u/Ilikeoldthings222

This past week I decided to bring the eTalk flip to my weeklong summer camp, I had a fairly mixed experience so I will try to be as fair to the device as I can.

Pros:

• Setup was very simple, I just popped my Verizon sim out of my smartphone and installed it in this device. I also transferred over my contacts via bluetooth.
• Call quality was awesome, on speaker or the earpiece (when it was working, more on that later)
• Typing was easy with the T9 predictive text, there was definitely a learning curve but after using it for less than 3 days I was only slightly slower at typing than on my smartphone.
• Reception was very good, even in the area where I was, which is notorious for poor signal.
• Wi-Fi calling was a nice bonus and definitely improved call quality.
• Battery life was great, lasting me probably around 9 or so hours of use and a few days of standby
• Camera quality was much better than expected, as long as you don't need flash. Perfectly fine for quick snapshots outdoors, and indoors with bright lighting. Video quality was also very good for the pricepoint.
• Size: Phone was pleasantly light, and easy to slip into a pocket or bag. Also felt very comfortable in the hand.
• Ease of use. Easy to navigate and learn. Keypad had large, clearly labeled buttons, and was also consistently backlit, unlike some phones where the keys on the edges aren't lit well.

Cons:

• Screen quality. The screen can be rather dim and grainy, and bright reds appeared as brown, dark reds showed up as grey or black.
• Camera flash. They would have been better off leaving it out. All flash photos, regardless of how still the subject or steady the hand, were unusably smeary and foggy. There also wasn't a flashlight option, which I feel like would have been an easy inclusion, and it would have certainly come in handy.
• Durability. The coating on the plastic casing scratches off very easily, and feels cheap to the touch. The hinge also wobbles a concerning amount. The screen and earpiece are covered with a solid piece of glossy plastic which smears easily when placing the phone against your face for a call. The earpiece speaker only worked intermittently, requiring the case to be flexed to get it to work again. On the last day of camp I was doing this and accidentally broke the LCD in the process. This was my fault, but to be fair I wouldn't have been flexing the case if the earpiece worked reliably.
• Browser. For me it goes in the same category as the flash, the phone would have been better without it. I know the point of a dumbphone is to reduce internet usage, but i couldn't even use it to check the weather! It also was prone to crashing and drained the battery insanely fast, 5 minutes of use dropped it 10%.
• Messaging. It is about as functional as a phone from 2004. You can send texts and photos, but forget about group MMS. You can select multiple recipients, but all this does is send it to your contacts in individual threads. Their responses also come back in a separate thread. It is only slightly better than forwarding a message to multiple people individually.
• Ports. I very much liked the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack, but micro usb, seriously!?! I know this is/was a budget phone but come on Verizon, do better. (Edit: I just learned that this design dates back to 2019, so this isn't really a complaint of mine anymore, but I'll leave it in)

Overall, the eTalk would be a solid choice if all you need is calls and maybe the occasional text, but only if you don't leave your house. It is the perfect phone for an elderly person though, as it has a reasonably loud ringer and speakerphone.

It is %100 the wrong choice for someone who needs a phone to be reliable in an outdoor setting. I was lucky enough to have an uncle who had a Kyocera Dura XV Extreme that he wasn't using. He was nice enough to let me have it for free. That is an excellent phone and is what I would recommend if you need a reliable dumbphone for hiking/camping.