UNIMAX MaxPatriot Tracfone Review

Review of the Unimax MaxPatriot Android Phone from Tracfone

This review will provide specs and features for the Tracfone UNIMAX 671c MaxPatriot, as well as a comparison to other phones available, and is provided by TracfoneReviewer.

UNIMAX MaxPatriot with Tracfone

The UNIMAX MaxPatriot is an Android powered smartphone offered by Tracfone Wireless for use on their prepaid cell phone network. Tracfone offers a variety of phones and prepaid service options, which you can learn more about by reading our Beginners Guide to Tracfone.

Tracfone continues to release smartphones running the Android Operating System. These phones provide more features and functionality, with the ability to download and use applications on them.

Not a lot of information is available about the UNIMAX company, or sometimes UMX Mobile. They appear to be based in China, and are expanding into the Android mobile phone market quickly. Quality may not be quite on par with more established brands like Samsung, LG and Motorola.

The UNIMAX MaxPatriot comes with a 4" screen, Android 4.1, and a 5 MP camera. You also get Triple Minutes for Life, which all Android phones from Tracfone come with.

There are several other options for smartphones with Tracfone, including the Tracfone BYOP program, where you can bring certain phones to use with Tracfone. Also take a look at our Tracfone Android List for a complete of the smartphones available through Tracfone.

Some of the current top phones from Tracfone are the LG Ultiamte 2, Moto E, and Alcatel Onetouch Icon Pop. We will briefly compare these with the MaxPatriot a little further on.

Let's jump into the features and specs on the UNIMAX phone.

UNIMAX MaxPatriot Features

• Android 4.1.2
• 3G on Verizon Networks
• WiFi
• 5 MP Rear Camera
• GPS
• Bluetooth
• MP3 Player
• Micro SD Card compatible up to 64GB
• Triple Minutes for Life
• Hearing Aid Compatible
• Voicemail, SMS, MMS and Voice dialing

UNIMAX MaxPatriot Specs and Technical Details

• Size: 4.80" x 2.46" x 0.41"
• 4" Touchscreen
• 1.2 Dual Core processor
• 1 GB RAM
• 1.5 GB Internal Memory, about 1 GB Usable
• Weight: 4.6 ounces
• Battery: Talk Time 7 Hours, Standby 8 Days

The features are fairly straight forward and similar to many of Tracfone's other Android devices. The UNIMAX has WiFi, Triple Minutes for life, Micro SD card slot, GPS, and more.

The technical specs are where we get a little disappointed.

The MaxPatriot comes with a 4" touchscreen, which larger than some other Tracfone devices, but smaller than some as well. The Dual Core processor sounds good, but the internal memory is very disappointing, with only about 1 GB actually usable. Some apps can be loaded on an external SD card, but we would still like to see closer to 8 GB.

The LG Ultimate 2, for example, has more than 4 GB internal memory.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's go over some of our likes and dislikes about the UNIMAX, and then we will compare it with some other phones.

UNIMAX MaxPatriot Review - Likes and Dislikes

What we like about the MaxPatriot

UNIMAX MaxPatriot with Maps

The UNIMAX 671c has many of the standard features of an Android smartphone with Tracfone service.

We like that it comes with the Android OS, which allows users access to over a million apps. These apps have huge potential, and give the phone many added benefits and features.

Take a look at our List of the Best Apps for Tracfone Android for some ideas.

While it is great that the MaxPatriot has Android, it isn't the latest version.

The screen size is another good point for the phone. At 4", it is mid-sized in the Tracfone lineup, which will be exactly what some users are looking for. Not everyone wants a large phone, although it is nice sometimes. The LG Optimus Fuel, for example, has a smaller, 3.5" screen while the Alcatel Onetouch Has a much larger screen, at 5".

We do think that the price, listed at $70, is more or less reasonable. And it is likely to be available for much less online, which makes this a very affordable phone.

Let's move on to our dislikes for this phone, of which there are a few.

What we Dislike about the UNIMAX MaxPatriot
We do have a handful of grips against the MaxPatriot, partially because it is an older phone, and there are much more advanced phones currently available with Tracfone.

The rear camera on the UNIMAX has 5 MP, which is good. But it doesn't have a front facing camera, which we find disappointing.

Internal Memory is probably one of our biggest disappointments with the UNIMAX MaxPatriot. At only 1.5 GB total internal space, and less than 1 GB actually usable, we're not sure how useful this phone will actually be for most people. Unless you can move a large number of apps to the external SD card, you will be limited in your options.

Battery life seems poor on the UNIMAX, with 7 hours talk time listed, but often even less actually achieved. The Moto E, which has great battery performance, has more than double the talk time of the MaxPatriot, at 16.5 hours. If you can stay close to a charger, then it isn't a worry, but otherwise you may look elsewhere.

Finally, we've noticed a number of consumers echoing dissatisfaction with the overall quality and design of the phone. For some users, it works great, but others report various bugs, or a completely dead phone after just a few months.

The UNIMAX MaxPatriot has some decent features, but it doesn't seem to be a phone that will be too popular.

Using Android Phones with Tracfone

We want to highlight some important points about using an Android phone with Tracfone, that you might not be aware of.

First, All Android phones with Tracfone currently use Verizon CDMA cell towers. Tracfone has some sort of contract with Verizon. This means that if Verizon service isn't available in your area, then you can't use a Tracfone smartphone there either.

All Tracfone Android devices come with Triple Minutes for Life, and minutes are split into three pools: calling, texting, and data.

For more differences and information, read our post on the 6 Major Differences Between Android and Non-Android phones.

And if you just want to learn about how minutes work, take a look at How Tracfone Minutes Work on Android Phones.

UNIMAX MaxPatriot Comparison to Other Androids

We will quickly compare the UNIMAX to some of the other popular smartphones available with Tracfone.

Basically, the Moto E, Alcatel Onetouch Icon Pop, and LG Ultimate 2 are all better than the UNIMAX MaxPatriot. They all have larger screens, similar or better processors, more internal memory, similar or better cameras (and front facing), newer Android OS, longer battery life, and more, compared to the UNIMAX.

The only area where the MaxPatriot has an edge that we can find, is in it's lower initial retail price.

But if you compare the UNIMAX to the LG Optimus Fuel, which can be found for $20, we would go with the Optimus Fuel for the lower cost, and newer Android OS.

If you want to know our top choice in Tracfone devices, take a look at TracfoneReviewer's Best Tracfone Device.

Conclusion and Where to Find the UNIMAX MaxPatriot

As you can probably tell, we don't find the UNIMAX to be a very inspirational phone, and there are other options which will be a much better choice for most consumers. However, it is probably better than some of Tracfone's first Android devices, like the ZTE Valet, and LG Optimus Dynamic.

The MaxPatriot is available on the Tracfone website, and in some stores. We haven't found it on other online retailers yet.

Please read the comments below before you consider this phone, as many users are reporting a lot of dissatisfaction with this device. We strongly recommend choosing another device, as there are plenty of other Android options from Tracfone at a similar price, with much better performance.

Take a look at the interactive tutorial to learn more about how this phone works.

We hope this information is accurate and useful. Leave a comment below with your thoughts or questions about this phone.

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