49 before you can do anything. And when the day is up it prompts you again. I like that this is clear, and up-front. I'm much more likely to use this knowing that it is well-defined. Also if the wifi and 3G are on, it will use the wifi first if you don't have the day pass already.

To me, this is a slam dunk. I don't use many cell phone minutes, and I am always in wifi. I would say it is definitely a strong entrance for smartphones in the prepaid market.

Good luck!

If you're looking to upgrade from a flip-phone to a state-of-the-art smart-phone without 70 to 100 dollars a month charges, this one is great. For less than the price of two month's service on a contract phone, this prepaid phone gives you virtually all the modern features. And - if you have WiFi in your house/office, you won't even need to pay minutes to use the web (or the GPS/maps, or watching youtube, or playing music, or taking pictures, or getting directions to gas/food/lodging, or virtually anything this Android 2.2 phone has to offer !) I've been playing with it for a day now, doing all of these things, and have not spent a penny of my prepaid money, except for the two one-minute test calls I made to try out the phone. Of course, I will use some of these 3G things outside of my house/work, and will then have to use $1.49 for a "day pass" to the web. But hey - even that's cheap if you don't do it every day.

Those are the main points I wanted to add to the reviews. But if you're interested in performance, here's my summary of that as well:

1) Voice sounds fine
2) Can't comment on coverage, but their map seems to show good coverage in most areas
3) The Android 2.2 user interface is great (I'd never used one before, but am an advanced computer user). It probably is missing some things like the double-finger thingie for zooming, but who cares? Just double-tap on a picture to zoom in or use the + icon that popus up momentarily on the screen. Photos look great on it.
4) Taking photos is not great in dim light, but is fine otherwise
5) Have not taken or viewed any videos, except YouTube - which works fine. Frame rate might be a little slow, and 16x9 videos are compressed horizontally, but otherwise its awesome. (Youtube comes up in landscape mode - otherwise, the phone can operate in either portrait or landscape and the gravity vector sensor works flawlessly - with just the right delay)
6) Sound quality from the speaker is quite nice for such a small speaker system. And volume seems pretty good.
7) It is plenty fast. Dragging your finger to shift between screens is smooth and has no noticeable delay. As one reviewer commented, it is a little slow booting up, but in theory you'd only do that once a day. And I can wait 1.5 to 2 minutes for that. Once it's on and sleeping (screen blanked, phone in standby), it comes on in about 0.5 seconds by tapping the button on the top. Tap it again and its back in standby in 0.5 seconds or less. That little button brings it in and out of standby with no fuss.
8) There's a popup keyboard of course, but you can also search the internet by speaking in words to the Google search bar. And it works great without any training. How cool is that?
9) GPS shows my house exactly where it should be on my street.
10) Size is small, but that's fine or even good. I have had virtually no trouble using the touchscreen or reading the text - even though my eyesight is no longer the way it was when I was young. And there's always glasses if you need them - just like reading a book.
11) Its an Android OS - so there is so much there that I better stop now. There's no way to cover everything!

So if you've been holding back on buying a Smart-Phone due to not wanting to layout $1K to $2K per year in contracts, but have been curious about learning what all the fuss is about. Buy This !
I'm having a ball learning and am beginning to understand why the new generation is always walking around staring at these little boxes in their hands ;-)

I got this one at a $139. I wanted to surf the web, check email and make a call here and there. This phone did all of that, but the screen size and keyboard size were too small for me.

Boot-up was pretty slow, once there the speed was fine. The screen resolution was to small to read web pages well. The camera is ok in day light, it has no flash.

The keyboard however was the deal breaker for me. I have average hands, and still had to constantly erase and re-enter keys that I had mistyped. I tried to use a stylus, but the surface would not recognize it. Had that worked, I would have kept it.

Considering all, I think this phone is a good value if you can work the keyboard.

There are many reviews and product description out there about Comet; so I won't go over them again; however, I would like to go over couple details that might aid prospective buyers.

The phone comes with Android 2.2 but it's browser, or any browser, doesn't support Flash, because of its slow processor speed (528 MHz). Adobe requires 600 MHz or above, or something close to that, to run Flash 10.1, on top of Android 2.2. So Flash videos and other Flash content on websites do not work. I didn't know this before I purchased this phone, but its pros over weigh its cons. In the end, it is still a smartphone and it is an Android phone with all the apps.

I am a Pay As You Go customer and even though I wanted the internet in my pocket, I didn't want to pay the 70 to 100 dollar monthly fee to have it. This phone is dirt cheap, and T-Mobile now has Pay As You Go internet access: $1.49 for a day's worth of unlimited Internet access. T-Mobile claims full 24 hours; however it has been cutting me off a little sooner than that in a day, but still great.

So the phone being dirt cheap for an Android Smartphone, and allowing you to still spend only what you need, makes this a great buy.

The phone is light and compact - for those who don't like the idea of carrying a bulky device all day long in your pocket.

Does not have "pinch to zoom" - i.e., not multi touch, but still is a touchscreen phone.

Not perfect, but 4.7 starts for price vs performance.

After reading the previous reviews, I proceeded to obtain the Comet. So far it has met my expectations. Prior to obtaining the phone, my monthly average pre-paid phone expenses were about $100 / month (I was using T-Mobiles pre-paid services for my side-business activities). Now with this phone and using the WiFi VoIP (combined with Google Voice) capabilities, I've reduced it to less than $35 / month since everywhere that I perform consulting work (including my clients sites) have WiFi or HotSpots. Ths phone is a great bargin compared to the other high-priced Android phones. I also have an Apple iPhone 4 that I use for my real job; however, I really prefer using the Comet over the iPhone 4.

I was looking for a cheap android smart phone to replace my aging T-mobile wing when I came across this. This is a great price. T-mobile has it for 200. This is my first android phone and I love it. Many pros few cons

Pros.
Decent battery life
android 2.2
size/weight
price
swype

Cons.
touchscreen size is only 2.8in but it doesn't seem small while using it
doesn't have multitouch touchscreen

overall this is a very good phone for a very good price.
There isn't any phone in the world this good at this price

Almost solely based on the free voip capability i give it 4 stars, and a plus 1 for the rest. I got this unit for $100.

Free outbound calls and inbound receiving can be made via wifi by downloading the Google voice and sipdroid phone apps. The google voice account should first be created and properly configured from a PC, before touching the cell. I suggest under the google voice account (from a PC terminal) NOT to link/forward to the cell number with google voice, as this might incur charges to a plan. I have also read that it is currently not possible to undo the link, once set up, particularly on the cell service end. Make sure google voice account forwards to google chat, however.

I first configured the phone's wifi WITHOUT the sim, and currently does not have one. This makes sure that one does not accidentally use the cell plan, instead of the wifi.

Being already and avid user of google voice from the computer, this serves as a hardware extention to GV, which is exactly what i was looking for.

This setup seems to me much better than skype and fring. There is a really bad sound problem when calling to the computer from the cell using skype. At least in my case.

For detailed instructions on how to set this up, google the title of this review.

******************
Update, i regret having to announce that some of the third party applications that made free calling possible have begun charging. It is still possible in a round about way, and will still need a cell phone number initially to activate account, but i wonder how long these free feature will be available.