Let's Talk Tech
Kyocera DuraSport review!
What if you want a TOUGH phone on Verizon? Kyocera is the top game in town. Are we sacrificing too many lifestyle features for that rugged build though?
Let’s take a look! Continue reading “Kyocera DuraSport 5G UW Review: Respectably Rugged!”
It’s a huge day at AT&T. Big Blue took the wraps off of their release schedule for four huge devices.
Moto360
AT&T is becoming one of the better stocked retail outlets for wearable tech, and they were early in embracing smartwatches. Now the Moto360 has an official home at AT&T stores. Starting November 7th, you can get a Moto360 for $199 if you bundle it with the purchase of a Moto X Smartphone.
LG G Watch R
I TOTALLY CALLED IT! We have official pricing for LG’s round, premium smartwatch, and it looks like that extra bit of style will run you $299. It’ll be stocked and ready to buy starting November 5th!
Lumia 830
Windows Phone fans have probably been feeling a little neglected of late, but AT&T will be the first carrier to bring the Lumia 830 to our shores. The mid-ranger will sell for $449.99 or you can grab it for $99 on two-year contract. If you’re signing up on contract, you can also grab a free FitBit Flex for a limited time. You can see a brief hands on with the Lumia 830 from my trip out to CTIA!
Kyocera DuraForce
Kyocera is finally leaving their exclusive relationship with CDMA carriers, dropping one phone on T-Mobile, and now the DuraForce on AT&T. It looks like a redesigned version of the Brigadier which launched on Verizon a couple months ago, but there’s no word yet if the DuraForce will also have Kyocera’s incredible sapphire display. It looks like it’ll be AT&T’s most rugged phone however, and you can grab one for $389 or $49 on two-year contract. You can catch our long term review of the Brigadier to whet your appetite!
Kyocera went BEAST MODE in building the Brigadier, and they’re only the second company to use Sapphire Crystal for their display. After using the Brigadier for a couple months, let’s chat about the experience of using this rugged little brick…
[Tony is a retired firefighter, and was kind enough to share his early impressions of his first Android phone, a Kyocera Brigadier on Verizon Wireless.]
How Do You Like the Build Quality?
It’s big and clunky. It reminds me of old school BlackBerry phones. I had a BB 8700 that could take a hit. My more recent Torch, not as much. The Brigadier feels more noticeably more durable. For someone like me who occasionally tests the ballistic quality of hardware, this is the perfect device for me.
From a regular perspective. The sound is good, the picture is good. I’ve watched video on the (720p) screen. I don’t play games, so I don’t know if it’ll be good for that.
Call quality is good. I had no idea what the term “tissue conduction” meant, but the ear piece is really loud and it’s easy to hear callers.
[The Brigadier screen is actually a large bone conduction surface allowing users to hear calls in loud environments and with ear plugs.]
I’m still unsure about battery life. It’s a little too early to tell if it’ll compare to my BB. My only complaint there is that it does have a built-in internal battery. I liked being able to replace the battery on my Torch. I would carry extras when I knew I was going to be away from a power source. I did buy a portable external battery for the Kyocera, so we’ll see if that is equally practical.
And the Sapphire Screen?
There is a video of a person trying to scratch the screen with a penknife to no avail. I don’t intend to do that on purpose.
In switching to the Brigadier, you also swapped carriers, how has that transition been?
I switched from ATT to Verizon. Verizon has great coverage but I lack 4G LTE coverage inside our condo. It literally works 10’ outside my door. Go figure. What I like about Verizon other than its coverage is that I can turn off that annoying message that tells people to wait for the tone. Like anyone whose been alive during the last 40 years wouldn’t know that. I hate wasting my time and others and all that message did was chew up air time.
Are there Android replacements for your favorite BB features?
One thing I miss from my BB is the autotext feature. I liked the ability to type in an acronym and have it expand to the whole word. I didn’t know that on Android those features aren’t in the “OS” but in the keyboard app. I didn’t realize I had more than one keyboard until yesterday. I just started playing with Google Keyboard which can do something similar for shortcut text, but it’s not the same as the BB.
My wife also replaced her BB with a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. It feels like it would snap in a strong wind, but it’s a bit more portable by comparison. We are now officially a BB free household. Too bad, they’ve had some good products over the years but seem to have missed the boat on the smartphone market.
After test driving a Nokia, I knew I was going to get an Android. I use a lot of Google services for contacts, mail, and calendar. I already use Google Drive. I bought extra capacity. It works great, and it’s saved us a lot of grief for syncing info.
Thank you Tony for taking the time to share your experiences!