AT&T has just announced that they’ll be carrying a new smartphone called the Exhilarate. Made by Samsung, the Exhilarate is a Galaxy S II, but with a smaller 4.0 inch screen and a less capable 5 megapixel camera. That’s OK though since it supports 4G LTE, making it one of the cheapest devices in AT&T’s portfolio to take advantage of their new high speed network. There’s no word as to what version of Android this thing ships with, but we wouldn’t be surprised to find out that it’s got 2.3 Gingerbread onboard and that it’ll never get 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Still, most folks don’t really care about that. At $50 with a two year contract, it’s a great device, but we want to remind you that the Galaxy S III is going to come out for just $199 on contract later this month. That $150 price difference over two years doesn’t really amount to much, about $0.20 per day, so it’s better to cough up a bit extra upfront.
What else can the Exhilarate do? Well, it’s made out of recycled plastic, which is great if you want to save the planet, but you know what else is cool? Keeping the phone you have for a longer period of time instead of upgrading after reading about a newer and shiner toy. Think about all the rare earth metals that went into this thing, plus the fuel that powered the boat that moved this device from Asia to America, plus the fact that it’s likely going to be put on a store shelf, looping a promotional video for 12 hours a day, every day, and now it doesn’t seem so green anymore.
Look, we get it, smartphones are becoming more affordable, but that doesn’t mean people are getting the best deal out there. Most of you would be better off getting a SIM card from Straight Talk or Simple Mobile and shoving it in a used phone from Craigslist, eBay, or Amazon.
That’s the cheaper, cleaner, and bi-winning option.