Manage updates with the Download AppVerizon G'zOne Boulder (black & silver)
Manufacturer: Casio Inc. Part number: GzOne Boulder in Black & Silver
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The G'zOne Boulder is a beefy, rough-and-tumble cell phone with a rich suite of multimedia features beneath its tough exterior, but we were ultimately disappointed with the call quality.
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CNET editors' review
Verizon G'zOne Boulder (black & silver) price range: $79.99 - $89.95
- Reviewed by: Nicole Lee
- Reviewed on: 08/10/2008
The good: The G'zOne Boulder is military-certified to withstand the elements, plus it has EV-DO Rev. A, a 1.3-megapixel camera, Push-to-Talk, an electronic compass, and support for V Cast Video, VZ Navigator, and V Cast Music with Rhapsody.
The bad: Call quality was mediocre at best, with a lot of static and echo. The G'zOne Boulder may be bulky for some people, and the music player interface is a tad clunky.
The bottom line: The G'zOne Boulder is a beefy, rough-and-tumble cell phone with a rich suite of multimedia features beneath its tough exterior, but we were ultimately disappointed with the call quality.
User reviews
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Do not buy this phone
by briansnat on August 14, 2008
Pros: Rugged, waterproof
Cons: Lousy sound quality, poor battery life
Summary: I really wanted to like this phone because a rugged, waterproof, no frills cell phone is something I've wished for. I read some negative reviews about the sound quality ...
Summary: I really wanted to like this phone because a rugged, waterproof, no frills cell phone is something I've wished for. I read some negative reviews about the sound quality but
thought perhaps the reviewers were just picky.
I went to the Verizon store and the clerk claimed it was highly rated by Consumer Reports. Turns out she meant the previous type S model.
This phone is absolute garbage. The sound quality is unacceptable. Calls are so tinny and static filled that two tin cans with a string might be a better option. No matter how good the other features are, what is the point of a cell phone if you can't understand the person on the other end?
Next on the list is battery life. I fully charged the phone, then started playing with ring tones, settings and other features. After a half hour of this the battery was down to two bars.
I could deal with the battery life by buying two if everything else about the phone was fine, but with the call quality, forget it.
Just to make sure it wasn't me, I gave the phone to my wife to make a call without telling her a thing about the sound quality.
A few seconds into the call she asked me if there was something wrong with the phone because she couldn't hear the other person clearly.
I don't see how a phone like this could be released to the public. Wasn't there somebody at Casio who actually made a call on the thing?11 out of 15 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Software update improves call quality
by LewBob on August 22, 2008
Pros: Solid feel, don't have to worry about getting it wet, flashlight function,
Cons: Battery life, have to go to Verizon store for update
Summary: I am on my second Boulder and was going to give up on them because of lousy call quality. I got a tip on a software update, and after doing ...
Summary: I am on my second Boulder and was going to give up on them because of lousy call quality. I got a tip on a software update, and after doing the update yesterday the call quality is much improved.
Many have complained about the battery life and I agree that it is way too short. However, it could be that the update will help with the battery also.
Bottom line, get the update done as soon as you get the phone and you will probably be happy with this phone if you are looking for a rugged phone with basic features.Updated
I am on my second Boulder and was going to send it back when I heard about a software update that helped with the voice quality. It took the friendly tech at my Verizon store about 15 minutes to update it and now it sounds pretty good. The ring is also much louder and I am hopeful that the battery life may be a little longer.
Don't give up on this phone until you have tried the update! Lew7 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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A phone that does what it's DESIGNED to do.
by athletejmc on September 5, 2008
Pros: Rugged, Signal Strength, Looks, Desktop Charger, SIZE
Cons: Silver Keypad, Keypad Back-lighting, Battery Life, Small LCD
Summary: I ordered this phone being fairly confident with Casio's products. After making an order for the cellular phone over the phone with Verizon as a replacement for my BlackBerry ...
