GREAT phone for the money, never going back to Samsung!
587665
switched from a Samsung Avant: the Samsung is a piece of junk, battery life is crap, not consistent but the worst of any phone I've ever owned. this phone cost the same, has a much larger screen, battery life is GREAT has a flashlight, fingerprint recognition, high res camera w/ flash, metal case. Couldn't be happier with my purchase.
3489989
I don't know why I waited so long to buy this phone.  I kept my last phone for over 6 years (Motorola Q9C) and it had always been nearly worthless for doing anything online, although I could get my e-mail through it and do some limited surfing if I had enough time and patience.  I had an unbelievably cheap service plan that I was reluctant to give up (couldn't upgrade the phone and keep the plan).  But I finally threw in the towel, and now I'm asking myself why I waited so long.  This phone does EVERYTHING.

The one thing I was reluctant about was typing on a touchscreen, which I have difficulty with.  But then I realized I don't even need to type, I can dictate e-mails and texts!  And it works great!  I'm using it with Straight Talk on AT&T's network and it's been flawless, with 4g LTE speeds (need the correct APN settings to get LTE).  The battery life has been good (although I am not a heavy user), and on standby it's phenomenal, it seems to barely use any power at all.  The sound quality is great, the screen is great, and as each day passes and I learn more and more about how to use this phone, the happier I get with it.

Prior to buying this I had read quite a bit about the fake phones out there and was determined to not be fooled into getting one of those.  I did a lot of research about what to look for, and everything I read about this phone indicated it was the real deal.  But one never knows until they get it in their hands.  After receiving it I carefully examined everything, then downloaded and ran the "Genuine Galaxy - Phone Info" app which confirmed that the phone is authentic.  What a relief.  I bought this from seller "Mango Wireless," fulfilled by Amazon.  It was brand new, in Samsung packaging.  The only thing that seemed to be missing from the box was a warranty card (there were manufacturer's pamphlets explaining the warranty - but no card).  It was listed in the description as being "Imported," which for cameras means there is no USA warranty.  Not sure if that means the same thing for phones, but it probably does.  I could have gotten the add-on 2-year protection plan for an additional $69, but decided to go without that.  I figured I could send it back to Amazon within 30 days if need be, but if it ran fine during that time it would be unlikely to go bad over the succeeding 11 months anyway (Samsung's usual warranty is 1 year).  I did get an Otterbox Defender case for it to provide some extra accident protection.  Some may find that case to be too bulky, but I love it.  I've had the phone for 3 weeks now and it is working perfectly.

One of my passions is long-distance self-supported bicycle touring, and in the past I have taken a netbook, phone, mp3 player, camera and GPS with me, which adds quite a bit of weight to my setup.  All of that will now be replaced with just this phone - awesome!  This will lower my riding weight by 5 or 6 pounds and reduce the volume of supplies I need to carry.  I am going to test it out on a tour starting in one week and will update this review with how it all worked out.

I couldn't be happier with this phone.

//UPDATE 12/7/2014// - The phone is still flawless.  I've had it for 5 months now and still love it.  No issues at all.  On the bike tour it worked great.  I kept an online blog, updating it only with this phone.  I also used it to watch movies at night in my tent - I had about 25 movies copied to the memory card.  The movies played flawlessly and the sound was good enough to not need earphones, but I often used earphones anyway.  A 90-minute movie used about 20% of the battery charge which I thought was pretty good.  No regrets.
4910714
Having used only Samsung smartphones, I switched to Moto X mainly for its claim of superb usability and I never looked back or missed my Samsung phones!
FAVORITE FEATURES: Moto Voice that trains to your voice only, Customizable silence/ring settings for meeting/bedtime/etc, Lightening Speed, Ability to switch between different Google Accounts/User Profiles, Twist to turn on Camera
NOT SO COOL:  Lousy battery life, Data connection constantly cutting out (I am on Simple Mobile/T-Mobile 4G LTE)
---
2/22/2016 UPDATE:
Still love the phone. Just upgraded to Marshmallow and it's a big improvement- no more data connection issues and the battery seems to last longer.  I use the always-on microphone for Moto Voice commands almost daily, as well as the motion-sensing active display for time/date without waking up the phone -- you CANNOT find both these features in the flagship phones from Apple or Samsung that cost 2x more.  Moreover, it's still lightening fast opening & switching apps.

