T-Mobile on Wednesday added the Samsung Galaxy Avant to its stable of smartphones available with the carrier's Simple Choice benefits, including an option for a $0 down payment plan.
Starting today, the Galaxy Avant can be purchased at T-Mobile stores in the United States or online, the company said. Purchasing the phone will set you back $216, but it's also available for no money down on a two-year contract at $9 a month.
"The Samsung Galaxy Avant joins a robust Samsung product lineup at T-Mobile including devices like the Samsung Galaxy S5, the limited edition Samsung Galaxy S5 Gold, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014-Edition, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0," T-Mobile said in a statement.
The Galaxy Avant, also listed by Samsung as the SM-G386, is a mid-range smartphone running Android 4.4 and offering 4G LTE at a price well below that of Samsung's flagship Galaxy S5. It's got a quad-core, 1.2GHz application processor with 1.5GB of system memory and 16GB of onboard storage, expandable up to 64GB via MicroSD card.
The phone has a 4.5-inch, 960-by-540 qHD touchscreen display and the built-in tech you'd expect, including Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, FM radio, and Wi-Fi calling. There's a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera plus a front-facing camera, the power of which T-Mobile doesn't bother to list on its landing page for the Galaxy Avant.
T-Mobile is pitching the Galaxy Avant as ideal for first-time smartphone users, playing up Samsung's Easy Mode setting, S Voice assistant, and Smart Switch feature for moving over content from an older device.
Another Galaxy Avant feature generating some buzz in the Howard Forums mobile community is "Remote Unlock," which one forum user described as "the ability to temporarily unlock the device for improved service if you're traveling overseas."