Kyocera K323

Experts like the Kyocera K323 (*est. $10) as a basic handset for Verizon Wireless' prepaid service. At 3.5 inches by 1.8 inches by 0.9 inches, the K323 is a compact clamshell phone with a well-rounded feature set. Its 1.75-inch internal screen supports 65,000 colors, but a low 128-by-160-pixel resolution keeps it short of stunning. Call quality is good, but CNET's Bonnie Cha notices "a faint hiss in the background." The K323's claimed talk time is about 3.5 hours, and it can remain on standby for up to a week. CNET's battery tests yielded just over two hours of talk time. Other included features are a speakerphone, integrated Bluetooth and a 500-name phone book. Games do not come preinstalled, but the K323 supports Verizon's BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) platform -- allowing for the download of software applications.

The Kyocera K323 comes with a built-in VGA camera, but critics are generally unimpressed with its quality. Experts and users alike agree that it is hard to take a picture that does not come out blurry. Even while using the included flash, colors regularly appear too dark. Users at Phone Arena aren't passionate about the K323, but most concur that it serves its function well as an average cell phone that happens to have a few higher-end features. There aren't a lot of choices for prepaid phones on Verizon's network, and for that purpose reviewers tend to agree that you can't go wrong with the K323. Samsung's SCH-u340 and SCH-u410 are two other choices for prepaid Verizon handsets; both phones received similar ratings from experts as the K323. If texting is a priority, the Verizon Wireless Blitz with its full QWERTY keyboard might fit the bill better than the Kyocera K323.

The most thorough write-up on the Kyocera K323 can be found at CNET. Bonnie Cha does a good job of going into detail about the phone's strong points and pitfalls. About.com provides a review based solely on manufacturer specifications. Editors at CellPhoneRev.com provide a short but informative report on the K323. The biggest collections of user reviews exist at PhoneScoop.com and PhoneArena.com.