Sure the camera is still not great (poor low light & zooms), but I have a Sony RX100 for when I need those quality shots.
I am excited to see what the 3rd-Gen Moto X has to offer!!
232185
Love this phone, switching from a galaxy s4 this phone feels like a huge upgrade in many ways!
2559453
I love this phone!  I did a bunch of research before purchasing, and was slightly worried about moving from iphone to android, but I had no issues at all-a lot easier to learn than I expected.  I was looking for a smaller sized phone (I'm not trying to lug around something the size of a tablet) that didn't sacrifice specs and I am very pleased with this purchase.  I had to buy this phone without ever seeing one in person-they just don't have these on display in any of the local stores that I went to like BestBuy, etc.  For those of you wondering about the size:  in comparison, the iPhone 6 (smaller size one) is just a little bit taller, as is the HTC One M8 I also considered.  The screen quality is better than I expected.  Everyone goes on and on about how awesome Samsung's screens are but I think this is definitely comparable.  The only issue I had was the lack of text message notification-but that was easily fixed with Textra app.  Overall, I think this is a great phone and would recommend it to anyone looking for something smaller with lots of speed and a great camera.  I got the minty green color and it's so pretty.  Bottom line-this is an awesome phone!
4832148
I'm in love with Samsung. I owed the S3 for a few years and upgraded to the S5. When I wanted to travel to Europe this year, I wanted to keep in touch with family back home. That required an unlocked, international phone. I saw this and for the price, I thought I would give it a shot.

I took this to Spain last week and I must say that it works like a champ. I bought a 20 Euro data sim card at the vodafone store. I was able to facebook, upload pics, and use the gps all week long. I had no surprises, outages, or overages.

I love the battery life and I love the display. This also doesn't have as much bloatware as the phones you get from the cell phone companies.

Oh, I did buy a 128 GB memory card as well. That was my only addition to this phone.

