Here you are on the right page to gain the information about the Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II review. This phone claims to offer simplicity. But, is it true and worth buying?
Flip phones are not made for everyone. This phone has specific target customers targeting people who want to take a break from smartphones. People who look for a simple device for their daily life.
The Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II can be put into one of the considerations. This phone is packed with features that might be useful for users’ daily activities. It’s basically a smartphone but with limited specs here and there.
Before you knock the hammer, you can read this Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II review. This article contains useful information regarding the phone’s hardware and software.
Page Contents:
Key Specs
Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II specifications:
| Weight | 128g |
| Dimensions | 108.7 x 56.1 x 19.8mm |
| OS | Proprietary |
| Screen size | 2.8-inch |
| Resolution | 320 x 240 |
| CPU | 1.3GHz Quad-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 215 |
| RAM | 1GB |
| Storage | 8GB |
| Battery | 1,600mAh, Removable |
| Camera | 2MP |
| Features | Accelerometer |
Design
The Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II flip phone looks ordinary and the same as other entry-level smartphones. It has a rectangular design with curved edges, which surprisingly fits quite well in most people’s hands. It comprises 108.7 x 56.1 x 19.8mm in dimensions and 128g of weight – making the phone feel lightweight.
As you can see on the front, for the colors, this phone comes in two different shades; red and blue. But, we prefer the red colors because they emit passion yet simple vibes. You can also notice the external 1.77-inch display screen in this outer part. It is there to give users any information about the phone’s status. There is also a camera on top of the screen.
Move inside, there is a main 2.8-inch display screen with a 1-9 keypad layout. The keypad is quite comfortable to touch. Meanwhile, there is nothing to see on the back of the phone. You can only see a speaker in horizontal design.
Read also: Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II User Manual
Display
The Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II has a dual display screen which is a bare minimum for today’s flip phones. The main screen is placed inside the phone, a 2.8-inch display screen. The resolution is 320 x 240 pixels, and they use a TFT LCD.
With this resolution, please lower your expectation of high display quality. It’s far from that. This phone only uses QVGA quality. It makes the phone’s colors don’t pop out and not as rich as the smartphones. However, the phone is bright, and the text is readable.
The second screen is a 1.77-inch external display screen. It is placed at the front of the phone. Just like the main screen, it is a TFT LCD screen quality. The second screen gives the users information about the phone’s battery, signal, notifications, and date and time.
Camera
Remind this; the Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II is a flip phone. So, the camera quality is not the main selling point of this phone. Just like many entry-level flip phones, the Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II has only one camera for the device. It’s a 2MP rear camera placed at the front of the phone.
There are no advanced features on this phone’s camera. Despite having an auto-focus feature, this phone uses a fixed focus. You can’t do much with the camera. Forget about having a social media image quality.
However, this camera can still record 720p video quality. But don’t think about taking pictures or recording videos in a dark light. Because this phone doesn’t come with an LED flash.
Storage
The Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II supports 8GB of internal storage. In our opinion, as a not application-centric device, this capacity is quite generous. But the actual storage is far from that, users can only enjoy half of the total capacity since the system junks and pre-installed apps are eating up the space.
Therefore, this phone allows users to expand their phone storage by installing external storage up to 32GB. You can add more files, data contacts, and messages with this capacity. The MicroSD card comes separately, so you must buy it yourself.
Performance
As a flip phone, the Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II lacks many advanced features. Because of it, this phone relies on a 1.3GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 215 to run the device. It makes the phone run smoothly and saves the battery quite effectively. Navigating the device also feels very fluid.
A 1GB RAM comes to support the phone’s CPU performance. This capacity is ideal for a flip phone since we usually see less space than this. Nonetheless, we don’t recommend you to use this device for doing a heavy task or multitasking. Your phone will show the struggles.
Opening some apps back and forth will also produce a bad operation. This phone will get some lags. Moreover, if you’re about to launch the apps. It’ll get worse and show delays.
Software side, the Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II uses proprietary software which is based on Android as its operating system. It’s called an AOSP (Android Open Source Project). This open-source operating system can be used and modified by the phone’s developers.
Even though it’s an Android-based OS. The proprietary is not comfortable to use at all. We notice some flaws in many features. Users have limited options to adjust or customize the phone’s settings. The interface is also below the standard and not pleasing in the eyes.
The Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II doesn’t have any notable sensor features. There are no fingerprint readers or face recognition sensors. The only sensors you can get are the accelerometer and the Hearing Aid M3/T3 compatibility.
Connectivity
The Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II is not compatible with the latest 5G technology. This phone relies on the 4G connectivity as their main network and other older bands, too. We understand this. Besides, with 4G connectivity, users can access the network in most places, and we’re okay with that.
Apart from this, the users of Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II can access the internet with Wi-Fi 4.2 technology. Wi-Fi can let you enjoy the network and save your data and battery usage.
File transfers will be easier, thanks to Bluetooth connectivity and microUSB 2.0. Bluetooth for transferring wirelessly and USB 2.0 for transferring with a wire.
Battery
The Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II is powered by a 1,600mAh battery capacity to run the phone. Despite the low capacity, this is slightly bigger than the other flip phones. But, since the phone is purposely made for non-heavy activity, the battery size can last throughout the day.
For the battery’s life cycle, they claim it can last up to 14 hours of talk-time and 16 days in standby time. In the end, it all depends on users’ activity.
For the battery type, the Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II uses a removable one. This battery type can be advantageous but inconvenient for some people. With the removable battery, when your phone faces problems such as freeze and hanges, you can easily remove it. But, this battery is not widely sold in the market. So, you will find it difficult to find the battery when it goes bad.
Is the Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II a good phone?
If you want to choose a flip phone over a smartphone, there are many options. The Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II could be put into one of the considerations. This phone only costs $59 in Consumer Cellular and $35 in Target – which is quite affordable.
But for the features on the Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II, is this phone worth it? As we said before in this review, this phone is aimed specifically at people looking for a simple gadget for their daily lives. And, it’s fulfilling perfectly. There are no outstanding or advanced features here. So, it would be perfect for those targeted customers.
Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II Pros:
- Affordable
- Good performance
- Simple and convenient
Consumer Cellular ZTE Link II Cons:
- Low camera quality