Kyocera Unleashes Trio of CDMA Handsets at CTIA 2008

Kyocera made an impression at CTIA 2008 this week with a trio of new CDMA handsets with a fashion sense. The Neo E1100, Mako S4000, and Adreno S2400 are planned to be available in Q3 2008 and feature support for the AWS frequencies (1700/2100MHz).

The Neo E1100 has a minimalistic black design on the outside with a glowing blue 'lightpipe' running down the center. At one end the 'lightpipe' circles the lens for the 1.3 megapixel camera and on the other end you'll find a small hidden display running alongside it. While the display only shows basic info like battery life, signal strength and caller ID, it matches the overall clean design of the phone's exterior.

Inside you'll find a 262,000 pixel color display and a set of flush keys similar to what the Moto Razr uses. As for features, there's nothing really cutting edge, but it does include the essentials like bluetooth 2.0, speakerphone, voice recognition, MP3 ringtones and a micro USB port for charging and syncing. There is also a hidden outer OLED display that comes to life when a call comes in.

Kyocera's new Mako 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.

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.

Last but not least is the retro cool Adreno S2400, a low-end flip phone that offers a simple design and functional features. Be advised there's not a lot of whizbang functionality here; rather, the Adreno is all about making calls. That's hardly a bad thing, though, and we like that the S2400 offers Bluetooth 1.2 and voice dialing. You'll also find text and multimedia messaging, basic organizer features, a speakerphone, a WAP Internet browser, voice memos, a vibrate mode, and a 500-contact phone book.

On the outside the Adreno won't win any design awards, but that's no to say it's unattractive. Its look is dominated by squares and rectangles, from the rectangle of the phone itself to the square, and monochrome, external display. This angular theme continues to the inside as well. The 65,000 color rectangular display is surrounded by a rectangular frame while just below it are the boxy navigation array and keypad buttons. Silver and black predominate throughout the S2400 so as we said, there's not a huge focus on design. But for users that just want a handset without all the frills, we imagine that they won't mind the Adreno's simplicity.

Kyocera has yet to reveal carrier and pricing information, but we know that the Adreno is a CDMA phone and it supports BREW instead of Java.