T-Mobile Comet
Manufacturer: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. Part number: 2001645
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The T-Mobile Comet is an affordable Android phone with a compact design and good call quality, but there are better options out there.
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CNET editors' review
T-Mobile Comet price range: $99.99 - $199.99
- Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha
- Reviewed on: 12/03/2010
- Released on: 11/03/2010
The good: The T-Mobile Comet offers a compact and lightweight design. The smartphone features Android 2.2 and the full range of wireless options. Call quality is excellent.
The bad: The Comet has a small display and no multitouch support. The plastic piece covering the navigation array started to peel off. The smartphone can be sluggish.
The bottom line: The T-Mobile Comet is an affordable Android phone with a compact design and good call quality, but there are better options out there.
Editors' note: This review has been updated with in-store pricing.
The T-Mobile Comet is a rebranded version of the Huawei Ideos, which is a low-cost Android phone. It certainly is budget-friendly; the entry-level smartphone is $9.99 with a two-year contract (alternatively, you can get it as a prepaid option for $200) and offers some nice features, such as Android 2.2, a compact design, and excellent call quality. However, it also suffers from a smaller display and sluggish performance, and our review units had a design malfunction. We'd suggest spending just $20 more for the LG Optimus T, which offers better hardware and additional features, for free with contract.
Design
At just 4.09 inches tall by 2.16 inches wide by 0.54 inch thick and 3.6 ounces, the T-Mobile Comet is quite the petite handset. It's certainly easy to travel with, and the curved edges and rounded corners make it comfortable to hold, but we have some concerns about the overall build quality. It's not so much the durability, as the handset feels quite solid, but the plastic piece covering the navigation control area started peeling off almost immediately. It could be an isolated situation, but we received two review units and it happened on both. In one instance, simply pressing down on the plastic cover fixed the problem, but in the second instance, the left corner kept popping back up, which only got worse as more dust and debris collected on the adhesive strip.
The Comet features a 2.8-inch WVGA (320x240) capacitive touch screen. In an affordable, entry-level device, the lower-resolution display is to be expected, and we found the screen to be sufficiently bright and clear. It's also quite responsive, as it registered all our touches and smoothly scrolled through lists and menus. However, there is no multitouch support, and the display's smaller size definitely hampers the Web browsing and multimedia experience. It also makes for a cramped onscreen keyboard, but the inclusion of Swype alleviates the problem, as it's easier to swipe from key to key than to peck at the small buttons.
Below the screen, you get touch-sensitive keys for the back, menu, home, and search shortcuts, and beneath those are talk and end keys and a navigational D-pad. Note that the outer silver ring is used as the directional keypad, while the big black button in the center is the select key. With the touch screen, we didn't find much need to use the D-pad, but it does come in handy when trying to click on links within a Web page.
There's a volume rocker on the left side, and a power button and 3.5-millimeter headphone jack on top of the device. The camera is located on the back, while the microSD expansion slot is behind the battery.
The T-Mobile Comet comes packaged with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a 2GB microSD card, and reference material.
Features
The T-Mobile Comet ships running Android 2.2, which is great since some of the higher-end smartphones aren't even running Froyo yet. With it, the smartphone offers such features as voice dialing over Bluetooth and the ability to save apps to an SD card. The OS also technically supports Flash 10.1 Player, but due to hardware limitations, the Comet does not. You still get all the standard Google services, however, and fortunately T-Mobile doesn't bog the phone down too much with unwanted services.
The Comet's voice features include quad-band world roaming, a speakerphone, speed dial, smart dialing, voice commands, conference calling, and text and multimedia messaging. The phone is also 3G-capable and has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Unlike the LG Optimus T, the Comet can't make calls over Wi-Fi.
The smartphone can handle multiple e-mail and social networking accounts, including Gmail, Yahoo, Exchange, Facebook, and Twitter. We had no problems adding our Gmail, Exchange, Facebook and Twitter accounts to our review unit, and we received messages and updates without problem. The Comet offers a unified inbox and calendar, though you can choose to keep your accounts separate if you prefer.
Multimedia capabilities on the T-Mobile Comet are pretty standard. The built-in music and video player supports a range of music and video codecs, including MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, MPEG4, WAV, and MIDI. The music player's interface leaves much to be desired, but it supports on-the-fly playlist creation, shuffle/repeat modes, and a "Use as ringtone" feature. The handset also has an FM radio and a dedicated YouTube player. The Comet only has about 149MB of internal memory, but as we mentioned earlier, T-Mobile includes a 2GB microSD card and the expansion slot can accept up to 32GB cards.
