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"Do not buy this phone" on by briansnat
Pros: Rugged, waterproof
Cons: Lousy sound quality, poor battery life
Summary: I really wanted to like this phone because a rugged, waterproof, no frills cell phone is something I've wished for. I read some negative reviews about the sound quality but
thought perhaps the reviewers were just picky.
I went to the Verizon store and the clerk claimed it was highly rated by Consumer Reports. Turns out she meant the previous type S model.
This phone is absolute garbage. The sound quality is unacceptable. Calls are so tinny and static filled that two tin cans with a string might be a better option. No matter how good the other features are, what is the point of a cell phone if you can't understand the person on the other end?
Next on the list is battery life. I fully charged the phone, then started playing with ring tones, settings and other features. After a half hour of this the battery was down to two bars.
I could deal with the battery life by buying two if everything else about the phone was fine, but with the call quality, forget it.
Just to make sure it wasn't me, I gave the phone to my wife to make a call without telling her a thing about the sound quality.
A few seconds into the call she asked me if there was something wrong with the phone because she couldn't hear the other person clearly.
I don't see how a phone like this could be released to the public. Wasn't there somebody at Casio who actually made a call on the thing? -
"Software update improves call quality" on by LewBob
Pros: Solid feel, don't have to worry about getting it wet, flashlight function,
Cons: Battery life, have to go to Verizon store for update
Summary: I am on my second Boulder and was going to give up on them because of lousy call quality. I got a tip on a software update, and after doing the update yesterday the call quality is much improved.
Many have complained about the battery life and I agree that it is way too short. However, it could be that the update will help with the battery also.
Bottom line, get the update done as soon as you get the phone and you will probably be happy with this phone if you are looking for a rugged phone with basic features.Updated
I am on my second Boulder and was going to send it back when I heard about a software update that helped with the voice quality. It took the friendly tech at my Verizon store about 15 minutes to update it and now it sounds pretty good. The ring is also much louder and I am hopeful that the battery life may be a little longer.
Don't give up on this phone until you have tried the update! Lew -
"A phone that does what it's DESIGNED to do." on by athletejmc
Pros: Rugged, Signal Strength, Looks, Desktop Charger, SIZE
Cons: Silver Keypad, Keypad Back-lighting, Battery Life, Small LCD
Summary: I ordered this phone being fairly confident with Casio's products. After making an order for the cellular phone over the phone with Verizon as a replacement for my BlackBerry I read some reviews on the Gzone Boulder. Practically all of them were negative. My normal response was to think great, now I'm going to have to deal with getting my phone swapped out without even getting it yet. Even worst was that I usually check into something before buying it, but I wasn't due for an upgrade but got one anyways for being a VIP customer and being with Verizon over the Last 8 years; I was put on the spot for a one time opportunity. Well here's the verdict... I got the phone and it works great. It sounds a little muffled, but that's normal with water resistant phones because all the ports have to be sealed off. The muffled sound isn't bad though and only affects call quality slightly; I can hear over the phone without a problem. I've had worst phones without being to military standard. I can't understand why so many people would bash a good product that does exactly what it's made to do without taking into consideration design limitations or affects to the sound because of design, seems like common sense.
Pros. I live out in the boonies and tend to have trouble getting a good signal, I haven't had any problems with this phone yet. I figured with it being a fairly standard flip phone that I needn't have such high expectations, but they were more than exceeded. The phone is also physically solid and fits in the grove of the shoulder well. The desktop charger is ingenious sense you don't want to be opening closing ports on the phone too much. After time they would wear out (as on any water-proofed product), but that was taken into consideration; props to Casio for longevity. The best part of this rugged beast is that it is a slim phone for being rugged and fits in the front pocket well. I've had a few nextels and never had the experience of having durability and confort of being able to fit it in my pocket like a regular phone.
Cons. I don't care for the silver keypad. The silver makes it difficult during evening hours to see with overhead lighting because the finish is reflective. The back light is also orange. One of my old phones used plain white lighting for the keypad back lighting and that seems to be most friendly on the eyes in dark conditions. The battery is good for 1-2 days of light use. As long as you charge it nightly u should be fine. If not get an extended battery. My last critique is the display. It's very small and makes it difficult to read text when browsing the web.
Overall I'm overly satisfied with this aesthetically pleasing phone and can see it hanging around for a long time. Hope this review helps. Take care. -
"This has to be one of the worst phones ever!" on by ssmithfla
Pros: Cool looking, durable phone. Nothing else.
Cons: The audio was substandard. There are minimal ring tones and the battery sucks.
Summary: This phone came highly recommened by the Verizon agent at the Mall Kiosk. They had to order a phone for me and they sent it Fed-Ex. I waited 4 days for this piece of crap! I had this phone for less than an hour and wanted to throw if off a cliff. When talking on the phone I was unable to understand what the other person was saying. It sounded like I was under water with ear muffs on. When I brought it back to the Kiosk in the mall they said that they never get any complaints about this phone, Yeah right!!!! So they ordered me another phone and I waited another 4 days. Oh no, I think they sent me another broken one.... NOT! This phone was just as bad as the first one. I figured that I would let others listen to the wonderful audio and wouldn't you know it, everone said that it was horrible. So I brought the phone back as second time and after an hour finall received a replacement. Once again they claim that they have no complaints about this phone. I can only imagine that the person(s) that approved the relase of this phone must have been spies for Nextell and figured that they would get back at Verizon for stealing their Push to Talk Network. I mean really, who else would have put their name on it intentionally? Bottom line, DON"T BUY THIS PHONE< IT SUCKS!
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"The G'zone Boulder has Lost Something Along the Way!!!" on by arnoljx
Pros: The new G'zone looks far better than it performs... the Boulder benefit falls short of the actual characteristics that made it's predecessors shine... the only thing this phone has going for it is the G'zone name.
Cons: As a past G'zone owner I had high expectations and tried two Boulders b4 giving up... The phones I received didn't impress this Casio phone Fan!!! I've returned both Boulders gone back to the older Casio as a replacement for my lost handset.
Summary: The new Casio G'zone Boulder has a crappy hinge that was at once loose and feels generally cheap. The phone feels like plastic.The display is small. I went rafting with the new one and it got water behind the screen (the older model never did). The Call Quality is the worst I've experienced (my T'mobile prepaid phone is better). Generally the new G'zone looks cheap, is built cheap, and sounds cheap... My old G'zone (type V) is a solid performer with a 2mp camera that can drive nails and go swiming every day all day long ... I bought another Type V slightly used for less money and I'm big time happier!!! Remember ( I gave the new G'zone two tries) I took back the first hoping that it's pour performance and sorry build quality was a mistake, it wasn't...
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