Kyocera announces Hydro, Rise Android handsets
updated 04:40 pm EDT, Tue May 8, 2012
New waterproof model and QWERTY slider
Kyocera today announced two new cellphones at CTIA, the Hydro and the Rise. A selling point for both models is improved call quality, thanks to Tissue Conduction audio technology. The key feature of the Hydro is that the phone is waterproof to a depth of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes. Inside it's equipped with a 3.5-inch HVGA display, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and 512MB of RAM.
The Rise has essentially the same specifications, but isn't waterproof. Instead, it features a sliding QWERTY keyboard.
The Tissue technology uses a piezoelectric transducer to transmit sound through air as waves and through soft tissue as vibrations. It was originally designed for use in hearing aids, but in the Kyocera devices should improve audio after users place necessary gear over their outer ears.
Recently the company brought the dual-screened Echo to market in the US. Earlier this year, it showed off a speakerless smartphone that transmits audio by vibrating the audio canal. [via Android Central]
