AT&T launching Pantech Discover with 720p display, 13MP camera, and 1.5GHz processor Jan. 11 for $50

Pantech Discover for AT&T

AT&T will soon add the Pantech Discover, a smartphone with surprisingly impressive specifications at a very low cost, to its roster of options for Android smartphones. The Pantech Discover has what would have been considered industry-leading features had it been released last year, but the device specs still remain quite competitive. The phone has a 4.8-inch 720p TFT LCD display, a Snapdragon S4 Pro 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 16GB of internal memory, and a microSD slot that supports up to 32GB of external storage.

In addition to an HD display, the phone is capable of capturing HD video with a 12.6 megapixel camera that records 1080p video at 30fps. The camera has 4X digital zoom for both still images and video.

The Pantech Discover also brings in last year's software; the phone ships with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich instead Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The Discover has a custom version of Android and also ships with Easy Experience, a simplified version of Android that is designed for first-time smartphone owners. Users can switch between Easy Experience and the standard build of Android intermittently.

AT&T will begin selling the Pantech Discover January 11 for $49.99 with a two-year agreement. The phone will have access to AT&T's 4G LTE network in areas where LTE is available.

Highlights for the Pantech Discover include:

- 12.6 megapixel rear camera
- 2 megapixel front-facing camera
- Near field communication (NFC)
- Dual 3D surround sound speakers
- 4G LTE connectivity (where available)
- VPN, EAS, and device encryption for enterprise
- 2,100 mAh battery
- 134.2 x 68.6 x 9.1mm (5.3 x 2.7 x 0.36 inches)
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Wi-Fi a/b/g/n