CAVEAT: Before delving into this product review, it is essential to disclose that we have not received any financial benefits, incentives, or gifts from Sunbeam Cellular or any affiliated parties for conducting this evaluation. Our review is based solely on our unbiased research, our first-hand experience, and objective analysis of the product’s features and performance. Our commitment is to provide our readers with transparent and impartial information, ensuring that they can make well-informed decisions based on the merits of the product itself. It is important to us that our audience can trust the integrity of our assessments and be confident in the authenticity of the information presented.
***UPDATE March 2024****
Sunbeam has changed phone manufacturers and is now using a Horizon platform which is almost identical to the Sunbeam Orchid – but allows more functionality that users were looking for. After looking at all the models of this new phone, we would recommend the following two phones for preteens and younger teens – the F1 “Dove” ($249.00 US) or the more rugged version the F1 Pro “Hickory” ($329.00 US)
Recently, our attention was drawn to a sleek and sophisticated flip phone known as the “Sunbeam Orchid.” It exudes a minimalist charm and has earned itself a reputation as a premium flip phone in the cellphone market. Intrigued by its uniqueness, we decided to have a deeper look to learn more about this interesting cellphone.
The Sunbeam Orchid was created by co-founders Sterling Martin and Nelson Hoover and their company Sunbeam Wireless (1), a small US based organization located in Memphis Missouri. According to the Sunbeam Website, Sterling and Nelson, “… saw a continuing trend by most cellphone manufacturers towards more and more features, which meant fewer options for those who might not want smartphones with all their notifications, and near-constant internet access on their phones. To meet this need, we decided to manufacture devices that are both practical and useful, but without the distractions and influences of social media and web browsing.”
The concept of the Sunbeam Orchid phone piqued our interest. As most readers know, we are constantly looking for technology that is age appropriate, especially for youth and younger teens. In the past we have done reviews of the Tanoshi Kids Computer (2) – a great first hybrid laptop/tablet for tweens and younger teens, a kid’s browser called the SPIN browser which was specifically designed for both Android and Apple devices, and the Gryphon router that we believe is the best family home router on the market (3). We have also reviewed another mobile phone that was designed specifically for preteens and teens called the PinWheel phone (4) as well as the Wisephone (5).
After reading what we could about the Sunbeam Orchid flip phone online, we connected directly with Sunbeam Wireless to see if they might be interested in sending us one of their phones for testing and evaluation. Within days, we received an email from Sunbeam, and they agreed to send us one of their phones for testing. We must recognize Sunbeam for taking us up on our offer. Even though we stated that we would be brutally honest about our testing and evaluation of their product publicly, they welcomed the opportunity for us to test their phone. Within a week, we received our Sunbeam Orchid flip phone that was shipped in their company’s branded box.
Note: Sunbeam offers three specific phone models (Dandelion, Daisy, and the Orchid) each model offers a specific set of features that you can review on their website (6) Sunbeam stands out with its range of models that offer different capabilities. The Orchid model is the most advanced as you will read in this review, while the Dandelion model is the most basic, with only calls and a few simple tools. The Daisy model is an intermediate step, offering text messaging, a camera, and a calendar, as well as a very accurate voice-to-text feature. This range of models allows customers to choose the right device for their needs and preferences.
Inside the box we located the Sunbeam Orchid phone, a power cable, a charging dock, quick start guide, and a user manual titled “User Manual Sunbeam F1” It should be noted that the User Manual was small (4” x 2.5”) with micro print which did make it hard to read. We were able to find the same user manual online which was larger and more easily read (7) This link was nowhere to be found in the packaging material, and we would strongly recommend that Sunbeam include this link for those who purchase this phone in their “Quick Starter Guide.”
The Sunbeam Orchid flip phone we received for testing and evaluation contained the following specs:
The phone fits comfortably in adult hands and is likely to be equally comfortable for smaller youth hands.
Its smooth plastic body is designed to facilitate easy placement and retrieval from a pant pocket. However, this smooth texture can make it slippery to hold, increasing the likelihood of accidental drops.
Given this fact, we conducted a drop test (both closed and open) of the phone at 3 feet and 5 feet on three specific surfaces – carpeted floor, hardwood floor, and asphalt to see if the phone would still function, and what kind of damage would occur if any. The results:
Carpet test – no damage & phone worked fine.
Hardwood floor test – no damage & phone worked fine.
Asphalt test – some scrapes & micro dents to the phone cover but only at 5 feet & phone worked fine.
