Pantech was the first manufacturer to introduce an under-$100 smartphone on AT&T's network earlier this year with the Pantech Burst . That phone is now free, but Pantech has seriously upped the budget phone ante with the $49.99 Pantech Flex. With the Flex, you get a blistering dual-core processor, blazing fast LTE data speeds, and a strikingly thin, attractive design. There's also a starter mode that modifies the software for smartphone beginners. It's a tremendous value for the money, with features and performance comparable with much pricier smartphones. It's our Editors' Choice for budget smartphones on AT&T.

Design, Connectivity, and Call Quality
One thing's for sure: The Flex certainly doesn't look like a budget phone—or even a phone from Pantech, for that matter. At 5.11 by 2.63 by 0.31 inches (HWD) and 4.66 ounces, it's supermodel-thin. Made from a mix of rubberized black plastic and gray aluminum, it feels more premium than the top-of-the-line Samsung Galaxy S III .

The 4.3-inch, 960-by-540-pixel Super AMOLED display looks bright and rich, but the Pentile pixel layout means it doesn't look as crisp as the IPS LCD on the LG Escape. On-screen buttons lend the phone an ultra-minimalist look, especially when the display is off. It's very comfortable to hold, and there's plenty of room on screen to type comfortably. There's a Power button and microUSB port on the right side of the phone, a volume rocker on the left, and a 3.5mm headphone jack up top.

The Flex runs on AT&T's EDGE, HSPA+ 21, and LTE networks. There's also support for 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi. Reception is average, and the phone turned in some truly excellent data speeds. Downloads averaged 18.5Mbps, and uploads hovered around 13Mbps. That's a little faster than the LG Escape, though the Escape's data speeds were more consistent, so it's an equal tradeoff. If you take a look at our Fastest Mobile Networks survey, you'll see that AT&T's LTE can exceed Verizon's LTE speeds, though Verizon's LTE is more consistent and covers more of the nation.

 

Voice quality was about average in my tests. Incoming calls sounded a little thready, with a hollow, ambient buzzing in the background. On the other end, calls made with the Flex sounded a little choppy, but good noise cancellation was able to drown out the sounds of moderate construction. The speakerphone sounds fine, but it's too low for outdoor use. Calls sounded good through a Jawbone Era Bluetooth headset and standard Android voice dialing worked accurately. Talk time was very good, at 9 hours and 33 minutes.

Processor, Android, and Apps

Powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 processor, the Flex is super fast. It's the same chip you'll find in higher-end phones, like the Motorola Atrix HD. Benchmark scores were excellent, and this phone won't have trouble running any of the 500,000+ apps in the Google Play store for some time to come.

The Flex runs Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich). There's no word yet on an update to Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), but you do get to choose whether you'd like to use Pantech's simplified UI, which it calls Easy Experience.