BLU Dash 4.0 D270a Unlocked Dual SIM Phone with Dual-Core 1GHz Processor, Android 4.0 ICS, 3G HSPA, and High Res LCD Screen - U.S. Warranty (Black)

The phone runs smooth, the dual-core 1ghz a5 cpu is very capable, it scored only 10% slower than my dual-core 1.5ghz a9 cpu Pantech Burst. The screen, although not AMOLED, it is actually brighter than the AMOLED screen on Pantech Burst. Dual sim is a huge advantage over single sim, you can finally separate business phone vs personal phone calls without having to either carry two phones, or swapping sim cards. This version supports 850/1900mhz 3g so its compatible with most US carriers. An international version with 850/2100mhz model number D270i can also be purchased on Amazon for similiar price.The battery is 1500 mAh, they LAST FOREVER! perhaps its the super effecient A5 cpu used in the phone, general usage (5 phone calls, 20-30 text messages, 1-2 hr gaming per day), the phone lasted 2 days between charges. This is excellent running time for a $120 device with a beautiful screen.Verdict:Excellent value from performance to price to feature ratio. The screen is excellent and very very bright, speed is good and feature is complete. The dual-core cpu offers enough speed for most people, which dual sim capable helps people with need to utilize 2 phones at a time. The only down side about the phone, is perhaps its 512mb ram that might hinder future upgrades. However, I have not personally noticed any lagging or performance issues.

As others have noted, this company has no customer service. I bought the Blu Dash 4.0 and received it within a week with free shipping. After charging it up I loaded my T-Mobile sim card and a 32GB micro sd card. Both worked like a charm and I thought I got one helluva deal.Then, I noticed at the top of the screen (next to the battery-level icon) a green square with a black exclamation point in the middle of it. It seemed like some kind of warning/alert but I could not find out what it represented. I went through the user's manual that it came with, as well as downloading a completely different user's guide for the exact same product from the bluproducts.com website, and there was no explanation for the green exclamation icon.So, I emailed the customer service address listed at bluproducts.com and received this prompt reply within 24 hours -"Good Afternoon,Thank you for contacting BLU Products. It is our pleasure to serve you.It has been brought to our attention that you are having functional problems with a mobile device you purchased from one of our customers. CT Miami is a wholesale distributor and as such, the warranty policies are strictly written for phone distributors only and not end users.We appreciate your understanding and cooperation. For warranty claims of your BLU product mobile device, please contact the distributor Amazon where you made your purchase.Thank you again for contacting CT Miami RMA Department.Best regards,Service BLU Products"What the hell does that mean? I've heard corporate doublespeak before but that is insane. They said, "Thank you again for contacting CT Miami RMA Department"? I didn't email CT Miami, I emailed [email protected]. Apparently, CT Miami is the US distributor for Blu Products and runs the "official" Blu Products website. Weird.All I wanted was a simple explanation for what seemed to be an obvious question. I've owned 3 other Android phones and never recall seeing that bizzare, green icon before.Next, I loaded/updated apps like gmail, Chrome, Opera and Winamp and all seemed to work fine for about a day. Then the phone started acting up, freezing within a few minutes after opening any app. I uninstalled everything and tried, one by one, to see if the problem might be one of the 5 or 6 apps I had downloaded up to that point. Didn't matter, the problem didn't go away.I then did a complete factory reset. I only had the phone for 2 days so there wasn't much info or custom preferences to lose.The problems remained and accelerated. The apps suddenly went from freezing within minutes to just seconds.Bottom line, these guys are sketchy and offer nothing in the way of customer service. The phone is already boxed up and going to UPS in the morning. Next time, I'll be more careful about purchasing anything from a company I've never heard of before.Update - 4/29/13After reading a later review posted here criticizing people who gave this product a one star rating, I wanted to emphasize that I was being critical of the company's complete lack of customer service. I did return the phone and promptly received my refund from Amazon.Yes, the phone was defective and I could have exchanged it for another, however, why would I (or anyone for that matter) want to do business with a company that doesn't back up its product? If BLU Products/CT Miami/Whatever can't even answer a simple, technical question and then tell me to contact Amazon about "warranty issues", what does that say about this company?Update - 5/7/13Just received my Samsung Focus I917 unlocked Windows 7 phone for $100 from Amazon. If you're considering the BLU Dash I cannot recommend this phone enough as an alternative. There are a few negatives compared to an Android phone but for a hundred bucks I can live with that. At least Samsung backs up their wares.

