Kyocera Phones at CTIA

Helping start the CTIA phone expo, Kyocera today introduced three phones all intended for CDMA phone networks such as those offered by Sprint and Verizon. The Neo E1100 (pictured) is the company's latest effort in designing a fashion phone and includes a completely smooth outer shell with only a blue, illuminated strip of light and a 1.3-megapixel camera breaking up the outer design; a small, hidden display lights up to reveal inbound calls. The handset also features a notebook-like hinge that allows the display to pivot back more than on some flip phones.

A second phone, the Mako S4000, takes on a slightly more conventional form and trades down to a VGA (0.3-megapixel) camera in favor of a larger, color external display; the basic Adreno S2400 is simpler still and sheds the camera altogether while keeping only a basic monochrome external display in addition to the color LCD on the inside. All three phones are said by Kyocera to support BREW for games and other small downloadable apps.

Release dates for the phones are uncertain, as the Japanese phone maker often deals with American carriers but has not announced any plans to bring its phones to these networks.

Separately, Kyocera has also revealed its first GSM phones, suggesting the company intends to expand to the more widespread format for more of its devices. These include the S1600, a candybar phone with a VGA camera; the E2500, a more advanced bar with a 1.3-megapixel camera; the E3500, a 1.3-megapixel flip phone with an eight-hour rated talk time; and the E4600, a media phone with a 2-megapixel camera and dedicated media software. All are available in versions that support North American calling frequencies but are primarily intended for South America.

By Electronista Staff