Manage updates with the Download AppCasio G'zOne Brigade (Verizon Wireless)
Manufacturer: Casio Inc. Part number: GZONEBRIGADE
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Casio G'zOne Brigade makes an excellent messaging phone for industrial workers or for those who simply need a rugged handset.
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Where to buy
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CNET editors' review
Casio G'zOne Brigade (Verizon Wireless) price range: $102.99
- Reviewed by: Nicole Lee
- Reviewed on: 03/23/2010
The good: The Casio G'zOne Brigade is one of a few ruggedized messaging phones. We really like its roomy keyboard and spacious keypad. It offers features like push-to-talk, a 3.2-megapixel camera, EV-DO Rev. A, GPS, and more.
The bad: The Casio G'zOne Brigade is incredibly bulky and heavy.
The bottom line: The Casio G'zOne Brigade makes an excellent messaging phone for industrial workers or for those who simply need a rugged handset.
User reviews
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Fantastic phone that does it all
by perch98 on July 2, 2010
Pros: The battery life is insanely long, waterproof (swimming for over 45 minutes with it in my pocket), drop proof, dust proof, can surf the web, great call quality, great camera
Cons: Could have come with a more comprehensive user's manual rather than having to download the manual from an online site.
Summary: My husband has had the G'Zone phones since the beginning. From the original G'ZOne to the Boulder, and now the Brigade. Every one of them he has left ...
Summary: My husband has had the G'Zone phones since the beginning. From the original G'ZOne to the Boulder, and now the Brigade. Every one of them he has left in his pocket while we swim - sometimes for hours at a time. The Boulder was a bit of a disappointment - so he went back to his original G'Zone until finally, a few weeks ago, he got the Brigade (only after my encouragement after buying an Android phone). He couldn't be happier! The QWERTY keyboard is excellent. He received the phone on a Tuesday, charged it up for the first time - and he was "playing" with it constantly. We were trying to get it to die (the battery) - and did everything - left videos playing, left the flashlight on, left our phones on "talk" to each other - and it took until Friday night about 11pm for it to die - and that took a LOT of effort! On my Ally, I maybe get a full 24 hours out of a charge. The Brigade takes better pictures than my Ally, and can surf the web, is super fast on application load, power-on/off, etc. The call quality is excellent, and it is rugged as anyone could possibly ever need. He works in a steel shop - and leaves it on his work center around the flying sparks and dust and heat - then swims with it in the evenings. And, just like his original G'Zone did - it is taking it all just fine. He even has several underwater pics from it - just as he did with his original phone. Also, something that is not mentioned near as much as it should be, is the fact that you can do almost EVERYTHING without even opening the QWERTY keyboard (except for surf the web or open applications that require the larger screen). It should be stressed more that this is really 2 phones in one - a totally functional candy-bar style phone, and a fully functional QWERTY keyboard phone. My husband has very large hands, and he could not type well at all on my old LG Voyager due to the key size. He can type like lightning on the Brigade, with no mistakes or accidental key-strokes. The keys are very large and rubberized and easy to feel when you type. I myself have played with it a lot over my Ally.
While the Android is the "hot" item right now, I can completely understand the higher price for the Brigade - as it will be the last phone you will ever have to buy. You just can NOT "kill" these phones - no matter what you do to them! I am constantly amazed that more people (men, especially) do not flock to the Casio G'Zone family of phones.7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I'm a happy camper.
by chkls99 on April 25, 2010
Pros: The phone is rugged, battery life is great, the camera is good, sound quality is good.
Cons: It's big, but I knew that going in. I wish it had the goodies that were on the Rock and Boulder.
Summary: I love my phone, I knew going in that it was big, but it really isn't as big as I expected and I do carry it around in my ...
