Equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera, an 800MHz CPU, and a 3.5-inch HVGA touch screen, the ZTE Groove from Cricket is a 3G device that currently costs $100.
Lynn La
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
Featuring Cricket Wireless' Muve Music streaming music subscription service, the $100 ZTE Groove is an entry-level handset that features Android 2.3, a 3.2-megapixel camera, and a 3.5-inch display.
The phone runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, making it dated the moment it comes out of the box. You'll find a few standard Google apps such as Gmail, Maps with Navigation, Latitude, Places, Google Play, Search, Talk, and YouTube.
The 3.2-megapixel camera features a few photo options. It has a flash and can digitally zoom up to 4x. It also has five white balances, three photo sizes, three quality adjustments, five saturation levels, and four color effects.
On the whole, the Groove's plastic construction keeps the phone lightweight at 4.5 ounces, but as a trade-off, it gives it a very cheap and toy-like feel. A faux-chrome strip runs along the edges, and every physical key (though easy to press) protrudes relatively far from the surface. Up top are a sleep/power button and a 3.5mm headphone charger.
Powering the handset is an 800MHz processor and a 1,500mAh lithium ion battery that has a reported talk time of 400 minutes and a standby time of 350 hours. You can also see here how the back plate features an unappealing dimpled texture.
The Groove's biggest selling point is Muve Music. Developed by Cricket, the service lets you download and stream music onto your handset. The app comes with a feature called My DJ that gives you access to premade playlists organized by musical genres, and Shazam, the popular music-search app. For a more in-depth rundown of Muve Music, be sure to read CNET's review.
