Stripped of its ZTE and Cricket branding, the Grand X Max+ could easily pass for a premium smartphone to casual observers. The reality, though, is even more enticing. The massive phablet costs a mere $199.99 on Cricket, netting buyers a high-quality 6-inch LCD, a sleek design, and good overall performance. You won't find this much phone or this nice of a device at this price anywhere else. It's an easy pick for an Editors' Choice award on Cricket Wireless.

Design, Features, and Call Quality

From a company known for pumping out generic devices, the Grand X Max+ is a breath of fresh air. Two panes of glass sandwich a sturdy plastic frame, with a subtle inlaid pattern on the back, not unlike the Nexus 4's. It's still pretty unwieldy at 6.38 by 3.27 by 0.31 inches (HWD) and 6.07 ounces, but that's mostly a given with big-screen phablets. The top and bottom edges have an interesting rolled silhouette, but the flat sides and slick surfaces make the oversized device even more ergonomically unfriendly. In any case, it's a far more striking design than last year's Zmax, and ZTE manages to fit a larger screen into an even smaller body.