Nokia Lumia 520 (AT&T)

The most positive trend in the smartphone industry is not the advent of ever-larger devices, but the arrival of budget-priced phones that still get the basics right. Nokia's Lumia 520, $99.99 at AT&T's GoPhone prepaid service, represents one of the better examples of this entry-level genre.

It's not a good fit for app enthusiasts, videophiles or shutterbugs—or anybody in a hurry on the mobile Web—but if you just need an affordable phone that brings you simple Web access and helps you stay on top of your schedule and your social circles, this Windows Phone 8 model deserves a look.

Size, Screen, and Storage
The compact, relatively thick dimensions of the phone—4.72 by 2.51 by 0.38 inches—vaguely remind me of the first iPhone. Like that pioneering model, the 4.37-ounce 520 feels right-sized for single-handed use in a way that today's enormophones never could.

The grippy plastic back peels off to reveal an easily replaced battery, plus micro-SIM and microSD slots. You need to pop out the battery to get at either of the card slots, and the sideways orientation requires wiggling the card back and forth before you can extract it.

The 4-inch display, at 800 by 480 pixels, falls short of Retina standards and seems unnecessarily small given the wide bezel around it. But you have to hold the phone pretty close to your face before you can discern individual pixels, and it's fine overall. All of the buttons line up on the right-hand side: Volume, Power and Camera. A headphone jack is up top, and there's a micro-USB port is at the bottom, but you have no video-out jacks.

An advertised 8 GB of storage space translates to a theoretical upper limit of 7.23 GB, with 4.52 GB available in a fresh configuration.

Call Quality, Battery Life, and Bandwidth
The 520 works well at reproducing the human voice. Voice Mail messages left in standard and speakerphone modes sounded equally clear, although the latter failed to capture a whispered segment. The phone's integrated noise cancellation effectively hushed an arriving subway train, and the correctly recognized most voice-dialing instructions made through a Plantronics Bluetooth hands-free kit. 

An observed eleven hours of talk-time battery life beat Nokia and AT&T's estimates by more than an hour and exceeded what we saw on the 520's T-Mobile-specific sibling, the Lumia 521, by almost two and a half hours.

The 520, however, fared worse than the 521 at delivering mobile broadband. Ookla's Speedtest.net application clocked a peak download speed of 5.3 Mbps on AT&T's signal in the Washington, D.C. area. Wi-Fi can be much faster, but the 520 didn't detect a nearby 5GHz network.

Camera, Connectivity, and Apps
The 520's photo and video capabilities also evoke the original iPhone: You have one camera on the back (sans flash) and no front-facing camera. That 5-megapixel sensor can take decent photos with good lighting and a bit of luck, but too many showed an off white balance or a distracting, gauzy glow around illuminated areas. Indoors, you'd better have an extremely steady hand as you gently press the shutter button.

The camera does better at moving pictures than still images, keeping close to 30 frames per second in wildly varying lighting, although the footage quickly got grainy as the scene got dimmer.

Nokia throws in some useful photo apps. Cinemagraph lets you quickly crank out a looped, animated image, while Smart Shoot combines  a series of photos to craft an improved group portrait, and PhotoBeamer allows you to drive a slideshow on the screen of an adjacent device. The clumsy Panorama app, however, requires you to aim at a series of circles on the screen instead of simply panning in one direction.

(You can also access most of these apps through the lens plug-in button in the main camera app, which should reduce the odds of users ignoring them in a long line of apps.)

AT&T throws in a few of its own apps. Make the redundant, $9.99-per-month AT&T Navigator the first you uninstall. Unfortunately, the carrier has yet to support Microsoft's Data Sense app, which helps you track your bandwidth usage—a key concern given the limited allocations of most GoPhone plans.

Windows Phone 8 handles all of the major audio and video formats except for QuickTime. The 520 also supports one audio format unmentioned in AT&T's spec sheet: FM radio, which is available as long as you have a headphone cable connected to serve as its antenna.

The Windows Phone app inventory continues to trail that of Android and iOS, forcing users to look for more obscure alternatives to some name-brand apps. The platform's increasing popularity—it's now broken past 10 percent in some European markets—suggests this gap will narrow, but you have to be prepared to live with it today.

