BLU - R1 Plus 4G LTE with 16GB Memory Cell Phone (Unlocked) - Black

My Galaxy Note Edge died and I am a die hard for Samsung's Note series. I bought the BLU R1 Plus as an interim phone until the Note 8 is released. I especially like the feel of the phone in hand using the case included with the phone. I like the look when the screen is off. In my opinion very sleek. This phone is thicker and heavier than all the flagships but that doesn't bother me. It's just a bit and by no means a bother. I won't get into the weeds of Specs and what not because I can't, I can just say it works fine. I mostly talk, text, email and social media. It does not have the writing function of my Note Edge and there are some personalization functions that I sorely miss...like different Screensaver for home and lock screens, being able to change font styles...only does size. But those are my personal preferences. Screen pixelation, sound quality, and camera are all good. I did have some issues receiving text messages but I went to my ATT carrier and they put network settings on the phone and I haven't had anymore issues. For the purpose I got this phone I don't have any cons. It's a great stand in. I will even probably keep using it after the Note 8 release just to let some time pass to make sure there are no issues with the Note 8. I recommend this phone if you don't HAVE to have the bells and whistles of the flagships. Price was great... $140 bucks! Android version 6.0.

Exactly what I was looking for! A smartphone that actually functions like a "normal" smartphone with a nice processing speed and sleek aesthetics. It has a 13MP camera, which is FAR better than the other inexpensive smartphones on the market. It also comes with a clear case, which is a nice touch. I've downloaded over a dozen apps on it, and it's never frozen or bugged out on me. As a plug for Best Buy, they were also the only retailer that offered something of this quality in this price category. Places like Target and Walmart either had really low quality phones that were little better than a flip phone or ones that were carrier specific. I purchased this as a temporary fix until/if the insurance company replaces my waterlogged Galaxy S6. If they end up not replacing it, I would be happy to keep the R1 indefinitely.

After using iPhones for a long time, I find the features of this one inadequate, but that's to be expected when you switch to a cheaper piece of hardware. I probably could have lived with the inadequate features if the phone hadn't lost voice mail volume (still under warranty, so I could have had it fixed) and if it weren't for having to sign more and more of my life over to Google just to be able to use their services and products. One other annoyance is the hot spot process. The instructions "booklet," if you can call it that, were totally silent on how to find or activate it. I spent hours on the phone with 611. The people I talked to had no idea what kind of phone this was, so they had to really strain to find a solution, which they finally did. But since my phone is my Internet, this was a time-wasting, exasperating, overly complicated, under explained flaw. Long story short, I got rid of this phone after having continuous problems because the phone was too much trouble for what it did--or didn't--do.

Seems unfair that I am reviewing this phone without testing out a working version of it. I bought one of these when the last XL was sold to the guy who asked for it right before I made my decision. I have this phone for a day now and it's just sitting in its box that it came in. I turned it on when I instantly got home. Unfortunately for me, it never passed the Bold Like us screen. I've tried so many time and waited it out for it to do something, but nothing progress. I even tried finding solutions on the internet and with no luck. So now I must return it and pay the 35 dollar restocking fee. I won't be exchanging for another one and then still be down 35 bucks. I'd rather just live without a phone for a few months until I can make enough again to buy one when its time and somewhere else?

I have had this phone for 2 weeks to replace my stolen Moto X-Pure. I like video play back, app usage and the screen size. Pros: Good screen size Came with a case and screen protector Good working memory Has 2 ports for SIM cards Expandable memory, up to 64G Durable Cons: Video can glitch when there are multiple ads on a webpage, however those pages are pages that glitch on a PC. Compared to my previous Moto G and iPhone 7 those usually glitched as well. The screen isn't full HD. Other than needing this for talk text, music and some internet/app use I have no big complaints about this phone. It is a good replacement and I hope to keep this in use for at least a year before I move unto something else. The best decision I made was to switch to unlocked phones.

The phone has one flaw. the mute, mic, and speaker are near the top of the phone when speaking- and one can easily mute the phone with one's ear. The phone is very affordable and can save one thousands with a trac phone plan, unless your a gamer or always on the phone away from home. I use my phone for calls, e-mail, and data sparingly away from home. Out of the house I mostly use text which is cheap; and at home I use my own Wi-Fi and VOIP and email. The 35$ three month plan is all I need. Best buy employees are reluctant to help you get fully started ie. porting number, helping with basics, but if you are persistent they will get you there.

So far the phone has all the frills I needed and wanted. Did have a little bit of a hard time registering the sim card with Tracfone. Actually took 3 days. Also adding air time and service is a little tricky with Tracfone services to add. It will not work with purchase of 1 year plans and minutes. I ended up having to call Tracfone and using a credit card to add the Service and minutes. This issue is no fault of the phone it is Tracfone with the issue as they want you to use primarily their branded phones. I also plan to use this phone while traveling abroad so the second sim port in this phone is exactly what I needed. Thanks Blu and also Best Buy for selling the quality open phones.

Phone that has the access everything that other phones have without the price for an unlocked phone. Not much internal memory, but can insert 64 GB SD chip. Perhaps a little heavier than other phones I've had. Takes decent photos. Battery life adequate. For someone who is fairly electronically challenged...this is doable. Came with phone cover, screen protector and sim card adaptors! Nice surprise!