The Comet has a 3.2-megapixel camera. Editing options are pretty limited, but you get white-balance settings, digital zoom, geotagging, and video capture. Picture quality was pretty much what we expected: grainy with dull colors. Still, you can make out the objects in the photos, and shots taken outdoors fared better. Video quality was pretty murky.
Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; UMTS/HSDPA) T-Mobile Comet in New York and call quality was quite good. On our end, the audio was clear with little to no background noise, and voices sounded rich and full. Friends also reported good results and didn't have any major complaints.
T-Mobile Comet call quality sample
Listen now:
Speakerphone quality was also impressive. Calls sounded rich and full without any of the tinniness and hollowness that often plagues speakerphone calls. In addition, there was enough volume to have conversations in noisier environments. We had no problems pairing the smartphone with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset or the Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones.
We got pretty reliable 3G coverage in Manhattan, though there were spots, such as Midtown, where it wavered from 3G and EDGE. Over 3G, CNET's full site came up in a minute, while the mobile sites for CNN and ESPN loaded in 7 seconds and 12 seconds, respectively. YouTube videos loaded within several seconds and played back without interruption and with synchronized audio and sound. There is the option to switch to high quality, but with such a low-resolution screen, it doesn't make much of a difference.
The Comet is powered by a 528MHz processor, and though we never experienced any major problems or delays, the smartphone can be sluggish at times. It always registered our commands, but the handset could hang for a couple of seconds before launching the appropriate app or task.
The T-Mobile Comet ships with a 1,200mAh lithium ion battery with a rated talk time of 9 hours and up to 12 days of standby time. The Comet fell well short of the promised talk time in our battery drain tests, offering just 5 hours of continuous talk time. According to FCC radiation tests, the Comet has a digital SAR rating of 1.27 W/kg.
User reviews
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Surprisingly Solid--inexpensive android with wifi
by sp_guy10 on November 14, 2010
Pros: -Small (feels lighter than my old T-Mobile BB Curve, forget it's in my pocket)
-Responsive (screen touch is really responsive)
-Good sound: calls, mp3/ fm radio (standard headphone jack)
-WiFi (simple set-up and T-Mobile doesn't count as data usage)Cons: -Typing can be difficult because it's small (trade-off though, love that it's so small and Swype or alternate app store keyboards download help off-set this issue)
-Big middle button (not sure what it's purpose-but other buttons are useful e.g. home)Summary: The phone is a good value but does not look or feel like a budget phone. Surely other Android phones have more to offer, but it delivers for the money: ...
Summary: The phone is a good value but does not look or feel like a budget phone. Surely other Android phones have more to offer, but it delivers for the money: compact size, nice screen, good performance on the application side, and the calls have been very clear so far (and no dropped calls).
For $200 without plan it's a great value (T-Mobile offers prepaid plans with 1500 mins and 30 MG of data for a month not including WiFi usage: http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/prepaid-plans.aspx?WT.mc_n=Prepaid_SeePlan&WT.mc_t=OnsiteAd). No, I?m not getting paid by T-Mobile...but I should. :) Overall very satisfied so far and happy not be paying $60+ a month for less minutes and an unlimited data plan that I don?t need with the use of WiFi.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Not that Great
by Nikhil896 on August 11, 2011
Pros: The phone is very portable. Capacitive touch screen is a pro.
Cons: The phone overall is laggy once you get over 5 apps and there is no multitouch support. The screen is very small too.
Summary: Overall, I don't like my experience with the Tmobile Comet. Internet is very slow compared to other low-end smart phones and is very laggy after you download a few ...
Summary: Overall, I don't like my experience with the Tmobile Comet. Internet is very slow compared to other low-end smart phones and is very laggy after you download a few apps.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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having a lot of problems now after 3M
comet tmobileby inesyalex on July 31, 2011
Pros: ECONOMICAL , EASY TO USE , MODERN ,
Cons: SLUGGISH, AFTER 3 MONTHS ITS FREEZING A LOT , CANT DOWNLOAD MEDIA ( PICS ETC) IT SUT OFF BY ITSELF , SCREEN TURNS GRAY ,
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great little phone!
by Phwoosh on March 30, 2012
Pros: Great call quality
Decent sound
Clear, responsive touch screen
Easy-to-use interfaceCons: Short battery life
Sometimes sluggish
Not much in the way of customizationSummary: I got this phone in June of '11 and haven't had a single problem with it. I make calls, email, text, take pictures, and listen to a ton of ...