Conclusions
Were the Lumia 520 on AT&T's subscription service, this phone would be an awful deal. Its low price would soon vanish in higher monthly rates set to subsidize the purchase of pricier hardware. Instead, you can easily get by with a $60/month bill. The camera and battery life could be better, and the mobile-broadband speeds should be faster, but you could do far worse in a starter smartphone.

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OKI B721dn

Pros Prodigious monthly duty cycle. Good standard and optional paper handling. Solid output quality.

Cons Slow for its price and rated speed. Somewhat high running costs for a printer of its price Bottom Line The OKI B721dn is a workhorse monochrome laser printer capable of anchoring a mid-sized workgroup, though it is a little slow for its price and rated speed.

By Tony Hoffman

The OKI B721dn, a workhorse mono laser-class printer geared to mid-sized workgroups, has a voluminous monthly duty cycle and a copious standard and optional paper capacity. Although it matched the speed of its faster-rated sibling, the OKI B731dn, in our testing, it was still on the slow side for its price and rated speed.

The B721dn uses an LED-based engine (essentially the same as a laser, but using LEDs instead of a laser as a light source). LED printers are considered laser class. This two-toned (off-white and brown) printer measures 16.1 by 17.1 by 19.6 inches (HWD), larger than you'd want to share a desk with, and weighs 59.5 pounds. On the front panel is a 5-line backlit monochrome display and an alphanumeric keypad for password-protected printing. On the printer's side is a forward-facing slot for a USB thumb drive.

The B721dn has good paper handling features and options. Its standard paper capacity is 630 sheets, split between a 530-sheet main tray and a 100-sheet multipurpose tray, and it has an automatic duplexer for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper. Maximum paper capacity is 3,100 sheets, when you add a second 530-sheet tray ($223.99 direct) and a 2,000-sheet feeder with casters ($700.99). Alternately, you can add up to 3 optional 530-sheet trays if you don't go with the feeder. The printer has a prodigious monthly duty cycle, with a maximum of up to 250,000 pages per month and a recommended duty cycle of up to 20,000 pages.

The B721dn offers Ethernet (including Gigabit Ethernet) and USB connectivity. We tested it on an Ethernet network with its drivers installed a PC running Windows Vista.

Printing Speed
I timed the B721dn, rated at 49 pages per minute, on our business applications suite (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing), at an effective 9.5 pages per minute (ppm), essentially tied with the OKI B731dn's 9.4 ppm despite the latter's 55 page-per-minute rating. (The rated speeds are based on text-only printing, while we test with a combination of text pages, graphics pages, and pages of mixed content.) It's also slower than its still available predecessor, the OKI B720dn, rated at 47 pages per minute, which I tested at 11.5 ppm.

The speed is considerably less than that of the Editors' Choice HP LaserJet Enterprise 600 Printer M601DN, rated at 45 pages per minute, which I tested at 13.4 ppm, as well as the HP LaserJet Enterprise 600 Printer M602DN, which is rated at 52 pages per minute and tested at 14.1 ppm. And compared with the Editors' Choice Dell B5460dn, fuhgeddaboutit—that speedster, rated at 62 pages per minute, zipped through our test at 18.7 ppm.

Output Quality
The B721dn's output quality was typical of a mono laser across the board, for text, graphics, and photos. Fortunately, average text quality for a laser is still very good, fine for most internal and external business needs, though I'd hesitate to use it for demanding desktop publishing applications.

Graphics output was average for a mono laser, good enough for internal business use, but whether you'd consider them good enough to, say, distribute as PowerPoint handouts to a client you were seeking to impress depends on how picky you are. Very thin lines in one illustration did not show at all, and the printer could have done better at distinguishing between similar shades of gray.

Photo quality was also typical of mono lasers. The printer is capable of printing out recognizable images from Web pages, but whether you'd consider the output good enough for use in a client newsletter depends on how picky you are. It did well in showing detail in relatively dark areas, but there was a loss of detail in bright areas, and several prints showed mild banding (a regular pattern of faint striations).

