Pantech Discover: $50 large-screen, 12MP Android



One of Pantech's most ambitious smartphones yet, AT&T's Pantech Discover combines a 4.8-inch 720p HD display with a 12.6-megapixel camera on a 4G LTE, Android handset.

The smartphone also features a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 Pro processor; NFC, or near-field communication, protocol; and crams in a 2,100 mAH battery to support the power-hungry screen.

On the software side, Pantech makes its own mark with the option of Easy Mode, which simplifies the Android home screen layout with preinstalled icons that are also large and finger-friendly.

AT&T gets into the action with its AT&T DriveMode app, a helper to keep you from texting and crashing. In fact, Pantech's Discover is the first phone to get it.

Unfortunately, the Discover only runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for now, and I'd prefer to see the newer 4.1 Jelly Bean on here.

However, you can paper over a multitude of peccadilloes with fantastic price, and that's always something Pantech does exquisitely. The Discover costs just $49.99 with a new two-year agreement with AT&T. The phone goes on sale January 11.