I was not surprised by the mediocre sound of the voice calls I made. The speaker and microphone in a lower-priced phone aren’t going to match the quality of those found in handsets like the iPhone. In test calls indoors, my voice was loud enough; but outdoors, street noise drowned out my voice. The voice on the other end had adequate volume, but sounded thin and without much body, like a voice issuing from a transistor radio.

Right after you place a call with the Zio, the phone locks up so that you don’t hit keys with your ear. I found it hard to get it out of this mode to punch in menu selections, or just to hang up the call using the touchscreen. Fortunately a physical button on the bottom left of the phone’s front terminates calls.

The Zio is no EVO 4G and it wasn't meant to be. Yet I’m hesitant to call it a “poor man’s Android.” It’s one of a spate of new lower-priced Android phones that carriers hope will lure more people into the smartphone experience--and into new two-year wireless broadband service contracts. The Zio is harder to use than other, more-expensive Android phones, but the Android experience is still there. For people who are interested in checking out Android without taking a big financial risk on a phone, the $100 Zio may be a good choice.

The Zio is available now through Sprint for $100 (after rebate) with a two-year service contract. The retail price of the phone is $350.