Running Costs The B721dn's running costs, based on the price and yield of its most economical toner cartridge, are 1.7 cents per page, a little on the high side for its price. That matches the costs of the HP M601dn, but is trumped by Dell's claimed costs for the B5460dn, a mere penny a page. The OKI B731dn can use higher-capacity cartridges than the B721dn, bringing its running costs down to 1.3 cents per page, while the HP M602's costs are 1.2 cents per page.

Surprisingly, the B721dn was effectively tied in speed with the OKI B731dn—finishing 1 second faster—despite its lower price and rated speed. (The OKI B731dn was slightly faster in photo-printing speed, but that's a non-issue in a mono laser for the vast majority of businesses.) The B721dn has slightly higher (0.4 cents per page) running costs. It would take printing 75,000 pages with the B731dn for its lower running costs to compensate for its higher list price. If your printing volume isn't massive but merely heavy, the B721dn may be a more economical choice, which at least in our testing didn't lose any speed to its faster-rated sibling.

The B721dn has the same list price as the Editors' Choice HP LaserJet Enterprise 600 Printer M601DN and the same running costs, and they have similar paper capacity. The M601dn is significantly faster; the B721dn has slightly better text quality. The B721dn has higher running costs than the Dell B5460dn, which zipped through our business applications test at warp speed. The Dell did lag the B721dn on graphics and photo quality, however.

The OKI B721dn is a reasonable choice as a workhorse mono laser printer. It has a solid set of features, good paper handling, and average output quality. It's a bit sluggish for its price and rated speed, and its running costs are a bit on the high side. But it provides a good balance between price, print quality, and features while being able to print the prodigious volume of documents that some businesses demand.

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OKI B731dn

Pros Good standard and optional paper capacity. Solid output quality across the board. Built for very high-volume printing.

Cons Slower than expected for its price and rated speed. Bottom Line The OKI B731dn is a monochrome laser capable of churning out massive quantities of printed matter, though at somewhat slow speed.

By Tony Hoffman

The OKI B731dn is the new flagship model of OKI's B700 line of mono laser-class printers, and is capable of printing a prodigious volume of documents for a mid-sized workgroup. Intended for mid-sized workgroups, it offers a high maximum monthly duty cycle, good standard and optional paper capacity, and solid output quality. One downside is that in our testing, it was slow for its price and rated speed.

The B731dn uses an LED-based print engine, which is essentially the same as a laser, except that it uses LEDs instead of a laser as a light source. The printer measures 16.1 by 17.1 by 19.6 inches (HWD), larger than you'd want to share a desk with, and weighs 59.5 pounds. The front panel houses 5-line backlit monochrome display and an alphanumeric keypad for password-protected printing. On the printer's side is a forward-facing slot for a USB thumb drive.

Paper Handling
The B731dn has good paper handling features and options, befitting its massive monthly duty cycle (280,000-page maximum, with a recommended maximum of 30,000 pages). Its standard paper capacity is 630 sheets, split between a 530-sheet main tray and a 100-sheet multipurpose tray, and it includes an automatic duplexer for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper. Maximum paper capacity is 3,100 sheets, when you add a second 530-sheet tray ($223.99 direct) and a 2,000-sheet feeder with casters ($700.99). Alternately, you can add up to 3 optional 530-sheet trays if you don't go with the feeder.

The B731dn offers Ethernet (including Gigabit Ethernet) and USB connectivity; I tested it on an Ethernet network with drivers installed on a PC running Windows Vista.

Speed and Output Quality
I timed the B731dn, rated at 55 pages per minute, on our business applications suite (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing), at an effective 9.4 pages per minute (ppm), essentially tied with the OKI B721dn's 9.5 ppm despite the latter being only rated at 49 pages per minute. (The rated speeds are based on text-only printing, while we test with a combination of text pages, graphics pages, and pages of mixed content.) It's also slower than its predecessor, the OKI B730dn, rated at 52 pages per minute, which I tested at 12 ppm in 2011; the B730dn is still being sold.

