I got my Blu Vivo Air LTE on Wednesday evening and have been playing around with it since then. Short story is I'm EXTREMELY impressed with what $200 gets you these days with some minor compromises.

Recap on the phone itself:

5.1mm Thick, 98g Weight
4.8" 720p Super AMOLED Screen
Snapdragon 410 Quad-Core CPU
2GB RAM
16GB Storage (~11gb user available)
2020 mAH Battery
8mp Rear / 5mp Front, Sony Sensors
Near Stock Android 5.0.2 (Promised Android 6.0 in Q1 2016)

I decided to get this phone to replace my company-issued Moto X 2014 which had become extremely laggy over the last month or so and had a cracked screen anyway... the plan was to use the Vivo Air LTE for a few months until I could get a new company-issued phone. After a few days playing with it, I don't see how I'd be happy with anything my company might supply me.

First off, the phone is almost comically thin and light, feeling like a dummy phone you might pick up in the store. That said, it still feels like a very premium device constructed almost entirely of aluminum and glass (like a very thin iPhone 4/4s or Nexus 4). The edges are nicely chamfered so there are not sharp edges and the width of the phone is nearly perfect for my hand, even if it is a bit tall for its screen size due to large top/bottom bezel. The glass back is slick and quite the fingerprint magnet. I installed the included case, mostly to hold a metal plate used for my magnetic car mount, but its texture makes it much easier to grip, eliminates the fingerprint concern, and makes it measure ~6.5mm, still thinner than an iPhone 6 or Galaxy S6 WITHOUT a case.

The Snapdragon 410 really doesn't have any problem driving daily productivity use with no perceivable lag, and the 2gb of RAM (not common for a Blu phone, most of which have only 1gb) keeps multitasking flowing well without crashes or relaunches. One of the few additions Blu made to stock Android was a "Clear All" button in the task-switcher which helps for anyone with Open App OCD like me, as well as a built-in "Task Manager" which gives details on how much RAM is available at any given time and how much is being used by individual apps at any given time.

Battery life, in 2 days of mixed moderate use, has been on the high-end of acceptable if not stellar. When only working with 2020 mAH packed into the extreme thinness, it's easy to understand. That said, I've seen ~14 hours total and ~4 hours of screen-on before forced shut-off with use of battery-saver mode once under 15% (but no change in use patterns). This is about 33% better than what I was getting from the 2014 Moto X and would get me through most days without any top-off charge. There does seem to be a rogue service that's using a lot of location services but I haven't been able to isolate it yet (possibly AutoMate, which is always monitoring for a Bluetooth connection so it automatically launches when I get in the car). I think, with some tweaking and optimizing I might be able to push 16 hours total and 4.5 hours screen-on which would basically guarantee a full day of use without top-up charge.

The screen of the Vivo Air LTE has extremely vibrant colors and the lower 720p resolution is hardly noticeable, partly due to still being a relatively respectable 312ppi, but also because the colors are just so rich and contrast ratio so good without being cartoonishly over-saturated.

Somewhat to my surprise, root was extremely easy to get with KingRoot (an all-in-one root app I've used on many devices with good but mixed results). This has allowed me to use Greenify with full automation which I hope helps with battery life by hibernating background apps I specify as non-essential. Since the ROM is already near-stock I really like being able to root without installing a 3rd party recovery and ROM.

So far, the only notable omissions I've found for my daily use are NFC and Band 17 for AT&T LTE. In regards to NFC, it's not something I've used all that much on prior devices, but with Android Pay and Apple Pay both driving more retailers to support it, it will likely become a missed feature as time goes by. Also, the lack of NFC prevents Android Pay from running at all, which also prevents me from using it as a wallet for loyalty cards (something I use FAR more than NFC payment). As for Band 17 for AT&T LTE, I'm lucky to be in an area with some Band 2 deployed, so I get LTE when around town but not at home. That said, I'm getting ~11 Mb/s down on HSPA which is perfectly acceptable and I spend most of my time on WiFi at home anyway. There's also no Band 12 for future TMO expansion, though the current bands are all there and TMO users would likely see even faster HSPA+ speeds than what I see from HSPA on AT&T.

Overall this phone is truly amazing for $200. I really can't see how someone would spend $650+ of their own money on a flagship phone based on what's available for under $300. The thickness is great, even if a bit of a gimmick once you're below 7-8mm. It's the performance for the price that really shocks me. For anyone looking for something like the Moto G who would put a premium on design/build quality over screen size, LTE Band support, or NFC the Vivo Air LTE should definitely get a close look. Unless something changes in use prior the Amazon Prime return period, I'll be keeping this one quite happily regardless of what company-issued replacement I'm offered.