Summary: I ordered this phone being fairly confident with Casio's products. After making an order for the cellular phone over the phone with Verizon as a replacement for my BlackBerry I read some reviews on the Gzone Boulder. Practically all of them were negative. My normal response was to think great, now I'm going to have to deal with getting my phone swapped out without even getting it yet. Even worst was that I usually check into something before buying it, but I wasn't due for an upgrade but got one anyways for being a VIP customer and being with Verizon over the Last 8 years; I was put on the spot for a one time opportunity. Well here's the verdict... I got the phone and it works great. It sounds a little muffled, but that's normal with water resistant phones because all the ports have to be sealed off. The muffled sound isn't bad though and only affects call quality slightly; I can hear over the phone without a problem. I've had worst phones without being to military standard. I can't understand why so many people would bash a good product that does exactly what it's made to do without taking into consideration design limitations or affects to the sound because of design, seems like common sense.
Pros. I live out in the boonies and tend to have trouble getting a good signal, I haven't had any problems with this phone yet. I figured with it being a fairly standard flip phone that I needn't have such high expectations, but they were more than exceeded. The phone is also physically solid and fits in the grove of the shoulder well. The desktop charger is ingenious sense you don't want to be opening closing ports on the phone too much. After time they would wear out (as on any water-proofed product), but that was taken into consideration; props to Casio for longevity. The best part of this rugged beast is that it is a slim phone for being rugged and fits in the front pocket well. I've had a few nextels and never had the experience of having durability and confort of being able to fit it in my pocket like a regular phone.
Cons. I don't care for the silver keypad. The silver makes it difficult during evening hours to see with overhead lighting because the finish is reflective. The back light is also orange. One of my old phones used plain white lighting for the keypad back lighting and that seems to be most friendly on the eyes in dark conditions. The battery is good for 1-2 days of light use. As long as you charge it nightly u should be fine. If not get an extended battery. My last critique is the display. It's very small and makes it difficult to read text when browsing the web.
Overall I'm overly satisfied with this aesthetically pleasing phone and can see it hanging around for a long time. Hope this review helps. Take care.5 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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This has to be one of the worst phones ever!
by ssmithfla on August 26, 2008
Pros: Cool looking, durable phone. Nothing else.
Cons: The audio was substandard. There are minimal ring tones and the battery sucks.
Summary: This phone came highly recommened by the Verizon agent at the Mall Kiosk. They had to order a phone for me and they sent it Fed-Ex. I waited 4 days ...
Summary: This phone came highly recommened by the Verizon agent at the Mall Kiosk. They had to order a phone for me and they sent it Fed-Ex. I waited 4 days for this piece of crap! I had this phone for less than an hour and wanted to throw if off a cliff. When talking on the phone I was unable to understand what the other person was saying. It sounded like I was under water with ear muffs on. When I brought it back to the Kiosk in the mall they said that they never get any complaints about this phone, Yeah right!!!! So they ordered me another phone and I waited another 4 days. Oh no, I think they sent me another broken one.... NOT! This phone was just as bad as the first one. I figured that I would let others listen to the wonderful audio and wouldn't you know it, everone said that it was horrible. So I brought the phone back as second time and after an hour finall received a replacement. Once again they claim that they have no complaints about this phone. I can only imagine that the person(s) that approved the relase of this phone must have been spies for Nextell and figured that they would get back at Verizon for stealing their Push to Talk Network. I mean really, who else would have put their name on it intentionally? Bottom line, DON"T BUY THIS PHONE< IT SUCKS!
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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The G'zone Boulder has Lost Something Along the Way!!!
by arnoljx on August 26, 2008
Pros: The new G'zone looks far better than it performs... the Boulder benefit falls short of the actual characteristics that made it's predecessors shine... the only thing this phone has going for it is the G'zone name.