NOTE – The above test was conducted under perfect conditions. As most parents know, youth and especially those under the age of 16yrs don’t necessarily treat their phones with the greatest of care – it’ not uncommon to see a teen’s phone with a spider web cracked screen. Given this reality, we would recommend purchasing a ruggedized phone cover to further protect the phone from accidental drops. Parents can purchase a protective case specifically designed for the Sunbeam Orchid flip phone for $20.00 from Sunbeam Wireless (8)
Connectivity in Canada:
Given that we are from Canada and the Sunbeam is a US based company, we wanted to make sure that the Sunbeam Orchid was congruent and worked with cellular carriers up here in the Great White North. The answer – “YES” it does! For the test and evaluation, we used a “Rogers” micro-sim card. When using the Roger’s network, the sound quality was good, connectivity was seamless, and we did not experience any dropped calls.
NOTE: The Sunbeam Orchid can also connect and work via Wi-Fi (for Wi-Fi calls on carriers that allow for this function, texting, and to download updates to the phone which do not count against a user’s data plan). The phone also has Bluetooth capability which we used to connect to our earphones as well
For our Canadian followers, unlike the Pinwheel and Wisephone which presently cannot be bought with a Canadian credit card and shipped to Canada from the United States, the Sunbeam Orchid offers a significant advantage as it does allow purchase and shipping to Canada.
Preparing the Phone and Software
After inserting the included rechargeable battery and a talk/text/data micro-SIM card, simply press the red on/off button to boot up the phone. Following a quick remote update of the software, as explained in the owner’s manual, the phone will be fully operational and ready to use within 5 minutes or less.
The Sunbeam Orchid flip phone uses its own unique operating system. It’s not an app, but a de-Googled Android operating system that Sunbeam calls “BasicOS”, which completely sandboxes and scaffolds the phone, allowing a user to only access certain proprietary functions on the phone. There is no capability for the phone to connect to the internet via a browser, access a social media platform, download apps, access online gaming, or send an email. It’s talk and text only with some other interesting features that we will speak to later in this article.
What really makes this phone standout and differentiate itself from the other flip phones being marketed to youth – its scaffolded and sandboxed approach to applications. Intentionally, the Sunbeam Orchid does not allow the user to access any kind of internet browser, app store, gaming platform, or social media platform; it only allows the user to:
- Send and receive calls
- Send and receive SMS/MMS messages (including group messages)
- Access to voicemail
- Access to call log
- Access to contacts list
- Access to a notes option
- Access to a camera for pictures (no video) that can be stored on the phone, and only be shared via the above noted SMS/MMS messaging function or connecting to a computer via USB cable.
- Access to a clock, alarm, timer, and stopwatch
- Access to calculator
- Access to a flashlight function
- Access to a calendar
- Access to a sound recorder
- Access to downloaded music (Orchid and Daisy model only)
- Access to an SOS emergency button that also geo-locates the phone when activated.
- Access to Weather (premium option)
- Access to a “talk-to-text” function (premium option)
- Access to a map function for voice activated turn-by-turn directions. (premium option)
We tested all the above noted functions, and all worked smoothly without any issues. Another thing we like about the Sunbeam Orchid phone – they are continually updating/improving the phone’s existing functions (not adding functions that a user might not want) and patching any identified digital bugs; these updates can be accessed via the “update” function located in the phone’s menu – very Apple like.
NOTE: Unlike other minimalist phones, like the Wisephone that we tested, the above noted functions cannot be controlled by the parent. If you don’t want your child to have access to the camera or to the map function, you can’t permanently turn these functions off.
We love identifying any workarounds that would allow us or a youth to by-pass the built in operating system that prevents a user from accessing the internet.
- We attempted to access the internet, social media, and online gaming platforms, or to just surf the web freely; not only couldn’t we do so, but the phone doesn’t allow the user to access or browse the web at all.
- We also tried to defeat the SOS GPS location beacon when accessed and triggered, we could not do so unless we bricked the phone by removing the SIM card.
NOTE: parents should take time to demonstrate how the SOS emergency button works and that this button should only be pushed in an emergency when the child needs help.
Cost of the Phone:
The cost of the Sunbeam Orchid is $195.00 US / $255.00 CDN plus shipping. Also, a parent will have to purchase a cellular micro-sim card to use the phone, message, and map functions on the phone. We would recommend that you look at a monthly pay as you go plan, rather than a yearly contract. By choosing a month-to-month plan, if the phone is lost or damaged you are not stuck having to pay for the remainder of the contract or pay a penalty to get out of the contract. Given the phone doesn’t use a lot of data, we would recommend parents consider a plan that gives your child 100 minutes of talk time, texting, and 500MB of data as a starting point for the first month, and then increase or decrease based upon usage. You can find monthly pre-paid plans for between $15 – $20 in Canada.
Things we liked about the phone:
- Simple to set up and use.
- Smaller than an iPhone or Android phone, but a little bigger than other flip phones
- Buttons/numbers are big and easily accessible.
- The SOS emergency button worked well, and the GPS location triggered by the SOS function was accurate within about 50 meters in all our testing – the SOS button is also recessed, which greatly reduces an accidental activation.
