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Kyocera Launching Android 4.0 Phones

NEW ORLEANS –

The first two Android 4.0 phones
from Kyocera include the Hydro, which is the company’s
first water-resistant smartphone for the U.S. market.

The second Android 4.0 phone, the Rise, is a touchscreen
phone with slide-from-the side QWERTY keyboard.

Both phones are 3G CDMA 1x EV-DO Rev. A phones
with 1GHz processor.

The company also came to the CTIA conventions
with a demonstration of a new technology that turns the
whole front face of a phone into a speaker to eliminate
a traditional speaker. The technology is said to dramatically
increase the clarity and intelligibility of incoming
calls in noisy environments by translating an incoming
voice into vibrations that are conducted to the ear when
the phone is held against the ear.

The Hydro, expected to launch in the second half, will
be the company’s first water-resistant smartphone but
not its first water-resistant phone. The Hydro can withstand
full immersion into up to 1 meter of water for a half
hour, more than enough time to pull it out of a toilet. Up to
82.5 million cellphones have been ruined by water damage
in the U.S. to date, Kyocera said in citing a January
TNS Global Research report. A Wireless Lounge survey
from last September shows that 70 percent of people
said water resistance would be an important feature to
consider in their next phone, Kyocera said.

The Hydro’s features include 3.5-inch HVGA 480
by 320 IPS LCD display, 2GB ROM, 512MB RAM,
included 2GB MicroSD card, 1500 mAh battery,
3.2-megapixel rear camera with 30 fps WVGA video
capture, LED flash, no front camera, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n,
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, USB 2.0, three-axis accelerometer,
digital compass, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor,
Swype touchscreen text entry and GPS.

In the postpaid market, the Hydro will be positioned
as a midtier phone offering a “blend of affordability and
pragmatic technology,” a spokesman said.

The keyboard-equipped Rise slider, also launching
sometime in the second half, is targeted to consumers
who prefer to use a keyboard to reduce typos. The Rise
has all of the same features as the Hydro except for the
water-resistance feature.

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