This phone and me, we are going to see the world together.
4660095
I bought this to use with a U.S. pay-as-you-go carrier that I won't name here, but I've been happy with them. And I'm very happy with this phone. It's important to keep in mind that this is a scaled-down version of the S4. It's smaller in size, which makes it a lot easier to get out of my pocket; I'm not going to be watching Avatar on a cell phone. But it's got a lighter-weight processor than the S4, so it's scaled down on some of the features, too. Things like being able to make gestures without having to touch the phone - after you make your friends say gee whiz once, who cares? Less bloatware means the S4 Mini performs quickly with the processor that it has, and the battery lasts all day for me, too (though like I said, I'm not streaming movies). What I do miss, though, is no notification light after you get a text, email, missed call, etc. Also, its on-board memory is a skimpy 8 GB, and the system is going to use about 3 GB of that, so you definitely want to buy a high-speed micro SD card to expand your memory - especially if you want to listen to music, take a lot of photos and videos, etc. It will handle up to a 64 GB card; I got an inexpensive Class 10 32 GB here on Amazon. As an earlier reviewer mentioned, I can't get the "I'm looking at you, phone, so don't turn off the screen" feature to work either. But considering you're paying far less than you would for a grown up S4, or for an iPhone, the S4 Mini is a great bargain. Also, this is the 3G single-SIM version - know what you're buying before you blame someone else for you buying the wrong model.
3976589
This phone far exceeded my expectations... The battery life isn't the greatest, but what phone has that these days? It takes great pictures and video, the sound quality is very good while talking on the phone. I am using this with AT&T and have no issues, it works great. For the price this phone can't be beat... I paid $99.99 for this phone . that will be plenty of extra storage for me,  If you are thinking about it, just do it, you can't go wrong for the price. 5 stars!!!!
1874093
For the money, the phone is great but the one I received has only one sim card slot that works. One of the reasons I purchased this particular phone is because I wanted dual sims since I travel to Honduras and live in the USA , thus needing to change sims and all the settings between Straight Talk in USA and Claro in Honduras. SIm card slot one does not read the sim but #2 works perfectly. I discovered this after I set up my phone with music, pictures and apps while I waited for the new Straight Talk sim to arrive. All other aspects of the phone are phenomenal, especially at the price that I purchased it for! I am going to see about RMA ing it and hope that it will not cost me any extra. Hopefully my phone is an exception, which according to the many reviews, it seems to be. I would recommend this phone to anyone who does not want to spend in excess of $700 for a flagship phone for many options that most will never use. After receiving the exchange phone I will update my review and anticipate giving this phone 5 stars!
487894
I did a lot of research on choosing between iPhone and Samsung. I was a Windows phone user for years, and I really wanted to make best choice for a new phone and operating system. Firstly, both iPhone and Samsung are "made in China", so I did not have a moral dilemma in choosing Samsung based on trying to support American jobs. IF iPhone were made in USA, I would have bought it over the Samsung, hands down. My husband is an iPhone person, but he's been disappointed with lagging and constant updates and re-syncing with computer. I did not see that problem with Samsung. The screen of Samsung is superior to iPhone and the camera is much better too! The operating system rocks, and with all the Google free apps and free Google Cloud drive, I have a fast, very useful, phone with more than enough phone storage for pics/videos/apps (use the Cloud drive - you'll love it!). I also stream Prime movies and music constantly now on my S6 with no problems... and did I mention how beautiful the screen is?!
I bought the phone unlocked and used my previous TMOB SIM card. Easy with no service or plan hiccups. You may ask why I didn't opt for the S7 or wait for the super duper Note7. Bottom line, the S6 Edge more than fit my needs for way less money than the 7X's. I am learning more about the S6 as I take time to read thru the manual and functions. But overall, it's been a very easy phone to figure out. My only pesky areas are figuring out how to set all my sounds for all the different alerts that come from apps (not as simple as it should be) and there is something with Group Text that doesn't reply/incoming texts as a Group. But minor stuff to Google and find answers to.
I think you will be happy with the S6 Edge if you are having budget that prevents a 7X at this time : )
3896851
Phone works excellent and is faster than a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. The refurb job was excellent as well with the entire phone looking new out of the box save one minor cheap in a bezel. The phone also came with a turbo charger and Motorola charging cable which is a huge plus. This is the absolute best option for a phone under $200.00 as it is still competitive with new phones in terms of speed and battery life. The 4k HD display at 556ppi is gorgeous and the 3900mah battery delivers a battery life that is longer than any iPhone on the market. Very happy with this purchase.
710446
I have always been a big Samsung fan. My wife upgraded to the Galaxy S4 several months ago and she loves it.  I was a little jealous of her phone and, after 3 years of using the original Galaxy, I decided to upgrade too.  After getting to spend a little time with a friend's LG G2, I decided to give it a try instead of the Samsung.  I'm glad I did.  It's very fast, the screen is super sharp, and the battery life is crazy good especially for a phone this size.  The wireless charging capability is also a big plus for me.  I've bragged about my phone so much that 3 other members of my family have bought their own.  They all love theirs as much as I love mine.
3236639
For the price it is hard to beat this phone.  It does everything that my wife's more expensive samsung does for a fraction of the price.  The few limitations such as picture quality would only matter if you are using it for a high end camera.
3105470
Coming from a Samsung Galaxy S7 edge I was worried that this phone would not be as solid all around, especially for the price.  WOW was I mistaken.  This device far exceeded all of my expectations.  It is lightning fast, honestly even faster than the GS7 edge (probably due to the lack of Touchwiz).  While I liked the preinstalled "Stock" theme, I went with the Google Now launcher right away and it is even more of a stock feel.  The software seems fine so I am not really sure what people are talking about with it not being as clean as something like the One Plus 3.

In regards to the main features to consider, here they are:

1) o_o um... Speakers from Heaven? lol.  The sound quality on this phone is completely unmatched.  Seriously.  I was blown away.  Music is crisp and clear, movies sound incredible, YouTube is awesome, etc.  All in all, if there is one reason to get this phone, it is because of the crazy sound system.  With headphones it sounds like a professional audio experience.  Absolutely fantastic.

2) Build quality - Rock solid.  No issues, easy to hold, etc.  I will say, coming from the GS7 edge it feels a slight bit wider in the hand (due to the lack of the dual edge display), however nowhere near as difficult to hold as the iPhone 6s Plus.