Summary: I love my phone, I knew going in that it was big, but it really isn't as big as I expected and I do carry it around in my shirt pocket. The rubberized covering on the outside is nice because it doesn't slide out of my pocket when I bend over. I read that the battery should be power cycled 3 times before it will reach optimal life and it's true. I now get 4-7 days out of a single charge. It depends on where I am and how much of the time it is searching for a cell tower as I am in a remote area with spotty service. I'm not a big texter/talker, but comparing it to my Boulder, it has about twice the life.For me the sound quality has been very good. At first people would tell me that I sounded like I was in a barrell or far away, but I turned off the voice privacy setting and that seems to have cured that issue. I use the camera to take quick snap shots and it's quite adequate for that. I do take them with the phone open because, quite frankly, the external display sucks as a view finder. I love the internal keyboard, it's actually big enough for man hands. The external keyboard, not so much.
Two months after my original review and I have to say that I'm extremely happy I made this choice. I spend a lot of time on the Colorado river and I don't bother to take the phone out of my pants pocket anymore. It's been dunked multiple time and is still rocking. When I'm off the river I carry it in my shirt pocket and it does fine. Size and weight wise it is very comparable to my son's Droid. I don't know if you can call this a real complaint, but the darn thing is LOUD. I turn it up when I'm in a noisy environment and if I forget to turn it back down it will get everyone in the areas attention.
The biggest thing I wish the phone had is the compass that was on the Boulder.
I'm not sure what the deal is with the data requirement. It must depend on your plan. I had the option to pay as you use, which costs nothing. I did not have to pay extra for a data plan.
Updated on Jun 18, 20106 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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FUNCTIONAL, DURABLE, EASY TO USE! WHO COULD ASK 4 MORE?
by jb26354 on May 24, 2010
Pros: SPACIOUS, EASY TO USE KEYBOARD. REAL BUTTONS, NONE OF THIS TOUCH SCREEN B.S.
EXCELLENT BATTERY LIFE. CAN TAKE A LOT OF ABUSE!Cons: A LITTLE BULKY, BUT I DON'T CONSIDER THAT A CON, GIVEN IT'S RUGGEDNESS.
Summary: IF YOU ARE INTO TECH TOYS, AND ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES THAT GO ALONG, THIS IS PROBABLY NOT THE PHONE FOR YOU. HOWEVER, IF YOU NEED A FUNCTIONAL, DURABLE, ...
Summary: IF YOU ARE INTO TECH TOYS, AND ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES THAT GO ALONG, THIS IS PROBABLY NOT THE PHONE FOR YOU. HOWEVER, IF YOU NEED A FUNCTIONAL, DURABLE, RELIABLE PHONE THAT CAN TAKE A POUNDING YOU CANNOT GO WRONG.
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Coo phone but....
by mazzolar on March 25, 2010
Pros: Rugged. Great keyboard. Nice camera.
Cons: Bulky, Requires a data plan even if you don't use it for data.
Summary: Verizon's insistance on making anyone who wants this, and most other messaging phones, buy a data plan is nothing short of extortion. I pay $30/ mo. for texting, and ...
Summary: Verizon's insistance on making anyone who wants this, and most other messaging phones, buy a data plan is nothing short of extortion. I pay $30/ mo. for texting, and there are currently only two phones on the verizon web site with qwerty keyboards. They recently made all their best selling phones require data plans, rather than raise their monthly rates for phone service. I think this is a very underhanded way of doing business and don't intend to renew my service at the end of my current contract. Oh, by the way, if you're thinking of getting service from verizon check the new contract terms. For many of their better phones they raised the cancellation fee from $175 to $350 per phone.
6 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Bulk beef is bunk
by denys00 on March 30, 2010
Pros: I did my homework, so 2 things were confirmed. The "big and bulky" rap on the Brigade is untrue. My old LG Voyager (Try finding a used one) is virtually a trade-off in dimensions, weight and balance. I am a guy; I do not worship at the Altar of Tiny.
Cons: Well, speed compared to an I-Phone, with downloads, but ya know what? I save browsing for when I'm on a laptop. And my laptop isn?t too heavy, either, cupcakes. Everything on this phone looks and works great.
Summary: Trust me cupcakes: Unless you have a mitt the size of a Geisha girl's, you will love this heftier, more solid handset.
Summary: Trust me cupcakes: Unless you have a mitt the size of a Geisha girl's, you will love this heftier, more solid handset.
6 out of 11 users found this user opinion helpful.