I purchased this phone in hopes to replace the smart phone I purchased while in the Philippines (Cherry Mobile Flare). The Blu Dash 4.0 D270a doesn't quite stand up to the performance of the Cherry Mobile Flare, but since the Flare doesn't work in the United States, it is a pretty close replacement. Overall I'm pretty pleased with it so far. But like anything there are positives as well as negatives with anything. Some of the specs provided on Amazon and Blu's website ([...]) are a little off. Not anything major but I will run down those and the minor negative points of the phone in this review.[website & amazon specs]:4GB with 512MB RAM; Dual Core 1GHz Cortex-A5; 5MP camera (main)/ 0.3MP camera (front); 4 inch screen / 480x800 pixels; Android 4 operating system; Dual Sim Card GSM 850/ 900/ 1800/ 1900 Mhz/ UMTS 850/ 1900 Mhz; 3G HSDPA (AT&T only)/GPRS/EDGE/Wifi; Wifi hotspot capable; A-GPS support; SMS/MMS messaging; micro sd card support up to 32GBThe only thing I found to be a little off, was the main storage size of the phone. The phone reads in settings, and also in other apps I have downloaded, that the total size of the hard drive is 2GB not 4GB. That's a nice chunk of space for the phone, but I still put a 32GB micro sd card in it for more storage. The 512MB of RAM is not that impressive, but it handles most of everything I need my phone for. If you are the type of person that likes to download a lot of games, maybe it won't be enough for you. The Android version is 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich.I currently use AT&T's Go Phone service and the phone had no problem identifying the network. I wasn't sure if I would have to manually enter the APN settings, but the phone picks it all up automatically. I've had another unlocked phone with Unnecto, and I had to enter all that info in manually which took some time to research. I use the second SIM slot for my Philippine SMART sim card. It reads it just fine, and is set to roaming (which uses the AT&T network). The good thing is that this phone will also work when you travel abroad. I have not used T-Mobile with this phone, but according to what I've read, the 2G connection will work, but the 3G will only work with AT&T. The fact that the phone also has the ability to be a mobile hotspot is also a plus.One annoyance that I've found with the firmware of this phone is setting up certain contact info and ringtones. For some reason the phone would reset certain contact settings I had made to default. The problem has seemed to stop, but it was irritating at first. Trying to set custom ringtones for contacts is also an annoyance. Unlike the Cherry Mobile Flare I own, Blu Dash 4.0 doesn't give you a menu in the sound settings to choose from your custom MP3's. You have to open them in the audio player, and then set them as your main ringtone for sim 1 or sim 2. I have yet to find a way to set your custom ringtones for individual contacts. When you go to set the individual ringtone for the contact, the regular ring tone menu pops up, and is all that you can choose from.Another downside to this phone, is that I haven't been able to find much as far as accessories go. I contacted BLU through their website, and they referred me to an online dealer that had some BLU accessories, but nothing for the Dash 4.0. It would be nice to have a skin or case to protect the phone, but they just don't have one out that I know of. Universal screen protectors are easy to find, so you can trim them to custom fit the phone no problem. I've also tried a few different headset/mics in this phone, and only the one that came with it seems to work properly. The others will work as a headset, but the mics won't work for some reason. I have not tried to use this phone with a blutooth headset, but the phone is blutooth capable.Battery life is not the greatest. If you are using the phone pretty regularly to surf the web, or download apps it drains the battery faster. Certain apps can also eat the battery pretty quickly, so I've found that disabling them when not in use is the best way to avoid killing your battery. When using the phone moderately, the battery has lasted through out the day, but usually by night, you will need to plug it up.Overall, I would say that if your looking for a dual sim smart phone that won't break the bank, the BLU Dash 4.0 D270a is a pretty good choice. Blu also offers other smart phones with better specs, but they are quite a bit more expensive. $130.00 was more than what I paid for my Cherry Mobile Flare, but I don't think that you will find anything in the United States this cheap without having a contract phone. Unlocked phones are nice, and offer you the freedom of choice with your service.Hopefully this review is helpful to anyone considering purchasing an unlocked smart phone.Update 4/6/2013 :Check the comments to see how to resolve the ringtone issue.I have also encountered a slight problem with sending MMS messages. When I attempt to send them I get an error. Looking at the APN settings, everything is as it should be, so I'm not sure why it's not working. I've sent photos through different apps with no problem, but attaching them to a MMS, I always get this error. Maybe it's an issue with AT&T, but I will update if the problem is resolved.Update 4/7/2013 :MMS error resolved. I had to download a messaging app from the google play store, but it seems to have fixed the problem. I am finding out that the built in functions for this phone are not the best. But fortunately you can download free apps to solve the issues you might run into. I downloaded Handcent SMS and now I can send my MMS messages without recieving an error.