Waaaay back in March, we added a third smartphone to our gadget family: the BLU View 2. My mom, who usually shares the LG Tribute Empire with me, was going out of town for a few weeks and needed her own phone. It was cheaper and easier to pick up a $30 Tracfone from Walmart than to mess with our existing Boost Mobile family plan.
Since there’s nothing particularly earth-shattering about the BV2, I’m going to do a brief run-through of the phone instead of an in-depth review.
Unboxing & Activation
I had a heck of a time getting inside the BV2’s box. There were layers and layers of stuff to get through. Not only did I have to cut across a piece of tape that held the back flap together, but I had to pry the flap apart because it was glued.
Once inside the box, there was a white plastic container. The phone sat in an indentation on the front of it, while the instruction booklets were tucked into a slot on the back. Accessories such as the charger and battery were inside the container.
The activation process was fairly easy. As a long-time Boost Mobile customer, I wasn’t clear on Tracfone’s process. I thought my parents were supposed to buy an airtime card when they bought the phone that I would use to activate the phone. They forgot to get one. Instead, I was able to set everything up step-by-step through the Tracfone website.
We went with the $20 a month plan, with a $5 auto-pay discount for the first three months. The unlimited talk and text plan also includes and 1 GB of data, which is sufficient for my mom’s purposes.
Appearance
The phone has zero frills. It’s plain black, with a matte finish. The only “color” on it are the white BLU and Tracfone logos on its back.
Honestly, the BV2 feels a tad cheap. It’s very lightweight and thin, which is probably why there’s some flex in the body. I can feel the plastic creak when I press the volume or power buttons on the right side. The body is also too smooth. It occasionally causes grip issues for my mom, who has arthritis. I don’t have arthritis, and it often slips out of my hand too.
The screen on the BV2 is slightly bigger than any of the ones on our previous phones at 5.5 inches. That half inch is barely noticeable when the BV2 is lying side by side with the Tribute Empire and its five-inch screen. But when you turn the phones on and compare the BV2’s 1440 x 720 resolution with the Tribute Empire’s 1280 x 720 resolution…there’s definitely a difference. That screen is gorgeous! Bright as day.
The BV2 is the first device in the house with a USB-C port. On one hand, I love USB-C. It’s so refreshing to be able to plug the cord in any kind of way. On the other hand, I’m screwed if something happens to that cord because I don’t have a replacement on hand. I told my mom to guard it with her life.
Usage
In everyday use, the BV2 doesn’t feel any different than the Tribute Empire. They pretty much have the same features, like the split-screen multitasking that I enjoy so much. Under the hood, however, the BV2 has twice the amount of RAM (2 GB), double the storage (32 GB), and a newer version of Android (10) than the Tribute Empire. Besides the appreciated storage bump, I doubt that any of us will strain those specs anytime soon. The battery life is excellent as well, usually lasting about a day and a half.
Tracfone’s network—or should I say, Verizon’s network—is where things go downhill for the BV2. It’s very slow compared to Boost Mobile’s network. Most of the time, I have to break out a magnifying glass to see the tiny sliver of a signal showing on the status bar. Web surfing always feels like the phone is being throttled, even when I know I haven’t exceeded its data allotment. It takes forever to load a page.
Talking on the phone is not a good experience either. Although we can usually hear callers fine, the phone tends to cut in and out on our side. There’s a lag between the speaker and the listener, which causes overlapping conversations. Worst of all, the phone echoes our own voices back at us when it’s in speaker mode.
Lastly, the rear camera is somewhat disappointing for 13 MP. The pictures are good. They just don’t look as good as the ones from the Tribute Empire’s 8 MP camera and nowhere near as good as the ones from my point-and-shoot’s 14 MP camera. They’re often slightly darker and softer (for lack of a better word) than they should be.
Conclusion
The BLU View 2 is a decent entry level phone. It’s running a relatively recent OS and has good specs. It would be nearly perfect if it could get a good signal and the sound was better on the caller’s end.
Despite its problems, my mom is happy with the BV2. I think she’s more excited about not having to share a phone than she is about the phone itself. But still.