The Curious Case of the ZTE Cymbal-T Flip Phone: A Review

Hey, guys, this is Austin. Today, I'm reviewing a flip phone that runs Android and has left me wondering why it exists. The ZTE Cymbal-T is a Target clearance special that I picked up for $50, and I have to say, it's hard to resist its charms.

As I held the phone in my hand, I noticed that it was enormous compared to a normal flip phone. I mean, we're talking twice as big! The first thing I did was activate it, and let me tell you, it looks like a totally normal Android phone. But then I looked closer, and oh boy, there's a keyboard on the display. This is gonna be interesting.

The way to type on this phone is by holding it in one hand and doing a single-handed typing style. It's actually not that bad, but it does take some getting used to. Once you get past the awkwardness of typing with your non-dominant hand, you'll find that the Android experience is pretty standard.

One thing I love about this phone is that it has actual hard buttons for your Android keys. You've got your back button, home button, and even a multitasking key. It's like using an old-school Android phone, but with a twist.

Now, let's talk about making calls on this thing. Well, it's not exactly the strongest suit of the phone. The sound quality is grainy and soft, and it's not very clear. But hey, at least it tries! And when I tried texting, the keyboard took up the entire screen, which was kind of annoying because I couldn't even see the message.

The camera on this thing is pretty interesting too. It has a 720p video setting, but to be honest, it's not exactly crisp. However, there's one surprise that caught me off guard - the phone's size makes it look like a selfie stick! Who knew? I'm actually mildly impressed with how well the camera works, especially considering its price point.

One thing I did miss about flip phones was the simple design and ease of use. This phone is definitely not the most comfortable to hold or scroll through screens on. But hey, at least it's got some nice features like a removable battery, headphone jack, and micro SD card slot.

So, what do you guys think about this smart phone/flipphone hybrid? Do you love its quirky design and nostalgic feel? Or are you stuck with your current smartphone and don't see the point of upgrading to something so... unusual? Let me know in the comments below!

And that's it for today's review. Thanks for watching, and I'll catch you guys in the next one!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey, guys, this is Austin.This is a flip phone that runs Android,and my only question, asalways, is why does it exist?So this is a Target clearance special.I was walking around the corner,I saw this for a whopping$50, it's hard to say no.The first thing I noticedis that this looks enormous,so actually do we have aflip phone around here?So for some context, this is the sizeof a normal flip phone, you open it up,you hold it up to yourface, very normal looking.However, when you lookat it compared to this,it's like (laughs) twice as big.Hey, we are activated, alright.Let's enjoy the wondersof our ZTE CYMBAL-T.Okay, okay, so actually you do havea keyboard on the display.Man, this is gonna be (laughs),this is very bizarre.I don't think I've evertyped like this before.I feel like the way to actually do thisis to hold it in one handand just do a single handfor typing, this actuallydoesn't feel likethe worst thing I've ever done.It's up there.So we are set up withour Android flip phone.And at first glance,you're actually gettingthe full Android experience.We have the play store,we have Google Chrome,Gmail, even YouTube.One thing this does have isactual hard buttons for your Android keys.For example, I have my back button,I have home, I even have multitasking.Once you get going, it's not likethe slowest thing I've ever tried.There is a decent quadcore processor inside.It's just a slightlyun-ergonomic experience.So the first thing todo when you're putting aflip phone to the test istrying to make a phone call.Jimmy?- Yeah.- How do I sound?- Uhhh, bad.- What do you mean bad?- It's just like,it's grainy and it's soft.And it's not very clear.- Okay, so maybe calls notthe strong suit of the phone.However, let's try texting.Hi, Jimmy.So one of the best parts iswhen you have the keyboard up,it literally takes up the entire screen.I cannot even see the messagehe just sent me. (laughs)It also does have a secondary display,which only actually turns on sometimes.So you can see your battery life and time.So with blisteringly sharpthree and a half inch,320 by 480 display, I reallyexpect that this is goingto reset my expectations for whatto expect with a high end device.Let's just start byplaying this 4K HDR video.That seems reasonable.- iPhone ever, it has the biggest screen,smallest bezels, and is the first iPhoneto drop the home button,but the question is.- Man.- Is it worth it?It all starts with the design.- (laughing) It's um,you know this is oneway of watching videos.It's really crispy.I think 360p is really the sweet spotthat everyone should watchall of our videos in.As long as you crank thebrightness all the way up,you can see most of the colors,at least six or seven of them.I think it might be timeto take this thing outsideand really put it through its paces.Really kinda fully explorethe outer capabilitiesof this performance monster.So, there's no way around it.A flip phone is nevergoing to be as comfortableto use as a standard smart phone.When it comes to actuallyscrolling on the screen,you kinda have to hold itin this sort of weird way.But, if you can look past that,it actually does work prettywell as an Android phone.Take Chrome for example.Once you get into a webpage, you'll find that it'spretty much the same as anyother budget Android phone.So, loading the page is fine,scrolling is no problem.Really the only way that youactually notice that this isa flip phone is when you haveto hold it by the screen.Especially because it hasnot only LTE as well as wifi,the experience really isn't that badas long as you're fine lookinglike this all the time.Now, you're definitelynot going to wanna playa ton of games on this thing,but you can play somesimple titles such as 2048.One of the main issues here is thata lot of games you'regoing to run into issuesbecause the screen resolution is very low,and the fact that obviously the internalsaren't going to be incredibly powerful.But, for simple stuff, itactually does kind of work.I will say that there are some thingsabout flip phones that I did kind of miss.Number one of course, is that flip.It just sounds so nice tobe able to close it up.You can toss it in yourpocket, set it down.It's not really somethingyou have to worry aboutgetting like something like ascreen scratched or whatever.There are other advantages.You do have that removable battery.You're gonna get the headphone jack,the micro SD card slot.There are things that areactually kind of nice.However, the size of this.Once you close it up it's not that bad,but I mean even when youcompare it to something likean iPhone 10, it is really chunky.You can carry it around, but definitelynot as small as theold school flip phones.Even though it mightlook like a flip phone,we are dealing with a legitimateAndroid smart phone here.So, of course, one of the mostimportant tests is the camera.The first thing I noticeis that with the cameraaround back here, itis super easy to cover,but if I line it up here.I mean, that's actually not terrible.It's not exactly a supercrispy picture, but it works.Supposedly this is 720p video.Um, it actually looks okay I guess.I'm gonna walk around here a little bit.Get a nice close up.Ken looking really professional here.I mean, you know, it exists.Hopefully that's not too bad.Woah, okay well this isan unexpected benefit.Because the phone is so big,it actually looks likeI've got a selfie stick.Huh, alright, so if Ipress the center button,not my finest selfie, butit's actually reasonably wideespecially considering just how faraway you can get the phone.I'm actually mildly impressed.For $50, this is not theworst camera I've ever tried.I mean, mind you it's notthe best by any stretch,but it works.I know I made a lot of fun of this phonethroughout this video, but I'm gonna saythat it is a kinda cool throwback.And, especially if you're someone who'scoming from a current flip phone,it might not be the worstupgrade in the world.For most of us though,probably time to, you know,stick with the normal smartphone and not this monstrosity.But, I'm curious, whatdo you guys think aboutthis smart phone/flipphone, whatever it's called?Let me know in the comments below,and I will catch you guys in the next one.