Cons: As a past G'zone owner I had high expectations and tried two Boulders b4 giving up... The phones I received didn't impress this Casio phone Fan!!! I've returned both Boulders gone back to the older Casio as a replacement for my lost handset.
Summary: The new Casio G'zone Boulder has a crappy hinge that was at once loose and feels generally cheap. The phone feels like plastic.The display is small. I went ...
Summary: The new Casio G'zone Boulder has a crappy hinge that was at once loose and feels generally cheap. The phone feels like plastic.The display is small. I went rafting with the new one and it got water behind the screen (the older model never did). The Call Quality is the worst I've experienced (my T'mobile prepaid phone is better). Generally the new G'zone looks cheap, is built cheap, and sounds cheap... My old G'zone (type V) is a solid performer with a 2mp camera that can drive nails and go swiming every day all day long ... I bought another Type V slightly used for less money and I'm big time happier!!! Remember ( I gave the new G'zone two tries) I took back the first hoping that it's pour performance and sorry build quality was a mistake, it wasn't...
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Automatic firmware update seems to have helped...
by srjwgj on September 13, 2008
Pros: Rugged basic design with no crazy features that I know I will end up not using.
Verizon Recently Pushed a firmware update that changed my mind.Cons: 1 Week of "What did you say?"
Summary: From the first call I got dismal sound quality with normal calls. Speaker phone calls were OK but not spectacular. Call quality was highly dependant upon the phone on the ...
Summary: From the first call I got dismal sound quality with normal calls. Speaker phone calls were OK but not spectacular. Call quality was highly dependant upon the phone on the other end in my case. The othe rparty allways hear me fine. But depending on whothe other person was or what phone they were on I could not hear them clearly. Tinny, not clear, distorted, overall bad audio. Turning the volume down did help but if you have to turn the volume down so far that you can not hear then forget about it. I was at the end of my chain and had already decided that it was time to return the phone. Then Verizon Pushhed a Firmware update yesterday when I left the phone in my car. When I got back the phone had "Automatic Update in Progress" or something to that effect on the screen. I phushed OK to clear the screen. The very next call was quite a different experience so I called my automatic teller at my bank which was inaudible before. It also worked fine. I have made several calls since and all have been fine. Even the hands free that was fine before is even clearer. The ringer which I thought was loud enough (probably because I choose the obnoxious ringtones) just rang scared the crud out of my daughter and me.I'll give it one more week to mess up but I'll bet I'm keeping this one now. They saved it by the skin of their teeth. Other features seem to be OK but honestly I've only had a quick run through and used each a few times. Ipersonally like the screen I received some high res pix via mms and they looked great.
3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Don't they test audio?
by Mikezzzaaa on August 11, 2008
Pros: Solid, very cool, rugged design
Cons: Ba* a**io. What was that? Bad Audio!
Summary: I've been hunting around for reviews of this phone to see if anyone else was having a similiar audio experience. I'm glad I finally found some opinions.
They ...Summary: I've been hunting around for reviews of this phone to see if anyone else was having a similiar audio experience. I'm glad I finally found some opinions.
They could have had a major success here if they had gotten that most basic of features right; sound quality. At first I thought maybe I had just gotten a lemon, and I'ld exchange it, but now I guess I'll have to get a different model. I really would have loved this phone to have been a winner.3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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GREAT phone for its targeted and intended buyer
by rsq1hoo on September 22, 2008
Pros: - Rugged and "water-resistant"
- Excellent interface
- Useful extra features (compass/ front face and side button stopwatch function)
- Drop-in charger
- Solid feel/design
- More secure back battery coverCons: - Audio quality is as expected
- T9 programing is a bit off at first (ex. "ME" comes up first when trying to type "of" but the programming learns your tendencies anyway)Summary: I initially tried the Motorola V750 for a few days at the advice of a Verizon sales associate and due to poor reviews for the audio quality of the G'...