Summary: I got this phone in June of '11 and haven't had a single problem with it. I make calls, email, text, take pictures, and listen to a ton of Pandora Radio on the thing. My only huge complaint is that sometimes I have to charge it every night and sometimes I don't have to charge it for two or three days. The operating system is easy to figure out and the phone itself is small enough to fit in just about any pocket. The T-Mobile Comet is also surprisingly durable. Mine has survived countless drops from countertops, car seats, and clumsy fingers without a scratch to be seen. Overall, I would recommend this phone to anyone in the market for a smart phone for the first time.
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I wouldn't pay $200 for this...In fact not even $2.00
by firefighteres755 on February 10, 2012
Pros: Good call clarity...when it doesn't say "Emergency Calls Only." Responsive screen (for the first couple of weeks)
Cons: I'm on my 4th Comet in 6 months...2 were failures right out of the box. "Emergency Calls Only" is a common issue (SIM works fine in other phones). Charging issues and software issues within days make this phone a poor value, even when free.
Summary: I've now had four of these little mysteries. The first one lasted almost three months, the second only 3 weeks, and the last two were problems right out of ...
Summary: I've now had four of these little mysteries. The first one lasted almost three months, the second only 3 weeks, and the last two were problems right out of the box. T-Mobile's solution? "We can exchange it for another one." All for had one problem in common...even though I live in an area serviced by T-Mobile 3G, my phone says "Emergency Calls Only" a lot. If I put the SIM card in other (albeit much older non-Android) devices, it works fine.
Despite four out of four of these devices being failures, any kind of upgrade "is not possible" without paying full price. Replacing the device with a known working device is also apparently not possible.
In short, this particular phone with all of its issues, was nothing more than a useless gimmick to get people hooked into a contract. A contract, that for nearly $100 a month, is useless without a working device.
Scam? You decide. -
Don't buy it.
by PabcBabc on November 2, 2011
Pros: There is no pro.
Cons: There is nothing right with this phone. Every feature is a con, as is T-mobile a con.
Summary: Interesting how some people have phones they are happy with and the rest of us got the duds that can't hold a battery charge. There is obviously a problem ...
Summary: Interesting how some people have phones they are happy with and the rest of us got the duds that can't hold a battery charge. There is obviously a problem with some of the Huawei Comet phones and T-mobile is not interested in doing the right thing and replacing them. Blame the customer. I wonder if anyone from T-mobile reads the reviews? I had my phone for four months when I noticed it wasn't holding a charge. I kept replacing the battery and still it wouldn't hold a charge. I was still learning how to use the phone and had not used very many of my 1150 minutes. When I sent my phone in for repairs, per their instructions, to 4500 Campbell Road in Fort Worth. They kept the phone for two months, and sent me back someone else's dud Huawei Comet that doesn't hold a charge. (I know it was a different phone because I wrote my IEM no. down before I sent it them. I had a funny feeling there would be more trouble.) When they returned "a" phone to me, it came with instructions for me to send my phone to some guy in Indiana, and there was a prepaid label with this guy's name and address in Indiana. Don't know if he got my phone????? It was like a chain letter scheme for broken Huawei Comets--you send your broken phone to someone, and they send their broken phone to someone, just keep swapping them out and moving them around, and no one will notice what is going on. Had my phone (or poor George from Indiana's phone) for a few months, still not using it much, it's still not holding a charge longer than 12 hours, when all of a sudden...... a computerized voice breaks into my phone telling me I have no more minutes. UNBELIEVABLE!!!! OF ALL THINGS, THEY STOLE MY PREPAID MINUTES. T-mobile sucks. This Huawei Comet sucks. The fact that they outsource their customer service department sucks. Way to run a business T-mobile. Occupy T-mobile.
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Good basic android, but keep expectations realistic
by kineticarl on October 17, 2011
Pros: Inexpensive prepaid Android Froyo phone, decent call quality, Runs most apps just fine, is surprisingly stable. My battery life is fine because I rarely use mobile data, mostly just wifi. Very pocketable. Integration with google services.
Cons: Small low res screen, slow processor, no Flash. So-so construction. Poor music volume through earbuds.
Summary: I got this last year when it was just released by t-mobile with their pay as you go plan. I wanted an Android device/phone, but don't need a ...
Summary: I got this last year when it was just released by t-mobile with their pay as you go plan. I wanted an Android device/phone, but don't need a data plan, and contractual monthly plans w/data are money out the window for me due to my nearly constant access to wifi.
