This water-resistant, rough-and-tumble clamshell packs in EV-DO support, a 2-megapixel camera and mobile video. Does it sink or swim? Jennifer Hooker puts the G'zOne Type-V to the test.
Review summary of the Verizon Wireless G'zOne Type-V:
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 The Verizon Wireless G'zOne not only has a unique name, it's also tough as nails; we dropped it, shook it and dunked it with little trouble (although it suffered a few scratches in the process). With its plastic, protective bumper, fish-eye external display and exposed screws, the G'zOne will appeal to anyone with a taste for flashy, aviator wristwatches, and its 2-megapixel camera, V Cast Video support and instant messaging abilities don't hurt. However, we were sorely disappointed by the surprising lack of Bluetooth and a music player. Release: October 2006. Price: $100.
Pros: Rugged and water resistant; good call quality and a great speakerphone; sharp screen; solid talk time; comfortable keypad; instant messaging.
Cons: No Bluetooth or conference calling; bulky and heavy; susceptible to scratches; no music player; camera produces blurry images unless it is held steady after the shutter sound.
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Full review of the Verizon Wireless G'zOne Type-V:
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Design
The bulky Verizon Wireless G'zOne weighs in at a hefty 5.3 ounces and boasts an industrial look, complete with exposed screws and a plastic bumper that resembles the grille on a football helmet. The monochrome external display bears a striking resemblance to the face of a pricey digital watch, mainly thanks to the fish-eye casing and the "Casio" logo embedded inside. The G'zOne's eye-catching, 2.2-inch internal display is sharp and clear, capable of displaying about 65,000 colors at a tight 240 by 320-pixel resolution. The phone isn't particularly sleek or pretty, but it's as tough as advertised: it survived several tumbles onto hardwood and concrete (although it did suffer a few scuffs and scratches in the process), and we held it under a running shower and dropped it into a full sink with no trouble.
Calling - Good
Call quality was solid on the G'zOne; we were always able to hear our buddies loud and clear, though there was a tiny bit of static now and then. Reception in Northern New Jersey was relatively mediocre; we rarely got more that two bars, although we never lost a call. We were disappointed to learn that the G'zOne lacks Bluetooth and conference calling, although the handset does have a loud and clear (albeit tinny) speakerphone and speaker-independent voice dialing with a dedicated button. The phone also has decent battery life, with about three hours of talk time.
Messaging - Very good
The G'zOne packs in instant messaging from AOL, MSN and Yahoo. The menus are simple, if a little bland, and we managed to fit a respectable 143 characters in the messaging window (just a little less than the 160 we prefer). Typing on the flip phone was a joy thanks to the raised, red-backlit keys (a cool color choice). That said, we wish the messaging app was a little smarter with capitalization; for example, auto-capitalization of the first word in a sentence would have been a nice touch.
Camera - Good
The 2-megapixel camera on the G'zOne was average. Our snapshots had decent color but looked a little blocky, and if we didn't hold the camera steady for about three seconds after the shutter sound, our images suffered from blurriness as well (that said, once we got the hang of it, our pictures looked pretty sharp). Video was also blocky (which is typical for most camera phones) and rather short, only letting us record 15 seconds at a time. However, we like the dedicated camera/camcorder key, which lets you switch modes without searching through the menu. We're a bit miffed that the handset offers very few customization options beyond the standard brightness and color adjustments.
Multimedia - Good
Surprisingly, while the G'zOne serves up plenty of streaming video courtesy of V Cast, you can't access Verizon's online music store, and there's not even an integrated music player (and with just 18 MB of accessible internal memory and no memory expansion slot, you wouldn't be able to store many songs anyway). TV clips streamed over the phone's EV-DO connection quickly, but video images were a bit blocky and fuzzy, as expected. The phone's Web browser loaded Google with ease, but larger pages such as The New York Times homepage didn't fare as well (again, not a big surprise). The G'zOne offers built-in GPS, but you'll have to purchase and download the VZ Navigator app to get turn-by-turn directions.
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Price and availability
Available now, the Verizon Wireless G'zOne Type-V retails for $300 with a two-year service agreement.
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