Kyocera Neo E1100
(Credit: Kyocera)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. Designed with simplicity in mind, the Adreno has a minimalist design with a functional feature set. Check out our Kyocera CTIA slide show for a closer look. Also, see Kyocera's new GSM handsets.
Kyocera's new Mako (pronounced like the auto bodyshop) S4000 is one of three new handsets that the manufacturer introduced today at CTIA. It has a simple design with a thin profile (0.67 inches) and a decent set of midrange features. The basic black exterior shows a color external display that sits above a small speaker which features a retro mesh design. It's a unique touch, and Kyocera mentioned that the speaker won praises during the Mako's user testing.
Inside you'll find a 262,000-color display with a shiny silver keypad and navigation controls. The controls are flush with the surface of the phone but they seem pretty user-friendly.
Kyocera Mako S4000
(Credit: Kyocera)Features include Bluetooth, text and multimedia messaging, voice commands, a speakerphone, basic organizer features, Bluetooth (version 1.2), instant messaging, and a WAP Web browser. The VGA camera is a little disappointing considering just how common megapixel shooters are these days, but as long as it takes decent shots then we'll let it pass for now. We also thought that the 250-contact phone book was a bit small, though we imagine that high-powered users with lots of friends would gravitate toward a smartphone, anyway.
There's no word on pricing or when the CDMA handset will make it to a carrier. But consider it supports BREW instead of Java, Verizon Wireless is a distinct possibility.
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 displays, and the E1100's seems awfully small, but in this case it seems to work well with the handset's sleek design. Another unique feature is the reverse hinge, which causes the Neo's front flap to fold behind its rear face when the phone is open. We first saw a reverse hinge in the Sony Ericsson Z600. Though on that handset we complained that the hinge rubbed against our face, we've gotten used to the feature as it has shown up on more phones. Inside the Neo there's a 262,000 color display a set of flush controls navigations keys.
Kyocera Neo E1100
(Credit: Kyocera)On the whole the Neo's feature set is respectable. You'll find voice recognition, text and multimedia messaging, Bluetooth 2.0, a speakerphone, BREW for game and application downloads, MP3 ringtones, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and personal organizer features. A micro USB port will let you connect the Neo to a PC, but we had mixed feeling about the 2.5mm headset jack. Though it's better than some obscure proprietary jack, a 3.5mm jack would be ideal. Also, it delivers only mono sound.
Availability and pricing for the CDMA phone is still to come but we sincerely hope that will actually come to market. Kyocera has its share of models that never seem to make it off the trade show floor, the E5000 is just on example, so we hope that the Neo will have better luck.
- prev
- 1
- next
