BLU Studio 5.0 HD LTE with 5-Inch HD Display, 13MP Camera, Android KitKat v4.4 and 4G LTE HSPA+ Unlocked Cell Phone- Black

I really wanted to love this phone, and was going to get two, one for me, one for She Who Must Be Obeyed. Plan was to use it on T Mobile's system as a BYOD. All went swimmingly until I discovered I could not connect to TM's LTE service. Indeed, the only connections it shows in this area are for TM's 2G and AT&T's 3G.So I went looking for an answer. TM's site and SIM card selection dialogs suggested that so long as the phone you want to use does LTE Band 4, or 1700 MHz, you're good to go. Check, this phone does that. So I checked TM's coverage map and that's where I discovered the problem. Seems in many areas of SC and GA, TM has "recently upgraded" its system and instructs the customer to click a link to see "compatible phones". Only there does one learn this part of TM's system requires Band 2, 1900 MHz LTE. And their list of phones appears rather outdated. Clearly, this phone isn't going to work in those areas, at least for 4G LTE.In other reasonably local areas, the TM map does not have the "recently upgraded" note, and there's no link to "compatible phones", so the presumption is those areas are covered by TM's "traditional" Band 4 service for LTE. I haven't wandered over there yet, so cannot confirm with any certainty.The phone itself is very nice. As others have already provided thorough reviews of this phone's features, pros and cons, I'll not rehash. What does impress me is the screen's vibrancy and clarity, even if its not protected by Gorilla Glass (nothing on Blu's site says it is, so I'm going to have to assume it isn't. It is a bit larger than the dumb flip phone I'm used to carrying, but what wouldn't be? The camera, at 13 MPX, is impressive, and takes decent photos. But as others have said, don't expect it to be as flexible as even an 8 MPX dedicated camera with a decent optical zoom. All the zoom on a phone camera, this one included, are digital zoom. So pixel size will depend on how much you zoom in.Wifi works well, and given I don't travel much these days, and most of the places I go have wifi, the lack of being able to connect via 4G LTE isn't that big a deal breaker to me. The sole consternation being the mother in law's house is also in one of those "recently upgraded" areas, which also means this phone will not work for She Who Must Be Obeyed. Bummer.So, bottom line: I will keep this phone for myself, and use it as Mr. Conrad envisions using his, as a small phablet, wifi only. This impacts which of TM's plans to choose as clearly, for me, 5GB of monthly LTE data is worthless. What is disconcerting is Mr. Conrad's experience with data "leakage" on TM's El Cheapo plan, which caused him to get whacked by TM for $10 a week, and that even turning off Mobile Data didn't stop it. Rather, if I read his update correctly, one would have to select GSM Only off the Mobile Data Networks settings page, but I am unclear if that would solve the issue.As an aside, and if BLU reads these reviews, if you're trying to replace the Moto G LTE (1st gen), then you darned sure ought to cover the LTE bands in use on AT&T's and TM's systems, not just Band 4. Though you may have saved a few $$$ by not including other bands, it renders your products very limited in appeal. Most of us would rather pay an extra $20 or so and be assured of not having wasted our $140 on a phone that won't work on our system in our area. You have to make the appeal and capabilities as broad as possible to cover the competition. Other than that, it is a great piece of hardware unencumbered by bloat or service provider hogwash. It just has this one potentially fatal flaw that will preclude greater sales.

Clearly a mid-ranged Android device, I picked up a Blu Studio 5.0 HD LTE becasue I wanted to see if I could get the hang of things on the android side. Switching or at least crossing over from the Apple side of things is a challenge. One week in, I m enjoying the experience and will continue to use this phone unless I find any reason not to.First off, for a phone that costs less than $200, the usability if reasonable. Be warned that some updates are needed out of the box and some settings probably need to be tweeked to each user's liking, but hey, thats why one gets an Android phone right? the Freedom to customise!That said, Ignore the trolls who bash with one liner's... its actually a pretty decent phone with a lot going for it.PLUSES:Durable glass screen is durable and responsive (corrected from original review which indicated Gorilla Glass... sorry not on this model). It comes with a screen protector already installed AND a spare in the box.Speed is adequate for standard use but if you game or use lots of apps simultaneously, you may want a more premium phone.Attractive basic candybar smart phone that's easy to hold, easy to use, not slippery or prone to dropping. Comes with a silicon rubber case that is good enough.LTE and 4G is fast!HD screen is noticeable differnce to the non-HD model. DO NOT CHEAP OUT.Average:Good build quality despite that plastic back. Feels solid once you get it all set up.UI with KitKat comes with all the pluses and minuses of suchScreen color is good as is brightness.Call quality is good and holds signals well in urban areas.NEEDS WORK:the GPS system is a bit sketchy as on Google Maps or WAZE, the fix wouldn't hold until i did a full reset, used GPS Fix apps AND reloaded A-GPS info. This was with all accuracy setting set to high. This is the ONLY question still in my mind as to whether this particular phone is an acceptable replacement as my primary phone. The GPS readings on Googloe Maps and Waze are SLOWER than that on my IPhone 53 despite a day or tweeks and fixes. Will see about this...Battery life is also mediocre with standard data use, it requires daily charging for me to be safe.Overall, a great deal for less that $200 out the door, lights attractive and with a little time invested up front when setting it up, this Blu Studio 5.0 HD LTE is a solid unit and so far is working as advertised for me.Hope this helps!UPDATE: June 13, 2015After months of usage and throwing it around, the phone is holding up quite well. The screen remains intact and nice and clear with the original screen protector in place. I have NOT found a suitable phone case other than just the silicon rubber one that came with it (was hoping for a billfold type that would allow it to stand) but that said its been holding up quite well!The GPS sucks. Plain and simple it may be an Android thing but it loses lock regularly and is virtually unusable as a GPS nav unit except under the best weather scenarios. The fact that I am complaining about it living in California while undergoing a drought should tell you how poorly I think that part functions. That all said though, for most folks it wont matter and the phone functions well and has not crashed out on my yet.Highly recommend uploading GoogleNow to replace the launcher that came on the phone.