G'zOne Brigade (Verizon Wireless)

Calls:We found calls made using the G’zOne Brigade cell phone loud. We could hear callers and they said they could hear us just fine. We appreciate the ability to change the audio quality by using the volume keys on the cell phone’s spine. The speakerphone worked equally as well.

Audio playback: We found playback of songs loud and clear through the cell phone’s built-in speaker. The Brigade cell phone only sports a 2.5mm headset jack and compatible headphones aren’t included in the box. Additionally, the Brigade does support the stereo Bluetooth, so you can listen to music in stereo via a stereo Bluetooth headset.

Menu/Phone book: At the heart of the cell phone is the typical Verizon Wireless user interface, though not as slick as those found on other models recently released. You can still tab over to different menus while viewing a specific menu’s options by using the left and right navigation. Use the touch-sensitive OK to select menu items and the surrounding arrows to help navigate the rest of the menu features. We did appreciate that you can even select some menu features on the external black and white screen. You can also re-assign the navigational arrows on both the front display and internal keypad for one-touch access to your favorite features.

We particularly appreciate how easy it is to use the phone book. You can store four phone numbers, two e-mail addresses, an IM address, picture, and even a street address for each of 500 contacts. Additionally, there’s an In Case of Emergency slot where you can store three contacts and personal information. Also included in the cell phone menu options is mobile e-mail for web-based accounts such as AOL, Google, and Yahoo, instant messaging, and chat. There are other higher-end features you may not expect to see on a rugged handset such as VZ Navigator, games and Rhapsody Music. In short, this is one of the more feature-rich rugged cell phones currently available

Camera: The Gz’One Brigade has 3.2-megapixel camera with a flash, but lacks a small mirror next to the lens for snapping self-portraits. You can take a picture either by having the display open to see the image in color or use the external screen. Although, images appear in black and white on the external display they are still shot in color. We’re also happy to reports that the camera has a fairly fast shutter. Additionally there are setting options for brightness, white balance, resolution, macro, auto focus, and a self-timer. There’s also a self-timer and the ability to take pictures in landscape or portrait mode. Overall, image quality is acceptable and colors are true.

Music: The Brigade has something you don’t expect to find in a rugged cell phone and that’s a music player. Not only can you play songs stored in MP3, WMA (Windows Music file format), and unprotected AAC (Apples audio format) on the Brigade, but you can also download songs from Verizon’s VCast Rhapsody service. Once you purchase the song on the cell phone you can also download a copy by visiting vcastmusic.rhapsody.com. This cell phone lacks audio-centric controls such as bass and treble, in fact it only has Repeat, Playlists, and Shuffle when it comes to features.

Connectivity/Bluetooth: We were able to easily pair the cell phone with a MOTOROKR T505 Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone.

Look and Feel: There’s no mistaking the Gz’One Brigade for a rugged phone. It looks durable with its black casing, silver accents, and rubberized backing. Once you hold it in your hand you’ll know this cell phone can take a beating. We were able to drop it onto hardwood floor from about 5 feet and it didn’t even turn off. To help keep the cell phone so rugged it even has a locking mechanism to keep the back cover securely in place. That said, there’s more to this cell phone than just a rugged exterior: turn it horizontal and flip it open and has a full tactile QWERTY keyboard and a bright color display. Finally, there is a slot for a microSD card, unfortunately it’s located behind the cell phone’s battery so access isn’t immediately clear.

Taking a tour around the cell phone you’ll find the right side is a hinge and has no buttons, on the opposite side you’ll find a covered slot for the 2.5mm headset jack, dedicated music key, volume keys, a large red key that you can assign to launch any feature, and the proprietary charger jack. On the face of the cell phone you’ll find a numeric keypad and a slue of dedicated keys, including a message key, camera/video recorder key, a favorites button, and a light/speaker button. The good news is that you don’t really need to open the cell phone to access many generally used features, however, if you do decide to flip open the Brigade you’ll likely have a much better experience. Our only quibble with the outside of the cell phone is that it tends to lock far too quickly for our preferences.

Keypad: As noted, the Gz’One Brigade sports a full QWERTY keyboard, The keys are square, but slightly raised and rounded making it both easy and comfortable for texting. Additionally, there’s a four-way rocker key for navigating through the cell phone’s menus, a dedicated message key, a clear key, and send/end keys. Above the keyboard are two soft keys so that you can easily select options that appear on the bottom part of the display.

We were impressed with the battery life on the Gz’One Brigade. Heavy cell phone users who make a ton of calls, send/receive loads of text messages daily, and listen to tunes stored on the cell phone regularly will need to recharge it every three to four days. More moderate users will be able to make the cell phone last closer to a week before needing to recharge. Additionally, the Brigade comes with it’s own charging cradle. You can use that or just plug the charger cable directly into the cell phone.