Earlier this month, we heard that Pantech would be releasing its first Android phone in the States on AT&T in June, an unnamed ruggedized QWERTY slider. Just this week, we looked at a roadmap for upcoming AT&T smartphones, including the Pantech Bannik P8000. This same model, minus the codename, earlier appeared at the FCC in late 2010. Now all these pieces are finally coming together, with AT&T announcing the phone as the Pantech Crossover.

While the press release doesn’t mention the model number, enough of the Crossover’s specs match up with what we expected for the Bannik, and the images of the Crossover match the P8000′s FCC renderings, that we can safely say these models are one-and-the-same.

The ruggezied build of the Crossover will likely win it some fans, especially those who prefer to use hardware keyboards when possible, but all-in-all the specs are kind of a let-down. A 600MHz processor just seems sluggish in this day and age, a 3-megapixel camera seems more at home on a feature phone, and the 3.1-inch screen isn’t large enough to properly fit the phone’s face. Considering all that, it shouldn’t be too surprising to learn the Crossover ships with Froyo. Though AT&T calls the phone “perfect for first-time smartphone users”, we’re not sure this is the first impression a new smartphone user should really pick up. At $70 on-contract when it launches on June 5, it might be perfect for a budget-minded user, but a first-time smartphone buyer might appreciate something with a little more zazz.

Source: AT&T

Via: Android Guys