Kyocera Rise Brings Affordable QWERTY With Android 4.0 To Sprint And Virgin Mobile
Sprint and Kyocera Communications, Inc. today announced the launch of Kyocera Rise, an Android smartphone with a full QWERTY slide-out keypad and high-resolution touchscreen display. Kyocera Rise offers feature-phone loyalists the ability to easily move up to a smartphone without losing their tactile keyboard or spending a lot of money.
Equipped with Android 4.0 operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich, Kyocera Rise will be available in all Sprint retail channels beginning Sunday, Aug. 19, for $19.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate with a new line of service or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement. It will be available without a contract at www.virginmobile.com beginning Friday, Aug. 31, for $99.99.
Kyocera Rise
"Kyocera Rise brings customers the comfort of an easy-to-use Android smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard," said David Owens, vice president-Product Development, Sprint. "It is a great option for customers who are new to smartphones, parents looking for the perfect first device for their teens and tweens or anyone looking for a device with an impressive set of features at a great price. This is a perfect addition to round out our Android portfolio."
A survey by industry analyst firm Yankee Group earlier this year revealed that 69 percent of consumers called a QWERTY keypad a "must have" or "nice to have" feature on their mobile devices. Kyocera Rise combines that feature with a 3.5-inch IPS LCD touchscreen display for easy navigation, Web browsing and stunning displays of pictures and video.
Sprint's Everything Data plan with Any Mobile, Anytime includes unlimited Web, texting and calling to and from any mobile in America while on the Sprint Network, starting at just $79.99 per month for smartphones - a savings of $20 per month versus Verizon's comparable plan with unlimited talk, text and 2GB Web (excludes taxes and surcharges).
"There's a significant population of underserved consumers out there for whom a touchscreen simply isn't enough," said Eric Anderson, senior vice president and general manager-Global Sales and Marketing, Kyocera Communications Inc. "For these people, keys are a vital feature. Along with smartphone users who love their keys, approximately half of mobile users still have feature phones with keypads, so they're comfortable using keys. Kyocera Rise has all the features you'd want in a smartphone in an attractive and affordable 3G device that will appeal to those underserved consumers."
Kyocera Rise Features
Kyocera Rise features a 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive 480x320 IPS LCD touchscreen display and Swype for rapid text entry. Its 1,500mAh Lithium-ion battery ensures long periods of use between charges and provides more than 8.5 hours of talk time. Additional features include:
- Google Play with access to hundreds of thousands of apps
- 1GHz MSM8655 Qualcomm Snapdragon processor for fast access to apps and Web surfing
- 3.2-megapixel camera with an LED flash and 30 frame-per-second camcorder
- Kyocera's "Eco Mode" software to better monitor and conserve battery power
- microSD memory card support up to 32GB
- Dedicated capacitive menu button for easy access to application-specific features
- Sprint ID, offering an innovative way to personalize Android smartphones with apps, widgets, wallpapers, ringtones and more
- In addition to Sprint's nationwide 3G network, Kyocera Rise connects over Wi-Fi (b/g/n) networks, supports Stereo Bluetooth (2.1 + EDR) wireless technology and includes a high-speed USB 2.0 port
Kyocera Rise customers can enjoy an unlimited data experience with Sprint Everything Data plans. Sprint's Everything Data plan with Any Mobile, Anytime includes unlimited Web, texting and calling to and from any mobile in America while on the Sprint Network, starting at just $79.99 per month for smartphones - a savings of $20 per month versus Verizon's comparable plan with unlimited talk, text and 2GB Web (excludes taxes and surcharges).
Consumers looking for a commitment-free option can pair the Kyocera Rise with Virgin Mobile's Beyond Talk unlimited data and messaging plans that start at $35 per month for 300 minutes of voice and include unlimited messaging and data. For those looking for a bit more talk time, the $45 plan offers 1,200 minutes of voice and the $55 plan offers unlimited voice each month. All plans include unlimited messaging and data (plans include 2.5GB of full-speed data).
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