The B731dn was considerably slower than the Editors' Choice Dell B5460dn, rated at 62 pages per minute, which zipped through the same test at 18.7 ppm. The Editors' Choice HP LaserJet Enterprise 600 Printer M601DN, rated at 45 pages per minute, turned in a speed of 13.4 ppm, while the HP LaserJet Enterprise 600 Printer M602DN, rated at 52 pages per minute, tested at 14.1 ppm.

Graphics output was typical of a mono laser, good enough for internal business use, but whether you'd distribute it as, say, PowerPoint handouts to a client you were seeking to impress depends on how picky you are. Very thin lines in one illustration did not show at all. The printer did poorly in an illustration that contains a gradient from very dark to very light tones, showing little distinction between them. Some backgrounds looked slightly blotchy.

Photo quality was also typical of mono lasers. The printer is capable of printing out recognizable images from Web pages, but whether you'd consider the output good enough for use in a client newsletter depends on how picky you are. There was frequent dithering in the form of graininess. In certain prints there was a loss of detail in bright areas. Two photos showed slight banding (a regular pattern of faint striations).

The OKI B731dn's running costs of 1.3 cents per page, based on price and yield figures provided by the company, are reasonably low; lower than the OKI B721dn's and HP M601dn's 1.7 cents per page and just higher than the HP M602dn's 1.2 cents per page.

The OKI B731dn brings a lot to the table: A prodigious monthly duty cycle, good standard and optional paper capacity, solid output quality, reasonably low running costs. But if you're in need of the high-volume printing that the B731dn affords, speed will likely be a factor, and in our testing it was slow for its price and rated speed. If that's not an obstacle, the B731 is a capable and otherwise well-rounded workhorse mono laser capable of anchoring a busy workgroup.

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Outdoor Technology Privates

Pros Distortion-free wireless Bluetooth audio with boosted bass response. Attractive retro design. Detachable audio cable for wired listening.

Cons Audio could be a bit more crisp in the high-mids. Swipe-based controls not always effective. The name is a little ridiculous. Bottom Line The Outdoor Technology Privates are solid Bluetooth headphones with deep bass response and a cable for wired listening.

By Tim Gideon

We're not going to discuss whether Outdoor Technology has come up with the most unintentionally hilarious name in the history of headphones (the Jays v-Jays still hold that crown). Still, while it's possible the vaguely retro-military style of the Outdoor Technology Privates is the inspiration for the name, it just sounds funny. This pair of $99.95 (direct) Bluetooth headphones provides a significant bass boost without going overboard, and while high end could be a bit more crisp, bass lovers will likely enjoy the sound signature. A detachable cable allows you to listen in wired, non-Bluetooth mode, which is a great extra touch. You are now free to giggle like a child every time I mention the name Privates in this review.

Design
The canvas headband and the square-shaped earcups of the supra-aural (on-ear) Privates evoke something out of Battlefield or Call of Duty. Each pair is available in military green (of course), turquoise, black, or mustard yellow, and is outfitted with black, well-cushioned earpads. The headphones collapse at hinges above the earcups and fold down flat for easy storage, though they do not ship with any sort of carrying pouch.

One great aspect of the Privates' design is the optional audio cable. It's removable and though it has no inline remote control for mobile phones, it allows you to use the headphones as a traditional wired pair when the battery power is low or dead.

Speaking of pairing, the process is very simple—we had no issues pairing with the iPhone 4S in a matter of seconds. The flashing blue status light that tells you the headphones are paired is quite bright, which is a minor annoyance found on many Bluetooth headphones. In a darker room, it lights things up, and in a brighter room, it still catches the eye.

The capacitive touch surface of the panels on the earcups uses swipes up and down to control volume, and sideways to navigate tracks. The same button you use to pair the headphones controls playback, as well as answering phone calls. The swipes didn't always seem to work, or required repeated swipes to skip a song. Aesthetically speaking, the lack of multiple buttons is nice, but it's not quite as efficient for controlling your music.

The Privates ship with a USB charging cable and the aforementioned 3.5mm, canvas-lined audio cable. Outdoor Technology estimates the battery life to be about 10 hours on a full charge.

Performance
The audio quality of the Privates doesn't change much whether they're connected through Bluetooth mode or the audio cable. On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like the Knife's "Silent Shout," the Privates do not distort and they pump out a powerful bass response. The low-end will appeal to fans of big bass, but things aren't boosted to insane levels.