3) Battery life and 3.0 QuickCharge - Awesome battery life, gets through a full day, about 4-5 hours of screen on time.  Charges INSANELY fast.  I had to buy all QuickCharge 3.0 accessories for other rooms in the house and the car since I got super spoiled with the one that came with it, lol.  Charges MUCH faster than the GS7 edge, even with the fast adaptive charger.

4) Screen - Gorgeous, zero issues.  If I had ONE complaint about screen related stuff, I would say that the ambient light sensor sucks in comparison to the GS7 edge.  It works, but even in a totally dim room it still is pretty bright.  All in all, the GS7 edge ambient sensor is way better, but this one still works - just a bit too bright lol

5) Camera - So far, no problems.  I REALLY MISS the front facing screen flash (like the iPhone Retina Flash) on the selfie camera the GS7 edge had.  I would have loved to have seen this on this phone.  There are some apps that claim to do this, but they seem to be iffy if they work.  It's usually a hardware thing, so not sure either way.  I do miss the selfie flash though.  Most of the pics I take are in good lighting so I have had no issues so far.

Now some things I don't completely love:

1) Notifications - On my GS7 edge notifications all worked fine.  Some apps, though, I am not getting notifications for unless I open the app.  Didn't have this issue on the GS7 edge soooo yeah - weird software quirk.

2) Signal Strength indoors - LTE signal strength not quite as good as the GS7 edge.  I had to get T-Mobile signal boosters and that resolved the issue.  Still, the LTE radio on the phone is definitely not as strong as the GS7 edge.  Wi-Fi is totally fine as is bluetooth.

3) VOLTE = YES : Wi-Fi Calling = NO :-(.  While it does have HD Voice, it does not have Wi-Fi calling.  If that's important to you, definitely something to consider.

Other than that, it works perfectly! :-)
3080451
This is a fantastic phone. I had this phone back in April and then decided I would sign a 2 year contract with verizon and got the Galaxy S4.  I hated the S4 after about a week of using it. It was slow and didn't have a lot to offer. Im a android fan but this phone blows Android away. So anyway after about 4 and a half months with the piece of crap s4 I terminated my verizon account and went back out bought this phone again.  Ive never had a dropped call or failed attempt at sending a text (something apple and android operating systems experience very often) plus this phone has much better apps with less ads. I won't go back to android anytime soon.
1818833
I have had this phone for over a year. My Samsung S6 screen cracked and it was a $200 fix. I bought this instead to replace the S6 and have been pretty happy. Camera is not the best, neither is the speaker but for the $60 i paid for it, its great !  I have a;ways had a case on it and am on the 3rd one. I have the GPS and bluetooth on all day as I work on the road.  I do have to keep it on the charger so that the battery does not drain. Pretty good phone and very pleased with it.
4629811
All considered, I think this is a fantastic phone for the price - I got it as a 3G to 4G upgrade straight through Metro for .26 cents after trading in my Samsung Admire 3G. This was required due to new tower signals coming on-line in my area, and for the price was a steal. This phone has a quad core 1.2 processor and comes with 8gb built in, with 5gb accessible to user. Compared to the Samsung Admire it is blazingly fast. I put a 32gb sd card in (the max on this phone), and I have incredible memory capacity for very little money. I probably have 60 resident apps, most on sd, and all of them run flawlessly. One slight drawback is the front "speaker", which is a Kyocera waterproof feature where the entire face of the phone resonates to produce sound, because it is an underwater (truly) tested up to 3' underwater. Also, speakerphone seems to degrade quality for call recipients, this disappears when speakerphone is turned off. I have had a few glitches in the last 6 months - touch screen not responding or displaying a message which says "something is covering screen, please remove" even when nothing is touching screen, but I find if I restart phone the problem goes away immediately. I have seen it recommended to restart phone daily as a practice. Apparently some people get a Kyocera Life which is very problematic and a complete disaster, but mine has been extremely easy to customize and use without difficulty. Also - phone has a max of 5megpixel back camera and only 2megapixel front(who wastes their time with selfies - ridiculous) best used for phone thief capture apps.
Even given it's limitations, all in all, it is an outstandingly good phone for .26 cents and a quad core processor.