14 DAY TRIAL // Verizon Wireless is calling the hotshots with the new Pantech Hotshot feature-phone, which is expected to arrive in stores on October 6.
The handset will be available online from October 6 for $99.99 (about 76 EUR), after a $50 mail-in rebate and a new two-year agreement.
It appears that the Pantech Hotshot was brought to market by Personal Communications Devices, a handset manufacturer that retails its products in both North and South Americas since 1986.
At first glance, the sleek Hotshot may be confused with a budget-friendly Android smartphone, but the handset does not run any operating systems.
Pantech Hotshot may be a bit overpriced for what it has to offer, especially that the recently launched Pantech Jest 2 that has almost similar features is now available for free with a new two-year contract.
Anyway, the phone is ultra-slim at only 0.35-inch (8.9mm) and comes with a medium size 3.2-inch LCD touchscreen display.
Furthermore, the phone sports an average 3.2-megapixel with video recording capabilities and Bluetooth support for dial up networking, basic imaging, basic printing, headset, and hands-free.
The handset features a customized user interface with three home screens, allowing for better customization. Users can add their favorite contacts, pictures and shortcuts to any of these three home screens.
In addition, Pantech Hotshot has its fair share of bloatware from Verizon, including VZ Navigator for audible turn by turn directions to POI (points of interest) and V CAST Tones that allows users to download ringtones and ringback tones.
With V CAST Video, Hotshot users will be able to watch video clips and sports or news highlights.
The phone packs microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB) and comes with a free 2GB memory card pre-installed.
Opera Mini browser provides a smooth Web browsing experience and allows users to access news, sports, weather and email.