This phone fit the bill, and gets the job done even though it lags behind nearly every other Android phone out there in terms of performance, screen, etc. Since I bought this, the prepaid Android market has filled with more worthy options that are probably a better choice (Samsung, LG, etc.) than this phone now.
I appreciate t-mobile's pay as you go system: $100 gets you 1000 minutes/messages with the option to buy an unlimited data day-pass for $1.50 when I'm on the road (mobile data eats the Comet's battery, but at least web-browsing, streaming, and gps work well). The bonus here is that those minutes don't expire for a whole year. For light usage like mine, this is almost like cheating the system: $250 got me a versatile device/phone and a year's worth of service (yeah, I really don't text or talk much). Given that the traditional service + phone can cost north of a grand each year, I'm pretty happy that this route is available. Plus the money saved means I don't feel so bad about dropping a few hundred bucks to upgrade to a much better phone when it eventually strikes my fancy. -
3 phone stopped charge after 30days. Battery life suck.
by haat63118 on October 7, 2011
Pros: NONE NONE NONE have 3 all SUCKS.
Cons: We have three and it 4 month later not one of them work. They don't charge, No battery life, Icon disappeared of screen. DON"T GET THIS PHONE. Tmobile has done nothing to replace the phone we had to buy new phones .I wish we would not have signed the cont
Summary: DON"T GET THIS PHONE. IT SHOULD BE RECALLED.
Summary: DON"T GET THIS PHONE. IT SHOULD BE RECALLED.
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Best prepaid phone I've used.
by prokras on October 5, 2011
Pros: Inexpensive. Runs all the apps I need. I've had no problems with wifi, bluetooth, GPS, etc.
Cons: Slow. Tiny screen. No multi-touch gestures. My phone was packaged with the WRONG CABLE (mini-usb instead of micro-usb). You get what you pay for.
Summary: I've been a T-Mobile prepaid customer for a while now. I have the $30/month plan that gives you 1500 minutes or texts, and 30MB a month data usage. ...
Summary: I've been a T-Mobile prepaid customer for a while now. I have the $30/month plan that gives you 1500 minutes or texts, and 30MB a month data usage. If I run out of data and can't find a wifi signal, I can buy 24 hours of unlimited 3G usage for $1.50. I picked up this phone because it was the least expensive Android phone I could find without a contract. ($150 at Best Buy back in February or March 2011). All I had to do was pop my SIM card from my prior phone in and I was good to go.
I have had no difficulties with any app I tried, except that a few run sluggishly. I prefer the Dolphin Browser Mini to the standard web browser. No problems pairing bluetooth devices. GPS works well. -
Nice phone for the price
by nicv1 on July 20, 2011
Pros: Android 2.2
Fits in pocket nicely
good look
nice smartphoneCons: Screen is a bit small
Kinda plasticy
slow at timesSummary: I think this is a nice android phone.it is slow at times but for a phone you cant have everything. But for me its fine.
Summary: I think this is a nice android phone.it is slow at times but for a phone you cant have everything. But for me its fine.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
- Part number: 2001645
- Bottom Line: The T-Mobile Comet is an affordable Android phone with a compact design and good call quality, but there are better options out there.
General
- Product Type Smartphone
- Phone Design PDA
- Width 2.2 in
- Depth 0.5 in
- Height 4.1 in
- Weight 3.6 oz
- Body Color Black
Cellular
- Technology GSM / UMTS
- Band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / UMTS 1700/2100 (Dual Band)
- Service Provider T-Mobile
- Operating System Android 2.2 OS
Messaging & Internet
- Messaging & Data Features Text messages,
Multimedia messages (MMS),
Instant messages,
Picture messages,
E-Mail Communications
- Wireless Interface Bluetooth
Phone Features
- Additional Features GPS,
Touch screen,
microSD card slot,
Speakerphone,
Conference calling,
Voice dialing Display
- Diagonal Size 2.8 in
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Battery,
desktop charger,
USB cable
Product series
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Manufacturer: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Specs: T-Mobile,
GSM / UMTS,
Up to 540 min,
With digital player / digital camera / FM radio,
3.6 oz,
2.8 in -
Manufacturer: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Specs: T-Mobile,
GSM / UMTS,
3.6 oz,
3.2 megapixels,
2.8 in
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. products on Shopper.com
-
- Manufacturer:Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
- Phone: 0086-755-28780808
- Email: support@huawei.com