- Because the phone is completely sandboxed it prevents internet or social media access, no access to online gaming, and no access to pornography or other topics that are not age appropriate. As well, third-party apps cannot be downloaded to the phone.
- It’s an unlocked flip phone, so you can choose a mobile carrier and data plan that meets the needs of your child.
- Minimal notifications – phone call and message notifications only, which greatly reduces phone distraction via dings or haptic vibrations.
- Can add an optional Micro-SD card up to 32GB to increase the storage on the phone for things like music. It should be noted that downloading music is a process, but the instructions of how to do so are contained on the Sunbeam website, and we are confident that a youth will adapt to this process very quickly once taught.
- SMS/MMS messages only – no email.
- Will not accept video or weblinks sent to the phone by others.
- The 2.8-inch touch screen was easy to use. Transitioning between the functions on the phone was also very smooth and easy. Unlike other flip phones, the Sunbeam Orchid flip phone comes standard with a screen that is clear, crisp, and very responsive to touch. It should also be noted that the phone has a 1.8-inch color LCD (non-touch screen) on the outside front of the device that shows the battery level, caller ID, and the time. The front cover also features charging, new message, and missed call LED indicators.
- It has a qwerty keyboard option that although small was easy to use.
- Text-to-talk option worked extremely well in our testing and something we truly appreciated.
- Voice directed navigation and mapping was spot on after a destination was selected.
- Bluetooth headphones connected to the phone just fine.
- Battery life is good. We almost got 2 full days of usage without having to recharge the phone. Charging the phone is easy given the charging cradle that is included.
- When being used, the phone is long enough that when the earpiece is being held up to the ear, the microphone is close to your mouth which makes it easy to both hear and be heard by the person on the other end of the call.
- The phone can’t be used to tether or hotspot internet access to a secondary device like a laptop, tablet, or another cellphone. Although adults may want this option, it prevents youth from connecting to an un-sandboxed secondary device (like a laptop or iPad) to allow them to have full internet accessibility using the Sunbeam Orchid flip phone as the gateway.
- It has a “Do Not Disturb” function that mutes the ring tones and haptic vibrations that can also be set to a time schedule
- It’s a privacy by designed “minimalist” phone (9) – after reading their privacy statement, they do not collect or sell any data or usage information they gather to third party vendors. As well, given that the phone is sandboxed, there are no targeted adds and the child can’t be tracked, or data mined by big tech companies like Google or Apple. Given we are privacy hawks, we like this fact, especially when it comes to protecting our kids’ digital dossiers that big tech wants to data mine, monetize, and profit from.
- GPS meta-data specific to the location of where a picture/video is taken is scrubbed. If a teen texts a picture to another person, it can’t be used to track a child to their location.
- Customer support and free software updates. Something that is not offered with many other flip phones on the market.
Things we didn’t like about the phone:
- At $195.00 US / $255.00 CDN, it is pricy for a youth’s first phone. However, it’s still cheaper than an iPhone and many Android phones. We do think the price can be balanced off with the fact that the phone is fully scaffolded and sandboxed with their proprietary OS software (which can be updated remotely), which other flip phones don’t have. This cost is also cheaper in price point to other phones designed for youth such as the Gabb Phone, the PinWheel phone, and even the new Bark phone once you factor in their monthly contract to use their platforms – unlike these other phones, there is no monthly/yearly contract with the Sunbeam Orchid unless you opt into their “premium” monthly plan of $3.50 per month/$40.00 per year, which we used and do recommend. This premium option allows the user to access voice-to-text when composing text messages, access to the extended weather forecasts application, and the additional point of interest search in the Navigation function of the phone. If these functions are not important to your child or yourself, then don’t sign-up for the premium plan. However, these three options may be a good way to introduce youth to how a phone can be more than a phone in a sandboxed and scaffolded way – just saying!
- Is there a visual stigma that sometimes comes with owning a flip phone? Yes! – we have helped parents because their child was bullied over the fact that they were using a flip phone. However, recently flip phones are making a coming back with youth (10)
- Given how slippery the phone can be, and given how youth treat phones, we would strongly recommend that the protective case offered by Sunbeam be purchased and used to protect a parent’s investment specific to this phone.
- The child can receive calls from anyone – However, parents and youth do have the ability to block any call number that has been received.
- The phone does not offer a function that allows for time management. Phone calls and text messages can be received and sent 24/7
- The 2-megapixel camera provided ok picture quality, but nowhere near the clarity and crispness of a high-end fusion phone.
- Unfortunately, it is not possible to prevent the use of the camera, and in certain instances, such usage may not be suitable for some young individuals. It should be noted that the Sunbeam Dandelion (same price as the Orchid) doesn’t have a camera, and lacks several other features that can be found on the Orchid.