On Bill Callahan's "Drover," his baritone vocals get a nice richness from the low frequency response, but they could use a bit more treble edge. The drums receive a nice added low frequency presence, but it's not so over-the-top that they compete with the vocals for the spotlight. Things could be crisper overall, but the mix is never muddy.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," some added high-mid edge could help the attack of the kick drum loop cut through the mix more. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate this beat are boosted, but not as intensely as you might hear on other pairs like the Beats by Dr. Dre line-up.

Classical tracks, like John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," sound quite crisp and well-defined through the Privates. Classical tracks tend to retain a decent treble presence to begin with, and typically have less intense bass response that pop mixes, so the bass boosting adds a little richness to the lower register strings and percussion while keeping the spotlight on the higher register strings and the growls of the brass section.

For $100, the Privates are a solid offering, but it's worth perusing the competition, particulalry if you're looking for more presence in the high-mids and highs. If you'd prefer to spend less for sporty design and solid performance, the Outdoor Technology DJ Slims and Editors' Choice Plantronics BackBeat Go 2 both offer a decent Bluetooth experience but not exceptional audio fidelity. If you can spend more on your headphones for audio fidelity, consider the Sennheiser MM 100 or JayBird BlueBuds X. 

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Phiaton Fusion MS 430

Pros Well-balanced, powerful audio performance with rich lows and well-defined mids and highs. Removable cable with inline microphone and remote control for mobile devices. Stylish design.

Cons Uncomfortable over long listening sessions. Light on accessories. Bottom Line Phiaton's Fusion MS 430 headphones provide both quality bass response and solid balance, but wearing them for long periods can get uncomfortable.

By Tim Gideon

Phiaton's headphones have always looked like a luxury version of the Beats by Dr. Dre lineup, despite typically being less expensive. At $179 (list), the Phiaton Fusion MS 430 is neither cheap nor overpriced, delivering audio quality that stands prominently in the crowded sub-$200 field that has such greats as the Editors' Choice Marshall Monitor. With a solid bass response that delivers deep lows and excellent high-mid and high frequency presence, it maintains a wonderful balance for just about every genre you can throw at it. This headphone pair could join some elite ranks, but over long listening periods it can get quite uncomfortable.

Design
As usual, Phiaton uses leather and other luxurious (non-plastic) materials to create a stylish-looking, (initially) comfortable design. The Fusion MS 430 features leather earpads with carbon fiber panels on the earpieces. The dominant color here is black, though the removable cable (which can be plugged into either earcup) is bright red, adding some flair to the design.

Phiaton describes the Fusion MS 430 as an over-the-ear, circumaural pair, but it's on the cusp of being a large on-ear (supra-aural) pair. I didn't find that the earcups really fit around my ear to create a seal against my head like a typical circumaural pair does. Instead the pads pressed against my ears, with the tops and bottoms of my ears hanging outside of the circular earpads' borders.

Regardless of nomenclature, the earpads are comfortable and well-cushioned at first, but they exert enough pressure on the ear that wearing them can be quite fatiguing over time. The headband has a rubberized lining that isn't very plush and gets a bit uncomfortable over time, and seems to collect dust and pet hair with the effectiveness of a Swiffer. Though it is a handsome headphone pair, the Fusion MS 430 simply isn't very comfortable over long listening sessions, and if you wear glasses, it tends to press them into the side of your skull.

The cable features an inline remote control and microphone for mobile devices. A single button controls playback, track skipping, and answering incoming calls, depending on how many times you tap it and what you mode you're in (playing music versus receiving a call). Instead of buttons to control the volume, the remote uses a slider, which can sometimes be a bit more sensitive than you might want; it's harder to make minor volume adjustments than it is with buttons. The cable's detachability adds value to the Fusion MS 430, since cables often are the first thing to malfunction on a headphone pair and replacing them is easier than replacing the headphones themselves.

The Fusion MS 430 folds flat and fits into an included drawstring protective pouch, but there are no other accessories like adapters for different headphone jack sizes or extra cables to go with it. The pouch and the one cable are all it comes with.

Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like the Knife's "Silent Shout," the Fusion MS 430 delivers a well-defined, powerful low frequency response that never distorts, even at top volumes. At reasonable listening levels, the bass response possesses richness and definition—things are boosted slightly but not ridiculously, and the presence of crisp high-mids and highs allows the overall sound signature to remain balanced.

Often with bass-boosted headphones, Bill Callahan's "Drover" gets a little muddy, with his voice receiving too much low-end and not enough high-mid clarity. This isn't the case with the Fusion MS 430, which gives his baritone vocal delivery a nice treble edge and favors the mids over the lows. This means the drumming stays pleasantly in the background instead of doing thunderous battle with Callahan's vocals for the spotlight.

The Fusion MS 430's balance is also apparent on Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild." The attack of the kick drum loop on this track gets a nice amount of high-mid grit to slice through the mix, while the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with a healthy amount of power.

Classical tracks, like John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," sound balanced and flat through the Fusion MS 430. The bass boosting adds a bit of richness to the lower register strings and percussion without sounding over the top, and the higher register strings, brass, and percussion maintain a nice, bright forefront in the mix without ever sounding harsh. For fans of flat response (in the sense that flat response can also include deep bass, just not overwhelmingly-boosted gobs of it), the Fusion MS 430 is a solid option. It may have a bit more bass and treble sculpting than a truly flat response pair would have, but the balance maintained here, and the unwillingness to allow the bass to overtake the mix, makes for compelling listening.

At $179, the Phiaton Fusion MS 430 is a great pair of headphones with only one real downside: They become uncomfortable over long listening sessions. That's a pretty substantial downside for some listeners, and enough to keep us from giving it our Editors' Choice award. From a purely sonic standpoint, though, the Fusion MS 430 is a winner. In this price range, there are plenty of excellent options to consider. The Editors' Choice Marshall Monitor brings a clear mix to a stylish design, and the Harman Kardon CL with its refined sound signature is another solid option. If you're looking spend less but still want decent balance, the Editors' Choice Griffin WoodTones Over-the-Ear Headphones and Sennheiser HD 429s exceed expectations for their price range. 

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Snapfon ezTWO (Unlocked)

Pros Sturdy build. Large buttons. Loud earpiece. SOS button offers quick access to emergency services.

Cons Menu system could be more intuitive. Mediocre battery life. Low-resolution camera. Bottom Line The Snapfon ezTWO is a solid no-frills phone geared toward seniors. We like its handy SOS button for emergencies, but some flaws prevent it from nabbing our Editors' Choice award for simple phones.

By Patrick Austin

Cell phones can be complicated. Android or iOS? Samsung Galaxy S4 or iPhone 5s? Which apps to get? If you don't need a smartphone, or just want a barebones phone to make voice calls, the Snapfon ezTWO ($79.99 unlocked, $19.99 with service plan) is one of many streamlined options. The phone attempts to appeal to seniors with its emergency features, and it aims to outshine its predecessor, the ezOne-c, which was an Editors' Choice when we tested it two years ago. Unfortunately, some issues hold the ezTWO back, and the Samsung Jitterbug Plus remains our top pick for simple phones.

Design
Measuring 4.6 by 2.2 by 0.6 inches (HWD) and weighing 2.3 ounces, the ezTWO is easy to hold, at least compared with current smartphone giants. Despite a plastic build, the handset feels sturdy enough; I had no fear of it breaking apart if it hit the pavement. The face of the phone is dominated by large, rubbery, easy-to-see, and simple-to-push buttons that engage with a satisfying click. You get a basic numeric keypad along with Answer and End Call buttons, a selection rocker, and two selection keys. The tiny 320-by-240 LCD measures 1.8 by 1.5 inches. It's a full color display, but numbers and text are in white on a black background.

On the right panel is a pair of plastic sliders that control the underpowered LED flashlight, and a keypad lock, which prevents accidental key presses. The volume rocker and a dedicated camera button can be found on the left side of the phone. A standard 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro USB port for charging and connecting to a computer are on the bottom of the handset. There are also two electrical contacts on the bottom panel for charging the phone with an optional charging dock ($9.99). Inside, underneath the bottom rear panel, is an empty microSD slot and a removable 1000mAh battery. The ezTWO has 1.26MB of onboard storage, so if you're planning on taking many photos, you'll need a memory card.

