AT&T R225 review: Too simple for its own good

ZTE shoots itself in the foot with the AT&T R225, an overly simple Go Phone that nevertheless has its charms.

Jessica Dolcourt

December 22, 2010 1:55 PM PST

The ZTE-manufactured AT&T R225, is a prepaid, entry-level Go Phone. Design, price, and call quality are the handset's biggest strengths. To that end, this isn't a bad phone for making calls.

However, its feature set tends toward the anorexic. Mobile e-mail and IM are surprise options, but ZTE has overlooked basics like Bluetooth and a volume rocker, two important fundamentals for a phone best-suited for callers. Still, it's a good buy for some people.

Read more, listen to call quality, and see photos of the phone's very nice design in our hands-on review.