- The external speaker is clear but definitely had a tinny sound to it.
- For parents who may not be familiar with technology, the user manual and quick start guide might seem a bit overwhelming. To assist parents, we recommend providing video tutorials on the Sunbeam website. These tutorials can cover topics such as setting up the phone and operating its various functions, which would be highly valuable and appreciated by parents.
NOTE: When we first attempted to use the texting function on the phone, we could easily send messages to a friend’s iPhone but when they replied with their own text, the Sunbeam phone did not receive the message. We did this several more time and achieved the same results. We connected with Sunbeam directly and they stated that this was a common occurrence if you use a sim card from an existing iPhone where iMessage was turned on, and then placed into the Sunbeam phone. Here are the two work arounds for this issue:
- Use a newly purchased sim card in the Sunbeam phone (best option), or
- If using an existing sim card from an iPhone, before you remove the SIM make sure to turn iMessage off before you remove the SIM card from your iPhone. Otherwise, your SMS/MMS messages could continue going to your old iPhone instead of your new phone. To turn off iMessageOn your iPhone, go to Settings.Tap Messages.Set iMessage to Off.
After we reset the Apple sim card that we were using for testing, messaging both outbound and inbound worked just fine.
Wish List
If we were to add anything to this minimalist phone it would be:
- The ability to stream music rather than downloading it onto the device to listen to.
- Email capability (more for adults or seniors who are looking for a minimalist phone but would still like access to their email)
- Sync/backup capability. It should be noted that Sunbeam presently has a function on the phone called “sync”. According to the company, they hope to have this function available later this year which will allow a user to back-up their contacts, calendar, and text messages.
Final Thoughts
The Sunbeam Orchid flip phone presents an excellent choice as a child’s first mobile device, particularly for those in elementary school. With its scaffolded and sandboxed proprietary mobile OS, the phone provides a smooth transition towards a more functional fusion phone as the child matures digitally.
This phone fulfills the essential requirement for a communication tool without the distractions often found in fully featured iPhones or Android phones, which often are not suitable for most pre-teens and younger teens. The Sunbeam Orchid strikes a balance, offering age-appropriate functionality, privacy, and ensuring a focused and responsible digital experience for young users.
When we ask parents why they would want their elementary school aged child to own a cellphone, the number one answer we hear, “in an emergency they can call me, or I can immediately call them.” Often giving a child a cellphone is more about a parent’s convenience in being able to connect and keep tabs on their child when they are outside the home. The narrative that youth are badgering their parent for their first cellphone is not necessarily factually correct – in reality, most youth are getting their first cellphone because parents want to keep in touch with them if needed. Well, the Sunbeam Orchid would fit this need perfectly without all the access and distracting fluff of a fully functioning iPhone or Android phone – a win/win situation in our opinion.
We appreciate Sunbeam Orchid’s minimalist approach, although not originally designed for youth, it very suitable for younger users. It’s an excellent choice for parents who want their child to have a phone primarily for communication while avoiding the unnecessary access and distractions found in traditional smartphones. The phone can also appeal to adults or seniors seeking a basic phone without excessive attention-grabbing features or data tracking.
The Sunbeam Orchid is a “minimalist” tool, intentionally designed to focus on essential functions, and we believe it is a commendable approach. As children grow and demonstrate good digital literacy and maturity, they can transition to a more fully functional fusion phone when appropriate. However, don’t be surprised if some older teens might still find this phone appealing due to its minimalist design and focus.
We believe and would recommend the Sunbeam Orchid as a fantastic choice as a youth’s first phone, particularly for pre-teens and younger teens. Although it may be more expensive than other flip phones, its exceptional features, such as the SOS emergency location button and strong privacy measures make the cost worthwhile. The Sunbeam Orchid phone serves as a compelling substitute for a fully functional iPhone or Android phone, which are not appropriate for most pre-teens and younger teens in our opinion. The Sunbeam Orchid phone has been meticulously designed and has produce a notable by-product for youth – it actively encourages responsible technology usage, and its design effectively reduces online risks thus making it an ideal option as a youth’s first mobile phone.
Digital Food For Thought
The White Hatter Team
Attachments:
2/ https://thewhitehatter.ca/blog/tanoshi-scholar-review/
3/ https://youtu.be/3QARebpaBZc
4/ https://thewhitehatter.ca/blog/pinwheel-phone-for-young-teens-review/
5/ https://thewhitehatter.ca/blog/wisephone-review/
8/ https://sunbeamwireless.com/product/protective-hard-shell-cover-with-holster/
9/ https://thewhitehatter.ca/blog/smartphones-redefining-mobile-phones-for-both-parents-caregivers/
10/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2023/01/21/flip-phone-samsung-nokia-tracfone/11088551002/
