X

The worst phones of 2012 (pictures)

Although 2012 saw a lot of great handsets, not every phone that hit the market was a winner. Check out our list of devices, in no particular order, that we'd like to forget from this year.

Lynn_La2.jpg
Lynn_La2.jpg
Lynn La
35405853-8.jpg
1 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

PCD Chaser (Virgin Mobile)

What bothered us the most about the PCD Chaser was its abysmal battery life. More specifically, it was basically nonexistent. Its slow internal speeds didn't do it any favors, either.
35228309-3.jpg
2 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

ZTE Score M (MetroPCS)

What would slow down the already glacial ZTE Score M? How about its distracting amount of bloatware? In addition, its mediocre screen's narrow viewing angle didn't improve matters.
Sony_Xperia_Ion_35117945_012.JPG
3 of 8 Sarah Tew/CNET

Sony Xperia Ion (AT&T)

As the most high-tech phone of the bunch, we were surprised that the Sony Xperia Ion shipped natively with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. And though it has a 12-megapixel camera, its photo quality didn't impress us.
35536485-1.jpg
4 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Huawei Verge (MetroPCS)

We're all about simple feature phones, but the Huawei Verge took simplicity and threw it off a cliff. Not to mention, its 1-megapixel camera is poor and its Web browser is tedious.
35331546-1.jpg
5 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Pantech Swift (AT&T)

Though cute, the Pantech Swift, complete with a QWERTY keyboard, has an irritatingly slow processor inside and an unresponsive touch screen.
35153657-1.jpg
6 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Samsung Brightside (Verizon)

Frankly, we couldn't see a bright side with the Samsung Brightside. Its less than stellar camera, laggy CPU, and poor screen resolution were all enough to convince us that there is no silver lining.
35026235-1.jpg
7 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Pantech Hotshot (Verizon)

Despite its name, the Pantech Hotshot is lukewarm at best. If you can deal with its slow internal speeds, good luck with its laggy data speeds and unresponsive screen.
35477646-1.jpg
8 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

ZTE Render (U.S, Cellular)

In matters of love, it's all about timing -- and due to the ZTE Render's poor timing, we couldn't love it. The handset operated on Windows Phone 7.8, even though WP8 would be released just a few weeks after. Talk about an already dated debut.

More Galleries

2024 Toyota Grand Highlander: Super Size Me
2024 Toyota Grand Highlander

2024 Toyota Grand Highlander: Super Size Me

28 Photos
Yamaha motorcycle and instrument designers trade jobs (pictures)
yamaha01.jpg

Yamaha motorcycle and instrument designers trade jobs (pictures)

16 Photos
CNET's 'Day of the Dead Devices' altar (pictures)
dia-de-los-muertos-3318-001.jpg

CNET's 'Day of the Dead Devices' altar (pictures)

9 Photos
2007 Los Angeles Auto Show: concept cars
conceptss01_440.jpg

2007 Los Angeles Auto Show: concept cars

14 Photos
Best sound bars under $300
polk-magnifi-mini-15.jpg

Best sound bars under $300

18 Photos
2018 Ford F-150 Power Stroke reports for diesel duty
2018 Ford F-150 diesel

2018 Ford F-150 Power Stroke reports for diesel duty

22 Photos
Music-friendly cell phone accessories

Music-friendly cell phone accessories

11 Photos