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the problem with being unique
by jotunrunner on April 24, 2011
Pros: Sturdy, solid, useful, versatile, as close to being a smartphone as you can get without getting stupid
Cons: incompatible with common data cable types, common 3.5mm headphone jacks
Summary: Really like this phone.
really disappointed, though, that after getting it i come to discover i have to buy a special headphone adapter to plug it into my headphones.
that ...Summary: Really like this phone.
really disappointed, though, that after getting it i come to discover i have to buy a special headphone adapter to plug it into my headphones.
that being done, i drive around playing mp3's from the phone through an fm transmitter and my truck stereo, and when someone calls, it interrupts the music and i have a hands free setup. thats nice.
whats not nice is that the data/charging port for this phone is used by only one other phone in existence, a different casio g'zone. I cant find data cables for it anywhere. sold out at amazon, and every other imaginable site.
Poor planning by Verizon, or Casio, or whoever decided not to include data cables in the box.
I have yet to discover whether I can use bluetooth as a workaround, but even if that were possible there are some things you just want data cables for, and this phone, at least for now, cant do those things.
I've found no indication of whether they are making more, or if they will ever be available.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Best Phone I Have Ever Owned
by TakeDeadAim on February 18, 2011
Pros: easy to use, fantastic full keyboard that can be used by normal to large fingers, Easy to read display Rugged case and solid feel, PTT is very handy
Cons: non standard charge plug and it could come with a few more ring non music ring tones, (this is a work phone) and a few more choices for background and wall paper.
Summary: This is a great phone, I got one for my wife and one for me. the PTT lets her call me when I am out in the shop, the phone ...
Summary: This is a great phone, I got one for my wife and one for me. the PTT lets her call me when I am out in the shop, the phone is rugged enough for use by any job that is hard on phones. It has all you need, provided your not addicted to facebook and all that other crap. All and all a great solid phone with the capability to get your e-mall, text and yes it even makes phone calls.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Disappointing
by prb1113 on February 15, 2011
Pros: Very rugged, solid feel
Cons: bluetooth is horrible, sound quality is horrible
Summary: I am on my 2nd Brigade, and going to Verizon tomorrow for my 3rd. It started out great. For the first 6-7 months, I thought the phone was wonderful. Then, ...
Summary: I am on my 2nd Brigade, and going to Verizon tomorrow for my 3rd. It started out great. For the first 6-7 months, I thought the phone was wonderful. Then, it started sounding muffled. Callers on the other end say I sound as if I am yelling down a hallway.
The bluetooth is absolutely horrible. The first phne I had sounded staticy...I thought it was the headset, but I have tried Jabra, Plantronics and Motorola headsets. When pairing each of these headsets with my wifes phone, they sound terrific. With the Brigade, nothing but STATIC!!!!
Lets see if the 3rd time is a charm. I want to love this phone, but I am very very disappointed with it.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Not Recommended.
by DaSkooch on December 23, 2010
Pros: Truely rugged. No kidding.
Cons: Unreliable, klunky, ugly, heavy, limited verizon support (see below for details)
Summary: Why an overall rating of "1.5" when there are so many things to like and so many like it? Simple answer, "reliability". It reboots itself when replying to a ...