Summary: I initially tried the Motorola V750 for a few days at the advice of a Verizon sales associate and due to poor reviews for the audio quality of the G'zOne (which is what I was initially looking into). But after a few days of trying the V750 out I realized that I just really didn't like the it. Could just be that I didn't like the thin Razor design since the phone didn't seem to fit well in my hand while texting on the go for example or that the phone had this hideous red stripe around the front screen and an equally repulsive red accented side button but I just didn't feel right with it and that was enough to try something else.
Unhappy with the V750 and after reading a review stating Verizon had provided an update for the V'zOne programming that may have improved the audio quality, I went back to Verizon a few days later and gave in to those two words that don't often describe a cell phone: "water resistant." I do a lot of whitewater and snow sports and I don't like trusting my dry box alone so I felt justified enough to at least try the G'zOne out. I've now had the G'zOne for several few days now and LOVE IT. It's a bit chunky for some people's tastes (including my friends who love the new shiny sleeker phones) but I actually like it's somewhat more aggressive look. More importantly, it just feels solid and is loaded with useful features. The two most notable and unique examples in my mind are the compass function and the stopwatch function, both of which can be used on the front screen with the touch of a side aux. button. The phone even feels like a real stopwatch with the way it's set up (unlike most other flip phones with a stopwatch tool). The drop-in charger is also a huge bonus for practical purposes and aesthetic reasons as well. Many of the other aspects I like about the phone are more due to my personal tastes and similarities to my old phone which I would've kept if not for its overall declining condition largely due to its daily abuse.
Now, in terms of the audio... The best way to put it, is that it's you'd expect from the casing, etc. The sound's not as great as a lot of other phones, but it's not all that bad either. I used it in the city today in a fairly congested area and I could still hear the other end clearly (just avoid turning the main volume all the way up at which point it starts to crackle, etc). The seemingly improved audio quality from what earlier reviews had stated may be due to the programing update that automatically starts when the phone is activated (took about 3 minutes after asking for my confirmation).
Anyway, if you're into sleek sexy phones with somewhat gimmicky features like a touch screen (though I will admit the G'zOne is full of its own little gimmicks itself, of course) or if you need a high audio quality phone with a long battery life you may want to go with something else. On the other hand, if you're looking for something really solid and willing to sacrifice a little bit of audio quality than this could be the phone for you.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I actually thought this phone was not bad at all
by nursemom38 on September 17, 2008
Pros: This phone is tough, rugged and waterproof and I don't have to worry about finding the battery if I drop the phone
Cons: I really don't have any issues with it...maybe it would be nice if it was a little smaller but all in all it is not that big.
Summary: After hearing eveyone else complaining about sound quality I was scared and I had already ordered the phone. But once I activated it Verizon did a automatic software upgrade. The ...
Summary: After hearing eveyone else complaining about sound quality I was scared and I had already ordered the phone. But once I activated it Verizon did a automatic software upgrade. The sound quality was not that great at first because the volume was maxed out but once I turned it down a little it was fine. Called my mom who lives several states away and she said she could hear me just fine and I had no problems hearing her. I am glad I went ahead and got this phone. I am not a outdoors person but I am very rough on phones and with three kids and working as a nurse I needed something that could take being dropped over and over again. My husband got the same phone and he is really happy with it too.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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The AK-47 of cell phones
by articXS on September 11, 2008
Pros: Rugged, useful, waterproof, SHOCKPROOF, idiot proof, it does what you want it to. Not a whole lot of useless features. Believe it or not, the flashlight is very helpful...you'll see.
Cons: Sound quality
Summary: I traded in my ole Type - S for this phone (which was almost perfect). When I say the "AK-47 of cell phones" what I mean is it may not ...
