kyocera

If you see people sporting a fancy gold Kyocera watch or mobile phone in the near future, don't assume they necessarily laid down a bundle on it. The Japanese company has come up with a new ceramic that closely resembles the texture and color of 18-karat gold. Kinda cheapens the Dolce and Gabbana Razr, now, doesn't it?

In developing the new gold ceramic material, Kyocera says it raised the brightness level approximately 5 percent over previous gold ceramic products while retaining the material's hardness.

The company says the new material is 5 to 10 times sturdier than … Read more

Barely a week after Virgin Mobile launched its new Arc, the prepaid carrier is now showing the new TNT! handset on a Beta page on its Web site. Though it is billed as a "dynamite flip phone," the TNT! hardly packs an explosion. In fact, it is as basic a cell phone comes. Inside the simple design you'll find a color display, text messaging, a Web browser, and a speakerphone. The TNT! (is the exclamation point really necessary?) is made by Kyocera and is a variant of the company's Adreno S2400, though with a stripped-down feature … Read more

I recently reviewed the Windy31, a USB wireless router that allows for sharing your computer's existing internet connection with others, and found it a very cool device. Today I got my hands on the Kyocera KR2 Mobile router and its companion, the Kyocera KPC680 CDMA ExpressCard, and I have to admit, I never thought mobile internet access could be that good. Still, of course, it's far from perfect.

Let's talk the good first. The KR2 is actually the upgrade to the Kyocera KR1. Significant improvements include: a better design (though still I found it a little bulky … Read more

Recently, I contacted U.S. Cellular and asked to review their Kyocera E1000. Since late spring is always a slow period for new cell releases, I can take the extra time to review handsets from smaller carriers. In the four and a half years I've been at CNET, I've examined a U.S. Cellular phone only a couple of times.

So while browsing through U.S. Cellular's lineup, the E1000 caught my eye. I fooled with this intriguing model at its unveiling at CTIA 2007, but my playtime lasted only a few minutes. And since I haven'… Read more

There was more going on at Kyocera's CTIA booth then its new cell phones. The company also showed an interesting demo of NFC technology. In case you're not familiar, NFC allow users to store and access business cards in their cell phones, which they can then use to make purchases. In essence, your cell phone becomes your wallet, as it can be all you need to buy everything from a pack of gum to movie tickets.

In the demo I had a choice between a bottled water, a candle, or a pack of gum. I chose the gum … Read more

Phew! Day 1 of CTIA 2008 is in the bag, and as usual, the opening day provided plenty of action. Here are some of the highlights of the day.

Samsung was certainly a show stopper as it revealed its Samsung Instinct, an iPhone competitor that features a sleek touch screen interface and a boatload of features. Senior Editor Kent German has all the details for you and says it look promising. Kent also got some hands-on time with AT&T's new Motorola Z9, which left him with some mixed feelings. And Kyocera kept busy as it announced a … Read more

Kyocera kicked off CTIA this morning by unveiling three new cell phones. The Kyocera Neo E1100 is the most high end mode trip. It offers a sleek flip phones design with a few unique touches on its front face. The feature set isn't terribly advanced but you will find Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 262,000-color display and a speakerphone. The Kyocera Mako S4000 is a trim flip phone with a VGA camera, voice dialing and a speakerphone. It won't wow high-maintenance users but it does more than just make calls. Finally, there's the Adreno S2400. … Read more

Kyocera chose CTIA to unveil is new Adreno S2400, a low-end flip phone that offers a simple design and functional features. Be advised there's not a lot of whizbang functionality here; rather, the Adreno is all about making calls. That's hardly a bad thing, though, and we like that the S2400 offers Bluetooth 1.2 and voice dialing. You'll also find text and multimedia messaging, basic organizer features, a speakerphone, a WAP Internet browser, voice memos, a vibrate mode, and a 500-contact phone book.

On the outside the Adreno won't win any design awards, but that'… Read more

During the last two CTIA shows, Kyocera has demonstrated a talent for unveiling new cell phone with a bit of design pizzazz. Last year it was the Kyocera E5000, and this year it is the Neo E1100. Sporting an extremely minimalist design in basic black, the E1100 is a thin (0.66 inche) flip phone with a glowing blue "lightpipe" down the center of its front face. Though you may think there's no external display, there is a hidden screen that runs vertically to the left of the lightpipe. Typically we're not big fans of hidden … Read more