Summary: Why an overall rating of "1.5" when there are so many things to like and so many like it? Simple answer, "reliability". It reboots itself when replying to a txt message and if that's not bad enough, the txt message is gone after the reboot and not even saved in drafts.I had a LG touch prior to the Brigade. I've had the Brigade for 9 months now. I replaced the LG in Spring 2010'. I was sailing on my catamaran and had the LG. It got slightly wet and was junk. I decided to replace it with a ruggedized phone & I went with the Brigade as its waterproof to 6 fathoms according to spec. Since then, I've dropped it over the side of the boat and also off the dock & dove to get it in about 12' of water. It came out just fine. I've also had it dropped onto concrete from about eight feet from a hotel balcony and thrown about 30 feet onto a hard-packed sandy shore by a now-ex-girlfriend, with no problems (short of a few minor corner abrasions on me AND the phone). Here's the problem. Two nights ago, I was txting a friend and in the middle of the txt, I get a popup saying that the Casio firmware needs to be updated and the phone is going to reboot in 2 minutes to perform the update. Well, I let it go as there was no option to delay and I didn't know what was happening as I've never had an "auto firmware update" on any phone I've owned. So I let it go. The phone rebooted and slowly came back to life. After the update I immediately tried to "re" respond to a txt message and after typing about 140 chars and getting ready to send, the phone just rebooted on its own. I lost the message, waited for the reboot and brushed it off. That was two days ago. Since then it's happened at least 15 times over 2 days during replies to txts. So, I called Verizon after the second time it happened and she had me do *228 which didn't help at all. Then I called back and after the tech did some research he found a tech note that it's a known problem and that some people have had luck deleting all their "favorites" in the favorites contacts list (not under general contacts just listed as favorites). He suggested I try that while Casio works on a resolution. He said that they had 3 other reports (only?) of similar problems after the software update. So, I deleted all my "favorite contacts" from the favorites index and tried again. Same problem. I called back and they said that they would replace the phone with a different kind of phone but they would need me to renew my contract which has a little less than 1 year remaining on the original 2 yr agreement. Nice of them huh? Problem is even if I did that the only "rugged" phone they offer with a "real, non-virtual" QWERTY keyboard is the Brigade. Also, I'd have to pay any difference in cost (if any) between my phone and my new phone. Here's the real nuts and bolts of this problem. Last night I spent considerable time looking into this problem. I found that this problem has existed since at least June of 2010. Verizon told me that Casio is "working diligently" on a solution. Right. Just Google Brigade Reboot Problem etc. and look around. You'll see (even within this thread) that this has been going on for awhile. In fact, Verizon told me that Casio updates software for their phone through Verizons update system "on a staggered basis" which is why I think that although my phone (I've had it for about 9 months) just got the update, others have seen it for much longer and some haven't seen it at all?yet... Those of you with Brigades who have not yet experienced this problem, just wait. Your phone is on a list somewhere for this scheduled update and it's day will come. Verizon also recommended that I contact Casio and complain as "the voice of the customer matters a lot". Nice again! I thought I was a customer of Verizon, not Casio! Regardless, I plan to do that today. Finally just a few comments. I think Verizon should stop selling this phone until Casio proves that they fixed the problem or at least inform the unsuspecting customer of the issue prior to purchase as most people just assume that the phones Verizon sells have passed rigorous testing, especially the Mil Spec versions. They should at least stop pushing out the defective firmware and tell Casio to stop sending the "new" updates until it's right. They should also force Casio to replace the new firmware with the previous version and force "new" updates to the older version of the firmware. Prior to this recent problem, despite the phones clunky awkward look and feel, I found that the good outweighed the bad and after I got used to it (a few months) I liked the phone. But again, prior to this last firmware update. It may be waterproof but it's also heavy, ugly, and clunky, but now its also unreliable. I can't believe it still passes Mil Spec with this reliability problem. So, No-Go and thumbs down for now on the Brigade... at least for me.
FYI: My phone is currently running Software Version C741M060 (lateset according to verizon), and PRL Version 52189, and ERI version 4
Updated on Dec 23, 2010
Updated on Dec 25, 2010Ok, Christmas day. Just got off the phone with Verizon. They're sending me out a new phone with hopefully the "old version of the firmware". They say they're working with Casio to get the repair done, but they acknoledged that it's been a known problem for at least the last 6 or so months with no release date for the fix on the horizon. Also, it sounds like Casion is responsible for pushing out the now defective "current firmware" and it's being distributed on a "regional" basis, meaning that they update hundereds-thousands of phones at specific intervals based on where the phone number area code is based. No answer as to why, if they know the latest firmawre is defective (see above for known version number of the defective software) they continue to distribute.