The top portion of the back panel of the phone holds the camera lens, and a large, red SOS button. Holding it for a few seconds connects you to a trained OneCall Mobile Response Agent who, in the event of an emergency, will call 911 and alert the contacts you designate. The 24/7 service is available for an additional $15 per month

In the box you get a micro USB cable, a USB wall charger, and a user manual.

Connectivity, Service Plans, and Call Quality
The Snapfon ezTWO is a Quad Band GSM world phone running on the 850/900/1800/1900MHz bands. There is no LTE or Wi-Fi, but the phone integrates Bluetooth, so you can use a hands-free headset. I paired it with a BlueAnt Connect Bluetooth headset with no problem. The ezTWO is also compatible with M3/T3 hearing aids.

The ezTWO can be purchased unlocked for use on other GSM networks (like AT&T and T-Mobile here in the states), but using OneCall's operator service requires a voice and OneCall plan. So if you want the full benefits of the phone, you're better off with the accompanying service. Snapfon is in talks with other service providers to make the OneCall service available for use on other carriers, however.

Snapfon provides service using PureTalk USA (which runs on AT&T's network). Plans start at $14.95 with 150 minutes and unlimited rollover, and can get as expensive as $54.95 for unlimited minutes and texts and the OneCall service. To compare, the Samsung Jitterbug's GreatCall service offers a $14.99 per month plan with 50 minutes, and a $79.99 per month plan with unlimited minutes and text messages.

As for call quality, the lack of earpiece volume in the ezOne has been resolved. It's loud enough here, but sound quality isn't great for a phone that concentrates on voice calls. On a busy street in New York, clarity wasn't too bad, but the constant light static noise made my voice sound distant. The person on the other end sounded clear enough, but still a bit muffled. Noise cancellation is nonexistent, with the sound of every passing car getting picked up by the phone's speaker in my tests. Outdoors, the speakerphone was too quiet, and I had to hold the phone near my ear to hear anything clearly.

The ezTWO's battery lasted for 3 hours and 33 minutes of talk time. Which is fine for a phone that, more than likely, won't be too far away from a charger. But it's one of the shorter times we've seen for simple phones. The Jitterbug Plus lasted 5 hours and 37 minutes.

Software
What you won't find here is an app store. Or a Web browser. Or even simple games. You can choose from six polyphonic ringtones and store up to 200 text messages. Navigating the menu isn't as easy it should be for a phone that's marketed as "the cell phone for seniors." The black and white menu scheme is straightforward enough, but can be confusing when only two choices are available and either one looks as though it's selected. I would have liked to see an arrow to clarify my selections. When dialing, numbers appear clearly on the screen. The keypad can also provide clear audible feedback, so you're sure you're pressing the right buttons. There's a 250 contact limit and contacts can hold one number each. Assigning speed dial contacts is done in the settings menu, and is easy enough. Just pick a number slot and choose a contact. Holding the corresponding number on the main screen dials that contact.

Camera
The Snapfon ezTWO has a 0.3-megapixel rear camera. Needless to say, photos are grainy, and lack detail, but you can send them in text messages. You can adjust filters, white balance, continuous shooting and there's a timer. These settings can be adjusted using the selection keys, but again, it's not simple as you'd expect. The ezTWO does not record video.

Conclusion
The Snapfon ezTWO attempts to appeal to seniors, and it does just well enough if safety is your main priority. The camera is poor, the flashlight is dim, and call quality could be better, but if you need help in an emergency, you've got it. Sure, there are options like the Editors' Choice, the Samsung Jitterbug Plus, with its slew of features geared towards senior citizens like medication reminders and free 24-hour operator assistance. The Plus also has two extra hours of battery life. But if all you need is a cheap phone with emergency services and an easy setup, the ezTWO may be the phone you're looking for.

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Sony 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Standard Zoom

Pros Good center sharpness. Optically stabilized. Solid build quality. Includes lens hood.