Summary: I traded in my ole Type - S for this phone (which was almost perfect). When I say the "AK-47 of cell phones" what I mean is it may not be the most refined, nicest, prettiest, highest functioning, "feature packed" that is out there, but it gets the job done every time. I want to know that when I need to text/make a call, it will work. Be it recently dunked in mud, dropped 10 times already that day, or laid out in the sun for hours, it will work every time. I'm a law enforcement officer, and a phone will get all sorts of abuse, because it need to go everywhere I go, and I can't simply "leave it in the car" or "put it in a nice case." I had a blackberry, glide, razor, etc., and the casio series blow all the other ones away. If you need a phone to actually work, and don't give a crap about frilly features like nice touch screens, email from the office, or a really pretty camera, this one is for you.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Casio Inc.
- Part number: GzOne Boulder in Black & Silver
- Description: Water resistant? Check. Shock resistant? Check. More features than you think? Check. Take a look at the Boulder. It's more than just an indestructible phone. Unique screws, keypads and side keypads, water-resistant filters and O-ring combination - seemingly insignificant details, but they help put the Boulder in a class by itself. It's one of the first cell phone able to withstand blowing rain and high humidity, and it can even stay underwater up to 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter with the ports closed. The Boulder's not afraid of a little hard work. In fact, it thrives on it, bringing you the latest news, sports and entertainment via Mobile Web 2.0. Plus you can customize and make it your own with the latest downloadable wallpapers and ringtones.
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,
Voice recorder - Antenna Internal
- Width 2 in
- Depth 0.9 in
- Height 3.9 in
- Weight 3.9 oz
- Body Color Silver
Cellular
- Technology CDMA2000 1X
- Band CDMA2000 1X 1900/800
- Service Provider Verizon Wireless
- Software Platforms Supported Java,
BREW Messaging & Internet
- Cellular Messaging Services EMS,
MMS,
SMS - WAP Protocol Supported WAP 2.0
- Messaging & Data Features Text message,
Multi media message (MMS),
Instant messages,
WAP Push Communications
- Data Transmission EV-DO
- Wireless Interface Bluetooth
- Communication Features Internet browser
Phone Features
- Phone Functions Voice control,
Call timer,
Conference call,
Speakerphone,
Voice dialing,
Vibrating alert - Polyphonic Ringer Yes
- Polyphonic Ring Tone Voice Qty 72
- Additional Features E-911 compliant,
Intelligent typing (T9),
Rugged design,
Integrated digital compass,
Push-to-talk mode Organizer
- Personal Information Management Calendar,
Calculator,
Countdown timer,
Reminder,
Alarm clock Media Player
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3,
AAC,
AMR - Supported Digital Video Standards MPEG-4,
H.263,
H.264
Memory
- Supported Flash Memory Cards microSD
Digital Camera
- Sensor Resolution 1.3 megapixels
- Optical Sensor Type CMOS
- Self Timer Delay Yes
- Camera Light Source LED light
- Video Recorder Resolutions 176 x 144 (QCIF)
- Digital Video Formats MPEG-4
Navigation System
- GPS Navigation A-GPS receiver
- Navigation Software & Services VZ Navigator
Display
- Type LCD display - Color
- Technology TFT
- Diagonal Size 2 in
- Display Resolution 240 x 320 pixels
- Color Depth 16-bit (65000 colors)
- Multi-language Menu Yes
- Display Languages English,
Spanish - Features Backlit
Display (2nd)
- Type LCD display - Monochrome
Battery
- Capacity 800 mAh
- Run Time Details Talk - up to 207 min,
Standby - up to 212 hour(s) Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Power adapter , Power adapter
Product series
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Verizon G'zOne Boulder (black & silver)
Manufacturer: Casio Inc.
Specs: Verizon Wireless,
CDMA2000 1X,
Up to 207 min,
With digital camera,
3.9 oz,
1.3 megapixels,
2 in
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Casio Inc. products on Shopper.com
-
- Manufacturer:Casio Inc.
- Address:
570 Mt. Pleasant Ave., Dover, NJ 07801 - Phone: 1-800-706-2534
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