Updated on Jan 3, 2011Here's the latest. Verizon sent me a relacement Brigade (12-30-2010) even though they know its a software problem with the rebooting on replies to txt messages. The short of it is that the problem still exists. May even worse. The phone came through with exactly the same SW and HW versions as the phone I sent back. They're offering to allow me to replace the phone with an alternate phone (like the GZOne Rock or Boulder) but neitherof them have a qwerty keyboard which I really want. The only other option is to live with the problem or go to one of those other ruggedized phones that use virtual qwerty. Even then, they will require that I renew my 2-year contract which has a little less than a year on it! I hate the choices. They still say a fix from Casio is right around the corner, but they've been saying that since at least last June. I think I can make a case for getting out of my contract all together, but what then...AT&T? Right. Talk about frying pan to the fire. Oh well.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Awesome phone but shuts off by itself
by 13EVIL13 on November 16, 2010
Pros: The phone is definately rugged as all hell thats why I give it 2 stars
Cons: It suddenly shuts off like it's reseting itself......very very annoying and I've only had it 3 days!
Summary: Hopefully they can fix the problem because i really like the phone
Summary: Hopefully they can fix the problem because i really like the phone
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Casio Inc.
- Part number: GZONEBRIGADE
- Description: Marketing description is not available.
General
- Packaged Quantity 1
- Product Type Cellular phone
- Form Factor Folder (flip)
- Phone Design Flip
- Resistance Dustproof,
Weatherproof,
Shockproof - Integrated Components Digital camera,
Digital player - Antenna Internal
- Width 2.2 in
- Depth 0.9 in
- Height 4.4 in
- Weight 6 oz
Cellular
- Technology CDMA2000 1X
- Service Provider Verizon Wireless
- Input Device(s) QWERTY keyboard
Messaging & Internet
- Cellular Messaging Services MMS,
SMS - Messaging & Data Features Text messages,
Multimedia messages (MMS),
Picture messages,
E-Mail,
Voice messages,
HTML Browser,
Voice mail - Downloadable Content Games,
Ring tones,
Applications - Mobile Services VCAST
Communications
- Data Transmission EV-DO
- Wireless Interface Bluetooth
- Bluetooth Profiles Object Push Profile (OPP),
Hands Free Profile (HFP),
Headset Profile (HSP),
Dial-up Networking Profile (DUN),
File Transfer Profile (FTP),
Basic Printing Profile (BPP),
Phonebook Access Profile (PBAP),
Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) - Communication Features Internet browser
Phone Features
- Phone Functions Voice control,
Call timer,
Conference call,
Speakerphone,
Voice dialing,
Vibrating alert - Polyphonic Ringer Yes
- Ring Tone Formats AAC,
MP3,
AMR,
MIDI - Additional Features E-911 compliant,
TTY compatible,
Flash light,
Push-to-talk mode Organizer
- Personal Information Management Calendar,
Calculator,
Stopwatch,
Reminder,
Alarm clock - Phone Book Entries Qty 500
Media Player
- Supported Digital Audio Standards AAC +,
MP3,
WMA,
AAC Memory
- Supported Flash Memory Cards microSDHC - up to 16 GB
Digital Camera
- Sensor Resolution 3.2 megapixels
- Still Image Resolutions 640 x 480,
2048 x 1536,
1280 x 960,
1600 x 1200 - Self Timer Delay 10 sec,
5 sec,
3 sec - Special Effects Negative,
Black & White,
Sepia Navigation System
- Navigation Software & Services VZ Navigator
Display
- Type LCD display - Color
- Technology TFT
- Diagonal Size 2.9 in
- Display Resolution 400 x 240 pixels
- Color Depth 16-bit (65000 colors)
- Multi-language Menu Yes
- Display Languages English,
Spanish - Features Backlit
Display (2nd)
- Type OLED display - Monochrome
- Diagonal Size 1.2 in
- Display Resolution 128 x 96 pixels
Connections
- Connector Type Headset jack - Sub-mini-phone 2.5 mm
Battery
- Run Time Details Talk - up to 360 min,
Standby - up to 90 hour(s) Miscellaneous
- Compliant Standards HAC(Hearing Aid Compatible)
- Included Accessories Power adapter , Power adapter
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Casio Inc. products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:Casio Inc.
- Address:
570 Mt. Pleasant Ave., Dover, NJ 07801 - Phone: 1-800-706-2534
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