Just announced for pre-paid carrier Virgin Mobile, the Slice is a tempting choice for budget-minded chatters looking for a flyweight phone. Does its slim profile make up for its dearth of features?
Review summary of the UTStarcom Slice:
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 The UTStarcom Slice features runway looks at a bargain price, making it a perfect fit for fashion-conscious chatters who don't want to break the bank. The Slice boasts great call quality with strong reception and an attractive interface. However, the flexibility of a pre-paid phone means losing out on features like Bluetooth, a camera and voice calling. Also, the small keypad makes for uncomfortable typing, so heavy texters may want to try another slim phone on for size. Release: October 2006. Price: $50.
Pros: Slim, lightweight form factor; easy-to-use menus; great talk time; solid call quality.
Cons: Not many calling features; tiny, uncomfortable keypad; tricky messaging interface.
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48%
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Full UTStarcom Slice Review:
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Design
The UTStarcom Slice definitely grabs your attention with its striking, wafer-thin profile (0.4 inches) and elegant black shell. Like many other pre-paid phones, the 2.4-ounce Slice doesn't boast a flashy camera or media player; however it features a respectable screen and a stylish blue backlit keypad that's reminiscent of the Motorola SLVR.
Calling - Good
Call quality was solid on the Slice; our calls came in loud and clear with no noticeable static during our testing in Manhattan. The phone also maintained decent reception, never dipping below two bars. However, the outlook wasn't so bright when dealing with call features. Labeling the handset as "bare bones" is an understatement, as it only packs in an average speakerphone (with typical tinny sound) and hearing-aid compatibility -- no Bluetooth, voice dialing or even conference calling. The Slice does gain back a little ground with its user-friendly phonebook, which includes while-you-type searching (although we would have liked to see a few more entry fields) and its impressive 3.5 hours of talk time.
Messaging - Good
The Slice handles messaging adequately, but it certainly has room for improvement. For example, we were only able to fit a measly 78 characters on the screen, far short of our preferred 160, and we weren't able to personalize messages by adding in pictures or emoticons. And while we like the candy bar's clean and simple interface, we were annoyed by its teeny, tiny keypad; we found typing on the too-small keys to be a tedious chore, requiring oh-so-precise finger placement. We were also annoyed that the Slice doesn't feature auto-capitalization after we typed a period, so we constantly had to hit the shift key.
Related phones: More slim phones
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Samsung SGH-T519
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Score: 54% When: September 2006 Worth: $Free Carrier: T-Mobile
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