ZTE C78

The ZTE C78 is a basic candy-bar cell phone, its purple color being its most noticeable feature. Released just before Christmas 2008, the ZTE C78 is available only through MetroPCS, which requires no contractual commitment. Rather, it's a month-to-month deal, with plans ranging from $30 to $50, plus some extra charges for various services (see www.metropcs.com for details). The consensus of professional and owner reviews is that the ZTE C78 has a good range of features for the price, but that there are noticeable corners cut on quality. Owner reviews particularly cite the lack of a driver to allow a connection with your computer.

As a device for making phone calls, the ZTE C78 "gets the job done," says CNET, with a "slightly robotic" sound from the other party but not from you. There are some features that are unusual for lower-end cell phones -- Bluetooth, instant messaging, email and web surfing. The camera is a basic VGA with no flash, no self-portrait mirror and no camcorder. The MP3 player is "very basic." There are no voice commands and no microSD slot, and thus no way to expand the 60 MB of built-in memory. If you don't need a camera, MetroPCS also offers the Huawei M328 for about two-thirds of the ZTE C78's price.

Low-end cell phones generate professional reviews slowly, and at this writing only CNET has published a full review. ZTE, a Chinese company, is new to U.S. markets and not very well known yet, another factor that may delay reviews. Consumer Reports doesn't rate any ZTE cell phones. We also found no owner reviews at Amazon.com or even CNET, and just a few at PhoneArena.com and PhoneScoop.com.