Handset Review: Airtyme Flaunt

AirTyme, which is basically a mobile phone distributor, has come up with its own line of mobile phones for the Indian market, and one of them is Airtyme Flaunt. This device earlier known as Sharp PV 300 and was sold as T-Mobile (a mobile operator) Sidekick LX in USA in 2009.

The phone retains its quality of construction, which is better than any other mobile phone sold in India with a price tag below Rs 5,000. On top of that it is a 3G phone with a large screen and a Qwerty keyboard that is well designed and is easy to use.

However, the goodness of the phone ends there. Airtyme Flaunt has an operating system, Danger, which is dead and discontinued. In its hey days this operating system was one of the first to have its own app store, much before the Android came into picture and was backed by cloud service operated by Microsoft, which also bought Danger OS in 2008 and later closed it.

The Sidekick series with Danger OS was started in 2002 and ended with this phone in the year 2009. The support for this OS completely shut down in May 2011, leaving this phone too late in the Indian market as now it does not have any application support whatsoever.

So much so that even the Opera Mini browser that it comes with can't be upgraded. In its current form, it is a waste of money. Other than the good build quality and high speed 3G connectivity, only disappointments are awaiting the buyers of this phone.