Welcome to the 90s! (Or, I got a smart phone! Specifically the ZTE Zmax)

It happened, peoples. I finally broke down -- rather, my phone broke down necessitating my buying a smart phone. All right, all right... I could have replaced it with another simple phone, but phones are so super cheap now, I couldn't resist.

I got a ZTE Zmax... of which no one has heard. And, unfortunately, there is something stuck under the "z" on my laptop keyboard, so this entry is super inconvenient to type.

c|net gives it a decent review, but they're also phone snobbier than I am. I just saw "big" and thought it'd be awesome. I rarely use my phone as a phone; mostly, I use it to text people. But my laptop is feeling like a monolith these days, and I'd toyed with the idea of getting an actual tablet once we move. That way, it'd be convenient for using just for recipes in the kitchen, and listening to podcasts on a device small enough to move from room to room with me. So, this "phablet" seems to be the perfect choice, thus saving us over $1000.

Big, but not too big. (That's what she said.)

Okay, first the dirty details: This unit was $179 at Walmart (yes, I know... ugh, but they got me with the cheapness). I'm paying just under $30 a month for unlimited talk, text, and data. It's through Walmart Family Wireless, via T+Mobile, and don't ask me how they manage that when I was paying T-Mobile $50 a month for the same thing before. Whatever.

One other cool thing about the Family Plan at Walmart is that each additional line (up to 5, I think) is $5 less, so between Daphne and me, we're still paying less than I was paying when I had my phone unlimited and hers text only! She can make phone calls now! She won't, but she could.

Just to compare, here is a side-by-side-by-side picture of D's new LG90, James' Samsung Galaxy S3, and my ZTE Zmax.

One of my favorite things, because I'm a dork, is the "live" wallpaper. It moves constantly and responds to touch.

I've made calls, messed with apps, and used the wireless and the 4G, all with good results. Today, I received my glass protection and case. It adds very little to the profile, but will hopefully protect my new investment.

It's rubbery; in the pictures, it looked like plastic. I like the feel much better!

The buttons are covered but accessible.

Now it won't slip out of my grip!

One of my favorite things about the size of this "phablet" is that it's small enough to fit into my purse (actually, coincidentally, there's a pocket the EXACT same size as the phone) but big enough that I can comfortably read websites and watch television programs!

We'll see how the battery life holds up, and if I end up hitting the end of my 500MB of 4G speeds, how the slow-down affects stuff. So far, I've only streamed video using wi-fi, and even when I've watched an hour-long show and done some online shopping, etc. I haven't gotten the battery much below half in one day.

In other words, so far, so good!