Cons Noticeable distortion. Weak edge performance. Narrow aperture. Bottom Line The Sony 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Standard Zoom is a solid starter lens when bundled with the a camera, but it's priced a bit too high when purchased separately.

By Jim Fisher

The Sony 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Standard Zoom ($299.99 direct) is the entry-level zoom lens for Sony's E-mount camera system, which includes mirrorless NEX and Alpha models. Like most zoom lenses that are offered in kits with cameras, there are some compromises to its optical design. If you're getting it bundled with a camera at a $100 premium it's a solid value, but if you're starting with an E-mount body and in search of a zoom lens, the 16-50mm Retractable Zoom is worth serious consideration.

The 18-55mm covers a 28-80mm (35mm equivalent) field of view. It's optically stabilized, and its build quality is impressive. The lens barrel is metal, with a large zoom ring towards the base and a smaller, but comfortable, manual focus ring near the front element. It's available in silver when purchased on its own, but if you buy an Alpha 3000 or NEX-7 it can be had in black. It measures 2.4 by 2.4 inches (HD) and weighs 6.9 ounces. A reversible hood is included. The 16-50mm is tiny in comparison—it's 1.2 by 2.6 inches when retracted and weighs just 4.1 ounces.

We used Imatest to check the sharpness of the lens when paired with the 20-megapixel Alpha 3000. It just misses the 1,800 lines per picture height we require for an image to be sharp at 18mm f/3.5. It scores 1,744 lines using a center-weighted test, but as is typical with entry-level zoom lenses, the edges are a bit soft at 1,350 lines. Stopping down to f/5.6 improves performance; the average sharpness is 2,052 and the edges top 1,600 lines. Barrel distortion, which causes straight lines to appear to curve outward, is very noticeable at 4 percent. The 16-50mm isn't quite as sharp at 16mm; it manages 1,666 lines, and also suffers from softer edges. When shooting in Raw the 16-50mm shows a fish-eye level of barrel distortion (9 percent), but that's automatically corrected when working in JPG mode. There's no autocorrection available for the 18-55mm, so you'll have to deal with the curvature of lines at wide angles, or apply corrections in software as you see fit.

Zooming to 35mm eliminates the barrel curvature, but introduces some pincushion distortion (2.4 percent), which makes straight lines appear to curve inward. Sharpness at the maximum f/4.5 aperture is 1,735 lines, again with a sharp center and edges that are a bit soft (1,154 lines). Stopping down to f/5.6 improves things a bit (2,042 lines across the frame, 1,470 lines at the edges), but you'll get the best performance at f/8. When you narrow the aperture to that setting you'll get images that average 2,129 lines, with edges that are a very respectable 1,700 lines. We tested the 16-50mm at 33mm and found it to outperform the larger lens here—it's just shy of 1,800 lines, but edge performance was still an issue.

At 55mm the maximum aperture narrows to f/5.6 and the pincushion distortion drops to 1.3 percent, a figure that's just a bit noticeable in field conditions. The sharpness here is 1,713 lines, with just a slight drop-off at the edges (1,629 lines). You'll get a bit better performance at f/8; the center-weighted sharpness is 2,069 lines, and the edges are just shy of 1,800 lines. The 16-50mm is a little bit softer at 50mm; it shows 1,663 lines.

Your choice of kit lens for your E-mount camera comes down to which you value more—absolute sharpness, or a compact design. Both the 18-55mm and 16-50mm are optically stabilized, and even though we found that the 16-50mm isn't quite the performer, we give it a slightly higher rating. It's only $50 more, is a heck of a lot smaller, and JPG shooters will appreciate the in-camera corrections that knock out distortion. Raw shooters using either lens can eliminate distortion with a few clicks in Lightroom, making it less of an issue for folks who spend time post-processing photos. Neither lens delivers the edge-to-edge sharpness or the ambitious aperture that we expect from top-end glass. If you're an E-mount shooter, but aren't willing to live with the compromises that come with a kit lens, patience is required. Sony is releasing the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* E 16-70mm f/4 ZA OSS ($999.99) later this month, and the E PZ 18-105mm f/4 G OSS ($599.99) will follow in December.

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