Telstra Urbane T22 Review

Welcome to the 2012 Telstra Urbane T22 mobile phone review. Finally we have Android smart phone from Telstra/ZTE that can compete with the other manufacturers on features and user experience and not purely on a cheap price.  Regular and non-smart phones from Telstra are usually basic but pretty good however all their Android smart phones so far have major performance flaws or interface issues that we could only recommend based on price. In some cases not recommend at all. The pre-paid Urbane T22 package is priced at cheap and tempting $149.

The Telstra Urbane uses a 1GHZ CPU, decent sized screen but relatively low resolution that is OK to look at but the latest Android 4.0 software with minimal enhancements – which is good. The plastic case is definitely not high end but feels mid range and well made. However at this sort of price tag there are shortfalls in the other areas that include the basic screen resolution and quality, basic 3Mp camera and VGA video recording.

In terms of operation the Urbane T22 is pretty smooth (there are noticeable lags) and not fast as you would expect. The 1Ghz CPU does wonders for the user experience compared to prior models. However it is still not as smooth as say the HTC Wildfire which has a slower CPU. However with the decent web browser, A-GPS and even an FM radio there’s very little that majority will miss. Personally they should have included a better camera for the Facebook generation and possibly drop the FM radio. The standard web browser allows you to visit any site even with Flash based content – however it will not run complex games like those on Facebook.

The Telstra Urbane is a pretty good smart phone and the best Telstra branded models we’ve tested to date. At a very cheap pre-paid price of $149 you can definitely consider it as replacement for your old keypad phone. The T22’s hardware does not appear to be optimized for the latest Android due to the lags we encountered on it but not other Android phones. Sure Android has its issues but no more than the iPhone but at least it can do everything that a iPhone or Nokia’s as examples can do. Forget all the other pre-paid mobile phones from Telstra the Urbane T22 is to date, one of the cheapest hence best value most fully featured mobile phone you can buy!

Specifications

• Telstra Urbane T22
• Network
  Tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 Mhz
  Tri-band 3G 850/900/1900 (dependent on country)
  HSDPA 14.4 Mbps data speed (download)
  HSUPA 2 Mbps (upload)
• Design
  Touch screen
• L120 x W63.6 x D108 mm
• Weight 140 grams
• Display/s
  4 inch 480 x 800
• Camera
  3MP
  LED Flash
  Forward camera 120 x 160
• Video Camera
  640x 480 pixels
• Connectivity
  Wi-Fi
  Bluetooth V2.1
• CPU
  1 Ghz Single core
  Separate Graphic CPU
• Memory
  Up to 2.5 Gig for user
  Up to 32Gig micro-SD expansion
• Ring tones
  MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
• Features
  A-GPS
  AndroidApp store
  Free Google Navigator (requires data plan)
  Compass
  Accelerometer
  Dolby Digital
  Proximity Ambient Light
  Music and Media player
  MS-Word, Excel and Powerpoint, PDF, ZIP compatible
  Organiser/Calender
  SMS, MMS, IM, Email
  Speaker Phone/Hands free
  Li-Po 1600 mAh battery
  Up to 200 hours Standby
  Up to 4 hours Talk Time
• Price history
  Approx $149 AUD Mid 2012 (Pre-paid)